Chapter3
1319 Words
Chapter Three
Blood in the Water
The city of Valoria had learned a long time ago that there were two versions of Vito Romano.
The first was the businessman.
Cold.
Professional.
Controlled.
The second was the monster.
The version that emerged when someone threatened what belonged to him.
For two days, the city had watched the monster awaken.
Nightclubs owned by rival families were raided.
Warehouses were searched.
Informants disappeared.
Every criminal organization in Valoria felt the pressure tightening around their throats.
No one knew exactly what had happened.
Only that Vito Romano was hunting someone.
And when Vito hunted, people died.
Inside Romano Headquarters, the atmosphere was no better.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody relaxed.
Every soldier walked carefully, afraid of becoming the target of their boss’s rage.
Vito sat alone in his office.
The surveillance footage played on the screen for what felt like the hundredth time.
Luna.
Walking toward the car.
Pausing.
Looking back.
Then leaving.
Each viewing felt worse than the last.
He wanted answers.
Instead, he found more questions.
A knock sounded.
“Enter.”
Marco stepped inside.
His normally confident expression was tense.
“We found the car.”
Vito stood immediately.
“Where?”
“Abandoned near the industrial district.”
“Any sign of Luna?”
“No.”
The answer landed like a punch.
Vito grabbed his coat.
“Take me there.”
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at an empty warehouse district.
Rain poured from the dark sky.
Police sirens echoed somewhere in the distance.
The black sedan sat abandoned between two crumbling buildings.
Vito approached slowly.
Every instinct screamed that something important had happened here.
The driver’s seat was empty.
The interior had been cleaned.
Professionally.
No fingerprints.
No evidence.
Nothing.
Someone had known exactly what they were doing.
One of the forensic specialists approached.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found this.”
The man handed over a small silver necklace.
Vito froze.
His heart stopped.
The necklace belonged to Luna.
He knew because he had given it to her two years ago.
A simple silver moon.
She never took it off.
Ever.
Vito closed his fist around it.
For the first time since her disappearance, genuine fear gripped him.
Because Luna would never abandon that necklace willingly.
Never.
Something had happened.
Something bad.
Marco noticed the change immediately.
“What is it?”
Vito held up the necklace.
Marco’s face darkened.
“Damn.”
The two men exchanged a look.
Neither needed to say the words aloud.
The situation had just become much worse.
Meanwhile, miles away, Luna sat in a hidden room beneath the abandoned estate.
The secret bunker had belonged to an old ally of her mother’s.
Only three people knew it existed.
Luna.
Sofia.
And the woman who had built it.
Now dead.
Stacks of documents covered the table before her.
Financial records.
Wire transfers.
Photographs.
Secret communications.
Enough information to destroy multiple criminal empires.
And every hour she spent reading uncovered something even worse.
Sofia entered carrying coffee.
“You need a break.”
Luna barely looked up.
“I can’t.”
“You’ve been staring at those papers all day.”
“I’m close.”
“Close to what?”
Luna’s eyes remained fixed on a document.
A horrible realization was forming inside her mind.
One she desperately hoped was wrong.
But the evidence kept pointing in the same direction.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Slowly, she lifted a photograph.
Sofia frowned.
“What is it?”
Luna swallowed.
“Look.”
Sofia stepped closer.
The photograph showed several men leaving a private meeting.
Don Salvatore.
Two rival capos.
And another figure.
A man whose face sent chills through both women.
“No…”
Sofia whispered.
Luna nodded.
Her hands trembled.
“That’s what I said.”
The photograph revealed someone from inside Vito’s organization.
Someone close enough to destroy him completely.
Someone nobody would ever suspect.
For a moment neither woman spoke.
The truth was too shocking.
Too dangerous.
Finally Sofia broke the silence.
“Does Vito know?”
“No.”
“Shouldn’t you tell him?”
Luna laughed bitterly.
“How?”
The question hung heavily in the air.
Because contacting Vito would expose her location.
And if Don Salvatore found her first…
Everything would be lost.
That evening, Vito returned to headquarters.
Exhausted.
Angry.
Frustrated.
His office overlooked the glowing city skyline.
Normally the view calmed him.
Tonight it did nothing.
The moon necklace sat on his desk.
A constant reminder.
A painful reminder.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
His consigliere entered.
Antonio Russo.
One of the oldest members of the Romano organization.
A man who had served Vito’s father before serving him.
“What is it?”
Antonio hesitated.
“There’s something you need to hear.”
Vito immediately noticed the concern in his voice.
“Speak.”
“The captains are getting nervous.”
“About?”
“You.”
Vito stared.
Antonio continued carefully.
“The search is affecting business.”
“I don’t care.”
“They do.”
“Then replace them.”
Antonio sighed.
This was exactly what he feared.
Vito wasn’t thinking like a boss anymore.
He was thinking like a desperate man.
And desperate men made mistakes.
“You’re risking the empire.”
The words hung in the room.
Dangerous.
Vito’s gaze hardened instantly.
“Are you questioning me?”
“No.”
Antonio met his eyes.
“I’m warning you.”
Silence followed.
Long.
Heavy.
Then Vito looked away.
Because deep down, he knew Antonio wasn’t wrong.
The empire was suffering.
Rivals were becoming bolder.
Shipments were delayed.
Profits were falling.
And still there was no sign of Luna.
Not a single sign.
The frustration was becoming unbearable.
Then suddenly his phone rang.
Every person in the room froze.
Unknown number.
Vito answered immediately.
“Talk.”
For several seconds there was only silence.
Then—
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
His entire world stopped.
“Luna?”
A shaky breath came through the line.
“Vito.”
His chair scraped violently against the floor as he stood.
“Where are you?”
Silence.
Then another breath.
“Listen to me carefully.”
His heart pounded.
“Luna—”
“Don’t interrupt.”
Something in her voice terrified him.
Fear.
Urgency.
Desperation.
“You need to stop searching.”
“What?”
“Stop looking for me.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Vito—”
“No.”
The word exploded from him.
“No.”
For the first time, emotion cracked through his control.
“You vanish for days and expect me to stop looking?”
“Please.”
Her voice broke.
The sound nearly destroyed him.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Another silence.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Because the people hunting me are inside your empire.”
The room froze.
Antonio looked up.
Marco, who had just entered, stopped moving.
Vito’s blood turned to ice.
“What did you say?”
“They’re close to you.”
“Luna—”
“I don’t have much time.”
His grip tightened around the phone.
“Who?”
Silence.
Then suddenly—
A loud crash.
A scream.
The sound of breaking glass.
“Luna!”
Nothing.
Static.
Voices shouting in the background.
Then the line went dead.
Vito stared at the phone.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to think.
For several horrifying seconds, nobody moved.
Then Marco spoke.
“Trace it.”
Vito looked up.
His eyes were no longer filled with grief.
They were filled with something far more dangerous.
Murder.
“Find her.”
His voice came out deadly calm.
“Find everyone involved.”
The room went silent.
Because every person present understood exactly what those words meant.
War had just begun.
- Writer
