Chapter 12: The King Who Waited
584 Words
Rain drummed steadily against the roof of Dante Romano's black Ferrari.
The De Santis estate remained illuminated in the distance.
Smoke still rose from the eastern wall.
His men waited.
Engines idled.
No one dared ask why they hadn't left.
Dante rested one elbow against the open window.
His eyes never left the mansion.
"Boss..."
Vincenzo approached cautiously.
"The men are asking if we're returning to Rome."
Dante didn't answer.
Instead, he watched the third-floor window.
A silhouette moved behind the curtains.
Sofia.
Safe.
Only then did he release the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"She's alive."
Vincenzo frowned.
"You attacked the estate."
"I attacked Luca."
His voice remained calm.
"I never intended to hurt her."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Vincenzo asked the question everyone had been thinking.
"If you wanted Sofia..."
"...why didn't you take her tonight?"
Dante smiled faintly.
"Because she would've come as a prisoner."
He rolled an unlit Toscano cigar between his fingers before placing it between his lips. He never lit it when he was thinking. It had become an old habit—one Luca used to mock years ago.
"I want her to walk to me by choice."
Vincenzo blinked.
"That's... unlike you."
"It is."
Dante continued staring toward the mansion.
"I've spent my life taking what I wanted."
"This time..."
"I can't."
---
A black SUV pulled quietly beside the Ferrari.
A man stepped out, rain dripping from the brim of his cap.
He leaned through the driver's window.
"The report is confirmed."
Dante finally looked away from the mansion.
"Tell me."
"The sniper wasn't ours."
"I know."
"The shell casing matches the same organization."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"So..."
"They've returned."
The man nodded.
"We believe they've been watching both families for months."
"And?"
"They know about Sofia."
For the first time that night...
Fear crossed Dante's face.
Not fear for himself.
For her.
---
Vincenzo looked between the two men.
"I don't understand."
"If they're after Sofia..."
"Why attack Luca instead of taking her?"
Dante laughed softly.
"Because they don't want us dead."
"They want us distracted."
He looked back toward the mansion.
"They know exactly what they're doing."
"If Luca and I destroy each other..."
"They won't have anyone left to stand in their way."
---
Lightning illuminated the estate.
For a brief second...
Dante saw movement through one of the windows.
Sofia.
She was standing beside someone seated in a chair.
Luca.
Even from this distance, Dante noticed the blood on Luca's shirt.
"So..."
"You survived."
There was no disappointment in his voice.
Only relief.
Vincenzo stared.
"You sound happy."
Dante smiled without humour.
"I've wanted to kill Luca myself for ten years."
He paused.
"I'm not about to let someone else have that privilege."
Vincenzo couldn't help but laugh.
"You two are impossible."
"We're brothers."
The words slipped out before Dante could stop them.
His smile disappeared.
"Were."
---
His phone vibrated.
One message.
Unknown Number.
«The first move is complete.
The girl remembers nothing.
Make sure it stays that way.»
Dante's expression turned to stone.
He deleted the message immediately.
Vincenzo noticed the change.
"What happened?"
Dante started the engine.
"Everything."
He shifted the car into gear.
"For the first time in twenty-four years..."
"...I'm afraid we're already too late."
The Ferrari disappeared into the rain.
Behind him...
The lights of the De Santis mansion continued to burn.
And inside those walls...
Sofia Moretti had no idea that the war surrounding her had begun long before she was born.
- Writer
