Chapter 4 - The Siege of Villa Moretti
By midnight, Lorenzo’s mercenaries had realized something was wrong.
Vance and Dominic hadn't reported back from the second floor, and the grand estate was eerie in its silence. On the vault monitors, we watched as six armed men began sweeping the hallways floor by floor, breaking down doors and checking closets.
"They're searching for my body," Alejandro said, pulling a heavy tactical vest over his crisp dress shirt. "When they don't find it in the study, they’ll realize I reached the bunker."
"Can they get in here?" Mama asked, clutching her hands together.
"No," Alejandro said firmly. "This vault can hold out for three months. But I am not waiting three months to execute a traitor."
He turned to a weapons locker, pulling out two short-barrel automatic rifles and several magazines.
"Mr. Moretti, please," Mama begged, stepping between him and the steel door. "You're outnumbered! Call the police! Call your other captains!"
"The police are paid by Lorenzo to stay five miles away tonight," Alejandro replied flatly. "And my captains won't move until they know who holds the Moretti ring. If Lorenzo shows them my corpse, they will swear allegiance to him by morning."
He looked at me, kneeling down so he was at eye level with my couch.
"Emma," he said gently. "Do you remember the servant passages we just walked through?"
I nodded, swallowing a piece of animal cracker. "The secret tunnels?"
"Yes," Alejandro said. "There is a tunnel that leads from the back of this vault directly into the old greenhouse outside the perimeter fence. It’s completely hidden. I want you to take your mother’s hand and walk through it until you see the blue light at the end."
"What about you?" I asked, looking at his dark eyes.
"I have work to do upstairs," he said.
"No!" I cried, grabbing his tactical vest with my small hands. "You don't have your medicine anymore! If they give you bad wine again, you’ll die!"
Alejandro’s eyes softened with a warmth that no soldier in his syndicate had ever seen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch engraved with the Moretti crest—a roaring lion crowned in laurel leaves.
He slipped the heavy gold chain over my neck.
"This is my promise to you, Emma," Alejandro whispered. "Keep this watch safe for me. I will come to the greenhouse to pick it up in one hour. I never break a promise to my inner circle."
Mama took my hand, tears streaming down her face. "Be careful, Mr. Moretti."
"Protect her, Elena," Alejandro commanded, slamming the rifle magazine into place with a sharp CLACK. "She is the most valuable asset this family possesses."
He hit the manual door override.
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While Mama and I crept into the narrow, earth-scented greenhouse tunnel, Alejandro turned toward the main bunker door, ready to unleash hell upon the men who had dared to invade his home.
Behind us, as the secret panel closed, the sound of heavy automatic gunfire began to rattle through the concrete foundation of Villa Moretti.
