Chapter 28 - RECKONING IN THE GREAT HALL
The smoke drifted lazily toward the shattered ceiling, revealing the grand hall in all its carnage.
By the fountain, Enzo Moretti had abandoned the torch team at the bunker. He stood with his back to the water, his arm wrapped around Leo’s throat, his heavy Colt .45 pressed firmly into the boy’s temple. Two remaining bodyguards flanked him, their rifles trained on the center of the room.
"Luca!" Enzo shouted, his voice a frantic mixture of fury and disbelief as he saw the Don standing before him, bloodied but unyielding. "How did you get out of that vault? That door is impenetrable!"
"You always were an idiot, Enzo," Luca said, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet, cavernous hall. He didn't raise his rifle; he let it hang casually at his side, projecting an aura of terrifying invincibility despite his grievous wounds. "You tried to conquer my family with Falcone’s scraps, and you couldn't even secure an old house."
"Elena!" Leo cried out, his voice cracked with terror, blood dripping from a cut above his eye. "Elena, run!"
"Shut up, boy!" Enzo barked, digging the barrel deeper into Leo's skin. He sneered at Luca, his eyes darting wildly. "You think you've won, Don Rossi? You're a walking corpse! Look at you—you can barely stand! One twitch of my finger, and this maid’s brother dies. Drop your weapons, both of you, or his blood is on your hands!"
Elena stepped forward, her voice trembling but fierce. "Let him go, Enzo! Take me instead! I'm the one who opened the doors, I'm the one who helped him! Leave my brother out of this!"
Enzo laughed, a dry, hysterical sound. "Take you? Oh, sweetheart, you're coming with me anyway. But first, I want Luca to watch everything he tried to protect crumble to ash. Drop the gun, girl, or I shoot the boy's kneecap right now!"
Luca didn't flinch. Instead, he took one slow, deliberate step forward, his boots crunching on the broken glass.
"Enzo," Luca said quietly, his voice deadly calm. "Do you remember what I told you three years ago in Palermo when you stole from the syndicate?"
Enzo’s eyes widened slightly, an involuntary twitch disturbing his arrogant smirk.
"I told you," Luca continued, taking another step, "that if you ever stepped into my home without an invitation, I wouldn't just kill you. I would burn your name from every ledger in Europe. You touched my home. You touched the people under my protection. There is no bargain here."
"I'll kill him!" Enzo screamed, his finger tightening on the trigger.
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"Try it," Luca whispered.
***
