Chapter 4 - The Traitor's Price
The heavy steel security shutters slammed down over the windows with a series of loud, mechanical thuds, sealing the mansion into a fortress.
Marco, his hip heavily bandaged, burst into the drawing room with four heavily armed guards, rifles raised.
“Boss!” Marco yelled over the siren. “We’ve got a breach at the eastern gate! Someone bypassed the biometric security grid from the inside!”
Roman’s demeanor changed instantly. The vulnerable father vanished; the cold, terrifying Don returned in a heartbeat. He drew a black semi-automatic pistol from his shoulder holster, racking the slide with a lethal click.
“Inside job,” Roman growled, his eyes narrowing into slits of pure ice. “Aaliyah, take Leo to the safe room beneath the study. Now.”
“Roman—”
“Go!” he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.
Aaliyah scooped Leo into her good arm and sprinted down the hallway toward the study. But as she rounded the corner into the library, she didn't find an empty room.
Standing by the hidden keypad near the bookshelf was Caruso—Roman’s second-in-command, the man who had been with the Rossi family for over twenty years. In his hand was an encrypted drive, and his pistol was aimed directly at the door.
Aaliyah stopped dead in her tracks, pulling Leo behind her.
“Caruso…” she breathed. “It was you. The garage attack… you gave them the coordinates.”
Caruso’s face was twisted in a mixture of guilt and desperation. “It was supposed to be clean, Aaliyah! The Marcones promised me they’d only take the boy for leverage! They weren't supposed to throw a grenade!”
“You sold out a seven-year-old child!” Aaliyah shouted, her hand instinctively reaching behind her back for the small revolver Roman had forced her to carry in her waistband.
“Roman is weak!” Caruso spat, stepping forward, gun raised. “Ever since Julietta died, he’s been obsessed with keeping this boy safe, letting our business slip! The Marcones are offering twice the revenue! Give me the boy, Aaliyah, and I’ll let you walk away with enough cash to live like a queen!”
Leo stepped out from behind Aaliyah. He didn't look scared. Instead, his small face was set in a look of absolute, icy rage that mirrored his father’s exact expression.
Before Caruso could react, Leo reached up and slammed his hand against the emergency fire lever on the wall.
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A deafening alarm shrieked, overhead sprinklers burst to life, soaking the room in a freezing downpour, and the heavy oak doors of the library slammed shut, locking Caruso inside.
Aaliyah grabbed Leo’s hand and sprinted down the panic corridor just as heavy gunfire erupted behind them.
