Chapter 73 - Iron and Ash
"Valerie," Vincent said, shifting his body to block both me and Maya behind his broad frame. His gun remained level, aimed squarely between her eyes. "You're out of your depth. Put the detonator down."
Valerie tilted her head, a venomous smirk playing on her lips. Up close, the resemblance between us was terrifying—like looking into a mirror that reflected only malice and spite.
"Out of my depth, dear brother?" she purred, her voice dripping with venom. "I was raised in the kennel your father built while my dear sisters lived in luxury, reading poetry and drinking Chianti in the hills of Florence. You think this ring belongs to you? Don Lorenzo gave it to me before he died."
"My father gave you nothing but orders," Vincent said coldly. "He used you to hunt down his enemies until he didn't need you anymore."
"And he used you to keep the throne warm," Valerie spat, her eyes flashing with sudden rage. "He never loved you, Vincent. He thought you were soft. He knew you fell for Clara the moment you laid eyes on her. That’s why he let her take the child. He knew you would tear down the syndicate’s walls trying to protect them."
She turned her gaze to me, her dead gray eyes raking over my trembling form and the small child clinging to my neck.
"Hello, Clara," Valerie said softly. "You have no idea how long I watched you in Spain. Every morning you walked Maya to that little school by the beach. Every evening you sat on the porch, reading her stories. Did you ever wonder why the local cartels never bothered your quiet little village? Did you think it was luck?"
A knot of ice tightened in my throat. "It was you."
"It was me," Valerie laughed, a sound like dry autumn leaves scraping against stone. "I kept the wolves away so the lamb could grow fat. The Bloodline Trust requires a living descendant to unlock the master vaults in Geneva and Florence. Without Maya's genetic signature, the eighty billion euros tied up in the syndicate's holdings remain frozen forever."
"She will never touch that money," I said, stepping slightly to the side so I could face her directly, my hand tightening on the grip of the Glock inside my pocket. "And neither will you."
"I don't care about the money, sister," Valerie sneered, lifting the detonator. "I care about burning the house down with all of us inside it."
Before she could press the trigger, the stone wall behind her exploded inward.
Salvatore burst through the hidden maintenance panel, tackling Valerie with the force of a freight train. The detonator flew from her grasp, skittering across the floorboards toward the open fireplace.
"Go! Move!" Vincent roared, lunging forward to pin Valerie's arms as she fought Salvatore with feral, blinding speed.
May you like
I didn't look back. Clutching Maya against my chest, I threw myself into the dark opening behind the wardrobe and plunged into the cold, stone descent of the mountain tunnel.
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