CHAPTER 7 — THE CHOICE THAT EXPOSED THE TRAITOR
CHAPTER 7 — THE CHOICE THAT EXPOSED THE TRAITOR
When the emergency lights flickered back to life, the conference room erupted into chaos.
"Grace!"
Luca rushed into the hallway.
Two security guards lay unconscious on the floor. A smoke grenade rolled slowly across the marble tiles, filling the corridor with thick gray haze.
The elevator doors were closing.
For a split second, Luca caught sight of Grace inside.
Her mouth was covered.
Her wrists were bound.
Standing beside her was Matteo Bellandi.
The doors shut.
"No!"
Luca sprinted toward the elevator, but it was already descending.
"Track every elevator!" he barked.
"They're heading to the underground levels!"
Five floors below, the elevator stopped inside an abandoned section of the building that had once belonged to the original Bellandi headquarters.
Matteo removed Grace's blindfold.
She found herself in a forgotten vault lined with old family portraits.
Matteo smiled calmly.
"You've caused me more trouble in two days than anyone has in twenty years."
Grace stared at him.
"You're stealing from your own family."
He laughed.
"You still think this is about money?"
He walked toward one of the portraits.
It showed Luca's grandfather standing beside two young boys.
Grace frowned.
"There were two sons?"
"Exactly."
Matteo touched the frame.
"My father built this empire with his brother."
"When he died, everything went to Luca's branch of the family."
"Mine received nothing."
His smile disappeared.
"So I spent twenty years taking it back."
Meanwhile, Luca reached the underground level with his security team.
The abandoned corridors were dark.
Silent.
Until one guard noticed fresh footprints in the dust.
"They came this way."
The team followed them to the old vault.
The steel door stood slightly open.
Luca pushed it inside.
Empty.
Only one thing remained.
A small envelope addressed to him.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Come alone if you want Grace alive.
Beneath it...
An address.
The old Bellandi shipyard on Boston Harbor.
One hour later...
Against every order from his security team...
Luca arrived alone.
The abandoned warehouse overlooked the dark water.
Grace sat tied to a chair beneath a hanging light.
Matteo waited nearby.
"You actually came."
Luca answered calmly.
"You wanted me here."
Matteo nodded.
"I only need one signature."
He tossed a document onto a table.
"Transfer the company."
"Walk away."
"And she lives."
Grace immediately shook her head.
"Don't do it!"
Matteo smiled.
"I knew she'd say that."
Then he pulled a pistol.
"And that's why you have exactly thirty seconds."
Luca looked at Grace.
Then at the contract.
Then...
He picked up the pen.
Matteo grinned.
"I knew blood would always choose blood."
Luca signed.
Matteo laughed triumphantly.
Until Grace suddenly spoke.
"That's not your signature."
Everyone froze.
Matteo looked down.
Grace continued.
"The pressure is wrong."
"The final stroke is too short."
"It's another forgery."
Matteo's smile vanished.
Luca slowly raised his eyes.
"You taught me something, Grace."
"I never sign anything..."
"...without looking twice."
The warehouse lights exploded on.
"Federal agents! Nobody move!"
Doors burst open from every direction.
Armed investigators flooded the building.
Matteo spun toward the exit—
Only to find every escape blocked.
He had walked into Luca's trap.
The contract had been fake.
The meeting had been recorded.
His confession had been captured from beginning to end.
Realizing he had lost, Matteo fired one desperate shot.
Luca lunged toward Grace.
The bullet shattered the chair instead of striking her.
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Within seconds, Matteo was wrestled to the ground in handcuffs.
The conspiracy was over.
