Chapter 5: The Escape
Chapter 5: The Escape
"Promise me, Sophie."
The words hung between them as gunfire echoed through the burning restaurant.
Sophie stared at Dominic.
Rainwater poured through the shattered windows. Sprinklers drenched the room. Smoke curled toward the ceiling.
Everything felt unreal.
"I'm a waitress," she said.
Another gunshot exploded nearby.
A bodyguard fell.
Dominic didn't even flinch.
"No," he said. "You're the only person my son trusts."
A scream came from the entrance.
More DeLuca gunmen were forcing their way inside.
The situation was collapsing.
Fast.
Dominic grabbed Sophie's shoulder.
"Take him."
Before she could argue, he pulled a small silver key from his pocket.
"Underground garage. Elevator B. Black SUV."
Sophie looked at the key.
Then at Matteo.
Then back at Dominic.
"What about you?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"I'm staying."
Because that's what kings did.
They stood between danger and their people.
Even when it killed them.
A wounded guard ran toward them.
"Boss! We can't hold them!"
Dominic's expression darkened.
"Buy me five minutes."
The guard nodded and sprinted away.
Sophie felt her chest tighten.
This felt like goodbye.
Dominic looked down at his son.
The baby was crying again.
Tiny fists waving.
Completely unaware of the war surrounding him.
For a moment the feared mafia boss simply stared.
Memorizing him.
Every feature.
Every breath.
Every second.
Then he touched Matteo's cheek.
His hand trembled.
Just once.
Sophie noticed.
And suddenly understood something terrifying.
Dominic was afraid.
Not of dying.
Of losing his son.
"Go," he ordered.
A massive explosion shook the building.
Part of the ceiling collapsed.
Fire erupted near the kitchen.
That decided it.
Sophie turned and ran.
The emergency staircase was dark.
Smoke filled the air.
Matteo cried against her shoulder.
"It's okay," she whispered breathlessly.
Though she wasn't sure if she was speaking to him or herself.
Behind her, gunfire continued.
Floor after floor.
Step after step.
Finally she reached the underground garage.
Rows of luxury vehicles stretched into the darkness.
She spotted the black SUV immediately.
As she ran toward it, a voice emerged from the shadows.
"Going somewhere?"
Sophie froze.
A man stepped into the light.
Expensive suit.
Cold smile.
Handgun.
She had seen him earlier.
One of Dominic's own men.
Victor Russo.
A trusted lieutenant.
A member of the inner circle.
The traitor.
"Oh God," Sophie whispered.
Victor smiled.
"That's exactly what Dominic said when he figured it out."
Ice flooded her veins.
"You betrayed him."
"I upgraded."
Matteo started crying louder.
Victor's gaze shifted toward the baby.
"There he is."
The target.
The reason for everything.
Sophie backed away.
Victor raised his weapon.
"Hand him over."
"No."
His smile vanished.
"Don't make this difficult."
Sophie knew she couldn't outrun a bullet.
Couldn't fight him.
Couldn't protect Matteo.
Yet she tightened her grip anyway.
"No."
Victor sighed.
Then aimed directly at her.
A gunshot thundered through the garage.
But it wasn't Victor's.
Blood sprayed across the concrete.
Victor staggered.
His eyes widened.
A dark stain spread across his chest.
Slowly, he turned around.
Dominic Moretti stood twenty feet away.
Holding a pistol.
Smoke rising from the barrel.
His face looked carved from stone.
Victor stared in disbelief.
"How...?"
Dominic fired again.
Victor collapsed.
Silence.
Only Matteo's crying remained.
Dominic lowered the gun.
His white shirt was soaked with blood.
For one horrible second Sophie thought it belonged to someone else.
Then she saw the wound.
His side.
A deep one.
"You're hurt."
Dominic looked down.
Almost surprised.
Then his knees buckled.
Chapter 6: The Truth About Matteo
"Dominic!"
Sophie rushed forward.
Matteo in one arm.
Dominic collapsing in the other.
The mafia boss hit the concrete hard.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Too much blood.
Far too much.
His breathing became ragged.
A convoy of Moretti guards stormed into the garage seconds later.
Weapons drawn.
The moment they saw Dominic, panic erupted.
"Boss!"
"Call an ambulance!"
"Move!"
The men who feared nothing suddenly looked terrified.
Because Dominic Moretti was the foundation beneath their entire world.
And that foundation was bleeding out.
Dominic grabbed Sophie's wrist.
Hard.
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Listen."
"You need a hospital."
"Listen."
The force in his voice stopped her.
Reluctantly, she nodded.
Dominic looked at Matteo.
Then back at Sophie.
"There are things you don't know."
"What things?"
His jaw tightened.
"The DeLucas aren't trying to take my son."
Sophie frowned.
"What?"
"They're trying to kill him."
A chill ran through her.
"Why?"
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
As though gathering strength.
Then he spoke.
"The night Matteo was born, his mother was murdered."
Sophie froze.
The guards exchanged uneasy looks.
Clearly they knew this story.
Or parts of it.
Dominic continued.
"Officially, it was a robbery."
"It wasn't?"
"No."
The single word carried years of hatred.
"She discovered something before she died."
Lightning flashed across the garage entrance.
Rain pounded outside.
Dominic's voice dropped.
"A secret powerful enough to destroy several criminal empires."
Sophie's heart raced.
"What secret?"
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"That's the problem."
"What do you mean?"
His gaze shifted toward Matteo.
"The information disappeared."
Understanding slowly dawned.
"You think it's connected to him."
"I know it is."
Sophie stared.
"How?"
Dominic swallowed painfully.
"Because before she died, she hid the evidence."
The guards leaned closer.
Even they didn't know everything.
Dominic looked directly at Sophie.
"She hid it inside something nobody would ever suspect."
Silence.
Then:
"Matteo's stuffed elephant."
Sophie's eyes widened.
The small gray elephant.
The toy that never left the baby's side.
The toy currently sitting in the SUV.
The toy everyone thought was meaningless.
Dominic nodded.
"My wife sewed a flash drive into it."
The entire garage fell silent.
Years of secrets.
Millions of dollars.
Powerful enemies.
All hidden inside a child's toy.
No wonder people were dying.
No wonder Matteo was being hunted.
A guard suddenly sprinted toward them.
"Boss!"
Dominic looked up.
The guard's face was pale.
Terrified.
"The police are coming."
Dominic frowned.
"Who called them?"
Nobody answered.
Because everyone understood the truth.
The attack.
The betrayal.
The timing.
Someone else had leaked information.
Another traitor.
One they hadn't found.
Yet.
Then the guard spoke again.
And this time his voice shook.
"It's worse than that."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
The guard swallowed.
"The police aren't alone."
A convoy of black vehicles appeared outside.
Long.
Armored.
Dangerous.
Cars Sophie had never seen before.
Dominic recognized them instantly.
And for the first time that night...
The color drained from his face.
"No."
"What is it?" Sophie asked.
Dominic stared through the rain.
"They shouldn't know about this."
The lead vehicle stopped.
Doors opened.
Men in black tactical gear emerged.
Not police.
Not DeLucas.
Something else.
Something far more dangerous.
One of Dominic's oldest guards whispered a name.
A name that made every man present go silent.
"The Consortium."
Dominic slowly closed his eyes.
Because if the Consortium had arrived...
The war was no longer about Chicago.
It was about something much bigger.
May you like
And everyone holding Matteo tonight had just become a target.
To be continued ....
