Chapter 5 - The War for the West Gate
The atmosphere inside the Valentino estate shifted instantly from quiet luxury to a high-alert military command center. Matteo’s face went entirely cold, his jaw tightening until the muscle clicked.
"Where is the extraction team?" Matteo demanded, walking over to a hidden security panel behind a row of leather books. A massive digital mapping display slid down from the ceiling, showing the real-time tracking points of his security fleet across Chicago.
"They’ve secured the mother and the kid, boss," the scarred driver—whose name was Antonio—reported quickly. "They’re in the third armored Suburban, currently moving north on the Dan Ryan Expressway. But Rossi’s crews have blocked the 18th Street exit. They’re trying to box them in before they hit the city center."
My heart stopped. The glass of bourbon slipped from my fingers, shattering against the stone hearth, the liquid sizzling into the flames.
"Lily," I choked out, rushing toward the digital screen. "Oh my god, no. Matteo, please. You promised me they’d be safe. Please don't let them hurt my baby."
Matteo didn't look at me, but his hand reached out, his long fingers catching my forearm with an iron, unshakeable grip that instantly halted my panic. "Antonio, deploy the secondary interceptor team from the South Loop terminal. Tell them to clear that exit using whatever force is necessary. If a single window on that Suburban is scratched, I’ll personally burn the Rossi docks to the waterline before sunrise."
"Copy that, boss," Antonio said, his fingers flying across his tablet as he sprinted out of the room.
Matteo turned to face me, his gray eyes blazing with a fierce, protective light that was entirely terrifying yet profoundly reassuring. He placed both hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look straight at him.
"Listen to me, Emma," he said, his voice a low, commanding rumble. "My family has controlled the south side of this city for ninety years because we do not lose the things we choose to protect. Your daughter is currently riding in a three-ton mobile fortress with four of the best marksmen in the country. She is safer in that vehicle than she was in your apartment. I need you to stay here, in this room, and let me do my work."
"I can't just sit here while people are shooting at my family!" I cried out, tears finally streaming down my face.
"You can, and you will," Matteo said, his grip on my shoulders tightening slightly. "Because out there, you are a liability. In here, you are the reason I am about to eliminate the Rossi family from the Chicago map."
He pulled a small, silver-plated revolver from his inner jacket pocket and placed it gently on the leather armchair beside me. "If anyone other than me or Antonio opens that door, you use this. Aim for the center of the chest. Do you understand me?"
May you like
I looked at the cold silver weapon, then back at his face. I nodded slowly, my throat too tight to speak.
Matteo turned and stroked his long black coat off the chair, sliding into it with a fluid, lethal grace. He walked out of the library, the heavy oak doors closing behind him with a definitive, echoing bang that sounded like the start of a war.
