Chapter 3 - The Trap is Sprung
Vanessa’s face went completely drain-of-color white.
She stared at the tea glass in my hand as if it were a coiled cobra ready to strike. Her chest heaved beneath her silk gown, her aristocratic posture crumbling in a matter of seconds.
"I... I don't like herbal tea, Mateo," she stuttered, stepping backward toward the open bedroom door. "You know that. It makes me nauseous."
"It makes you nauseous?" I chuckled—a dark, hollow sound that echoed off the high ceilings. "Or does it freeze your blood from the inside out until your organs fail?"
"You're crazy!" Vanessa shrieked, her voice losing all its refinement. "The illness is affecting your brain! Marcus! Antonio! Get up here!"
Footsteps rushed down the hallway.
Marcus and Antonio, the two tactical guards, burst into the room with their handguns drawn!
"Boss!" Marcus yelled, pointing his weapon at my chest. "Step away from Ms. Vale!"
I didn't flinch. I stood there in my pajama trousers and thin shirt, holding the poisoned tea glass, looking at the two traitors who had been bought with my own money.
"How much did she pay you, Marcus?" I asked calmly, stepping forward. "A million? Two? To watch your Don wither away in his own bed like a coward?"
Marcus’s hand trembled on the grip of his pistol. He looked at Vanessa, panic clear in his eyes. "Ms. Vale... you said he couldn't walk! You said he was incapacitated!"
"Shoot him!" Vanessa screamed, her face contorting into a mask of pure, hideous greed. "Shoot him now! We can blame it on a home invasion! The Donati family will take the fall!"
Marcus raised his weapon, his finger tightening on the trigger—
CRASH!
The floor-to-ceiling glass window behind my bed shattered inward in an explosion of sparkling rain and crystal shards!
A smoke grenade bounced across the hardwood floor, instantly spewing thick, white tear gas throughout the bedroom!
"GRENADE!" Antonio yelled, coughing violently as the gas filled his lungs.
Before Marcus could fire, a shadow dropped from the balcony ceiling like a panther.
It was Leo—my oldest, most loyal Underboss, the man who had run the South Side docks for me before Vanessa had systematically isolated me from my inner circle over the last three months.
Leo struck Marcus across the face with the heavy steel butt of a shotgun, sending the traitor crashing unconscious onto the marble floor!
Two more loyal Moretti soldiers kicked through the shattered terrace doors, their silenced submachine guns raised, sweeping the room with military precision. Within five seconds, Antonio was disarmed and pinned against the wall, his arms twisted behind his back in iron cuffs.
Vanessa screamed, trying to bolt for the hallway door, but Leo stepped smoothly into her path, crossing his heavy arms over his broad chest.
"Going somewhere, Ms. Vale?" Leo growled, his deep voice rumble of thunder.
I walked through the swirling white smoke, completely unaffected by the tear gas, stopping right in front of Vanessa. I set the tea glass down on a nearby side table with a quiet clink.
Vanessa collapsed onto her knees on the rug, sobbing hysterically, reaching out to clutch the hem of my trousers. "Mateo! Please! It was my father! He forced me! The Donati syndicate threatened to kill my family if I didn't eliminate you! Please, Mateo, I love you!"
I looked down at her with absolute, unyielding coldness.
"You didn't poison me because you were threatened, Vanessa," I said softly, crouching down to grab her jaw in a firm, iron grip, forcing her to look into my eyes. "You poisoned me because you thought I was weak. You thought a four-hundred-year-old mafia family could be stolen by a snake in a silk dress."
I released her jaw, standing up, looking at Leo.
"Lock her in the basement holding cell under the river warehouse," I commanded. "Nobody touches her until I find her father. I want every bank account, every property, and every offshore account tied to the Vale family seized by sunrise."
"Consider it done, Don Moretti," Leo replied, grabbing Vanessa by the arm and dragging her out of the room as she shrieked and begged for mercy.
I turned around, leaning heavily against the mahogany desk as the adrenaline in my body began to fade. The cold sensation began creeping back into my fingers, my knees buckling beneath my weight.
Leo stepped up, catching me under my shoulder before I could hit the floor.
"I got you, Boss," Leo said softly. "Dr. Harris is waiting downstairs in your study. He brought the proper antidote. We intercepted his message two hours ago when he slipped a note to one of my men at the perimeter gate."
"Dr. Harris?" I asked, breathing heavily.
"He was being threatened by Vanessa's guards, Boss," Leo explained. "He knew you were being poisoned with liquid Polonium and Thallium compounds. He’s been working on a neutralizing agent for two weeks in secret."
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I nodded slowly, holding onto Leo’s broad shoulder. "Where is Elena? And the girl?"
"They're safe in your study, Mateo," Leo smiled warmly, using my given name. "And Boss... you need to see the blood test results Dr. Harris brought for the kid."
