Chapter 5 - The Reckoning in the Dark
A flashbang grenade dropped through the ceiling hatch, detonating in a blinding, deafening explosion of white light.
The Moretti thugs screamed, clutching their eyes and ears as the elevator was plunged into pitch-black darkness.
Through the smoke, a shadow dropped from the ceiling.
Luca Bellandi moved like a specter of absolute vengeance. Even in the dark, his movements were precise, lethal, and brutally efficient. Grace heard the dull thuds of flesh striking flesh, the metallic clatter of weapons hitting the floor, and the agonizing groans of the intruders as they were systematically dismantled.
Within thirty seconds, the emergency red lights flickered back on.
The three Moretti men were on the floor, disarmed, bloody, and securely bound in tactical zip-ties by Matteo and two other Bellandi security operators who had dropped down behind Luca.
Luca stood in the center of the cramped elevator, his chest rising and falling in deep, controlled breaths. His custom-made charcoal suit was torn at the shoulder, and his knuckles were split and bleeding, but his eyes were focused entirely on Grace.
He stepped over the groaning thugs, reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. "Are you hurt? Did they touch you?"
"I'm fine," Grace whispered, her voice finally cracking as the adrenaline began to fade. She looked at his bleeding hand. "You're hurt."
"This is nothing," Luca growled, pulling her into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around her so tightly she could feel the rapid, furious beating of his heart. "Matteo told me they breached the executive floor. I thought... I thought I was too late."
"I remembered what you said," she murmured against his shoulder. "I watched the details. I looked for the weak spot."
Luca pulled back slightly, his hands cupping her face, his dark eyes shimmering with a fierce, possessive intensity. "You did brilliantly, Grace. But this ends tonight. The Morettis have forgotten who rules this city. It’s time to remind them."
He turned to Matteo, his voice turning to ice. "Clean this up. And tell the Moretti boss that I am coming for his docks. Personally."
May you like
"Yes, Don Bellandi," Matteo replied with a grim, respectful nod.
Luca guided Grace out of the stalled elevator through the emergency bypass doors, his hand securely wrapped around hers. As they walked back into the quiet bullpen of the 37th floor, the storm outside the glass windows began to clear, revealing the twinkling lights of the Boston harbor below.
