Chapter 19 - Shadows of Retaliation
The calm lasted for exactly forty-eight hours.
In the criminal underworld, a wounded animal is always most dangerous right before it dies. Donato Moretti, stripped of his fortune, his safehouses, and his enforcers, realized he had nothing left to lose. Driven mad by humiliation and rage, he decided to bypass the rules of the syndicate entirely and strike at the very heart of the Rossi family's emotional foundation: Gabriel and Tessa.
It was Thursday evening, exactly eight o'clock. Ilvento was operating at peak capacity, the dining room humming with the low, elegant murmur of wealthy patrons enjoying their sea bass and Wagyu steak. Tessa stood behind the POS station, her mind at ease for the first time in weeks, believing the war was finally over.
Then the front doors burst open.
It wasn't a squad of armed mercenaries this time. It was a single man walking with a slow, erratic limp, wearing an oversized trench coat that bulged awkwardly around his midsection. It was Donato Moretti himself.
His face was gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and unhinged, wild with the desperate frenzy of a cornered beast. Before the hostesses could even react, Donato reached beneath his coat and pulled out a heavy, double-barreled shotgun, slamming the cold steel barrel upward toward the ceiling with a deafening blast that shattered the crystal chandelier.
Panic erupted instantly. Screams echoed off the marble walls. Wealthy patrons dove beneath tables, scrambling in blind terror. The waitstaff scattered toward the kitchen exits, knocking over chairs and glasses in a stampede of sheer survival instinct.
Tessa froze for a fraction of a second, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked across the dining room. Booth four was empty. Gabriel hadn't arrived yet; his car was still ten minutes away in traffic.
May you like
Donato scanned the chaotic dining room, his manic eyes finally landing squarely on Tessa standing behind the service station. A twisted, sadistic grin stretched across his pale face.
"You're the little bitch who ruined everything!" Donato shrieked, his voice cracking with unhinged fury. He leveled the twin barrels of the shotgun straight at her chest, marching forward through the shattered glass and overturned chairs. "You took everything from me! Now I'm going to turn you into dust before Rossi even gets through the door!"
