Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER FROM PALERMO
The crystal chandeliers hummed above the absolute silence of the ruined dining room.
Luca didn't loosen his grip on Dominic’s throat. He slowly turned his head toward the doorway.
“Enzo?” Luca whispered.
For the first time all night, the iron control of the mafia boss cracked. His older brother, the heir who was supposed to run the family, stood alive, breathing, and holding a shotgun.
Enzo lowered the barrel slightly, his dark eyes fixed on the man pinned to the table.
“Let him up, Luca,” Enzo said quietly. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Luca hesitated, his muscles coiled tight, but he finally released Dominic. The older man gasped for air, sliding off the table and collapsing onto the floor amidst the ruined engagement cake and broken glass.
The remaining wedding guests had already fled, terrified by the gunfire. The only people left were Dominic’s remaining guard, who stood paralyzed with fear, and the two brothers who had been separated by a fiery explosion five years ago.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Luca said, his voice thick with emotion.
“I was,” Enzo replied, stepping fully into the room. He walked with a heavy limp, his right leg stiff, a brutal reminder of the bomb that had nearly taken his life. “Until a certain nurse from St. Jude’s tracked me down in Sicily two weeks ago.”
Luca’s eyes widened. “Evelyn?”
Enzo nodded. “She didn't just hide the signet ring, little brother. She spent the last two decades quietly watching everyone connected to Dominic Silva. When she realized Vanessa and Dominic were draining the foundation to bankrupt the family, she found me.”
Dominic coughed violently on the floor, wiping blood from his lip.
“You’re both fools,” Dominic rasped, struggling to his knees. “If you kill me, the Commission will strip you of everything. The Moretti family is already weak without the Bellini merger. Without me to broker the peace, you’ll be slaughtered within a week.”
Enzo smiled, a dark, dangerous expression that reminded me why he was once the most feared enforcer in the city.
“We aren't going to kill you, Dominic,” Enzo said softly.
He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a thick, leather-bound ledger. He tossed it onto the table. It landed with a heavy thud right next to the champagne glass containing the signet ring.
Dominic stared at the ledger, his eyes going wide with pure panic.
“Where did you get that?” Dominic choked out.
“Evelyn kept excellent records,” Enzo said. “Every bribe you took. Every hit you ordered without the Commission’s approval. And every dollar you stole from the children’s charity.”
Enzo looked at Luca.
“He didn't just kill our mother, Luca. He orchestrated the car bomb in Palermo to eliminate me, and he set you up to marry a woman who would help him drain the rest of the accounts.”
Luca stared at Dominic, the sheer magnitude of the betrayal sinking in.
“Take him to the basement,” Luca ordered, his voice devoid of any warmth.
Two of Luca’s loyal men, who had rushed in after hearing the gunshot, grabbed Dominic by the arms and dragged the screaming, desperate man out of the room.
Luca turned to his brother. The two men stood facing each other amidst the wreckage of the engagement party.
Without a word, Luca stepped forward and pulled his older brother into a fierce embrace.
“I thought I lost you,” Luca whispered.
Enzo gripped his brother tightly. “I’m home, kid. I’m home.”
I watched from the hallway, tears stinging my eyes. I had been terrified of Luca for two years, but right now, he just looked like a man who finally had his family back.
Suddenly, my walkie-talkie buzzed at my hip.
It was the front gate security.
“Mr. Moretti? Sir, we have a problem.”
Luca pulled away from Enzo, his expression instantly hardening. He grabbed a radio from the table.
“What is it?”
“There are three black SUVs pulling up to the main gate. It’s the Bellini family, sir. Vanessa’s father is here.”
Enzo cursed under his breath, racking the shotgun again.
“He knows Vanessa was thrown out,” Enzo said. “He’s coming to force the marriage or start a war.”
Luca looked at the ruined dining room. Then he looked at me standing in the hallway.
“Maria,” Luca said urgently. “Are Evelyn and the girl safe in the guest house?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied quickly. “I locked the deadbolt.”
“Go back there,” Luca commanded. “Do not open that door for anyone but me or Enzo. Understand?”
I nodded, turning to run.
But before I could take a step, the radio buzzed again.
The voice wasn't the security guard.
It was a woman’s voice. Sharp. Cruel.
“Don't bother sending the maid, Luca.”
Luca froze.
It was Vanessa.
“I told you I was going to ruin you if you broke this engagement,” Vanessa’s voice echoed through the static.
Luca pressed the button on the radio. “Vanessa, if you touch one hair on their heads—”
“I’m not at the guest house, darling,” Vanessa laughed. “I’m standing in your kitchen. And I have something that belongs to the maid.”
My blood ran cold.
I didn't wait for Luca. I sprinted down the hallway, bursting through the swinging doors of the industrial kitchen.
Vanessa was standing near the stainless steel counters. She held a silver revolver in her hand.
But it wasn't pointed at me.
It was pointed at the head of a fifty-five-year-old woman in a faded hospital gown, sitting in a wheelchair.
My mother.
May you like
“How did you…” I gasped, my knees nearly giving out.
“I had my men pick her up from her care facility twenty minutes ago,” Vanessa smiled. “I figured if you were going to ruin my life by bringing those lunchboxes inside, I should probably ruin yours.”
