2025-03-31 01:41:11The rain fell visibly heavy in Sanchez’s estate; Emilio Capello’s heart is in turmoil just like the brewing storm outside. Sanchez’s study was dimly lit by a single desk lamp as he sat in a black leather chair. Sanchez, the most dreaded drug lord of Central Genoa, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. His blue sparkling eyes were glued on Capello, who sat like a man about to be hanged.
“Emilio, you look like shit,” Sanchez said in amusement. Capello restrained his fingers from clutching a fist. The last few months have seen him drown in financial ruin; his thriving car import business is left with no trail. His last hope, the shipment from Miami to Italy, had sunk; he is now left with unpaid debts. Hospital bills pile up as his wife, who is undergoing treatment, is still in a state of coma. Sanchez had extended his hand once, under the guise of friendship, and lent a loan to him. The time is due for the debt to be paid, and Capello is empty-handed as he has no hope of paying. Capello replied, trying to choose his words carefully, “I will need more time.” Setting the glass of whiskey on the table Sanchez sneered, I've given you enough time already, my pal. It's been months now, and I haven’t gotten anything from you. You came running to me for help, and I helped out. Time is up to settle your debt.” Capello’s throat tightened as he swallowed hard. He was left no other option than this, as he had awaited this day. “I have something to offer that will be more valuable than money,” Capello finally spoke. Sanchez's eyes opened wide with a cunning smile. A long, still silent birth between them. Capello hears his own heartbeat throbbing fast. His voice sounded like a whisper as he barely spoke. “My baby girl” Sanchez with a stern look. “Elena?” Trying to avoid his gaze, Capello nodded. “I know she is just three years old, but she will grow to be a beautiful young lady worthy of being a wife to your son.” He swallowed hard. “I betrothed her to Alejandro, your son, and when she is of age, they can be married, thereby bonding our family ties together.” With his elbows on the desk, Sanchez leaned forward. The weight of the room became too heavy as the air became suffocating. “You are willing to give your daughter away to settle your debt?” Sanchez asked, trying to fathom Capello's desperation. ” Capello responded with a nod, “That's the only available choice I have.” Sanchez’s lips tugged with a smirk. “I am thrilled, Emilio. I saw you as a proud fellow who can never make such a move. But desperate times call for desperate measures from a man who is desperate. Capello maintains his silence. Sanchez overhears some noise coming from outside; he stands up and goes to the large window where he can oversee his estate. He saw his two sons playing, Alejandro and Dino. His biological heir, Alejandro, was already showing signs of his cruel nature. The bastard son Dino, the son of his wife and his dead bodyguard, was always watching and a lot quieter. Sanchez mused, “It's a fantastic offer, I must say, Amico.”. He turns around to look at Capello. “Do you guarantee her respect and love for my son?” Capello nods in affirmation. “She will do even more.” Sanchez chuckles and walks back to his desk. “Splendid.” He drew out a drawer, pulling out a prepared contract as if he knew Capello would offer something desperate. “If you sign this, the betrothal will be sealed.” Capello hesitated, knowing fully well the ink of that paper would seal the fate of his innocent child to an unknown future. Sanchez’s smirk fading. “Emilio, you came to me with this offer; you can’t back out now.”. Capello, with a shaky hand and blurred vision, signed the document with teary eyes. With satisfaction, Sanchez picked and examined the document. “You have made the wise choice, Emilio; you can go home.” Points to the door. “You are free because the debt is paid. Elena is part of my family now; remember that.” Capello was struggling to leave as his legs became weak and shaky. Sanchez, with his tone in amusement, said, “One more thing.” Capello turned back with his hand still on the doorknob. “When she grows up, make sure she knows her place and is of good behavior.”. Capello with a stiff nod bows before walking out of the study, with his decision weighing heavily on him and crushing his every step. --- At Night Capello, with a half-empty glass of whiskey, sits in his study. The distant hum of hospital machines occupied the silence in the house while his wife's lifeline was hanging in the next room. The silence was broken with a soft giggling. He saw Elena, standing at the door, clutching a big teddy bear. Seeing his three-year-old daughter with her innocent eyes stepping closer to him with her eyes locked on him. Crawling onto his lap, she whispers, “Papa.” He wrapped his arms around her small frame, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. He buried his face in her soft hair, inhaling the scent of lavender as he was caught in her innocence. She has no idea that her fate has just been sealed. With teary eyes and guilt in his voice, he whispers to her ears, “Papa loves you.” “Love you too, Papà.” Elena giggles, holding firm to her teddy bear and relaxing more in her father's embrace. He shuts his eyes. He had saved his business and his wife, but at what cost? he asks himself. A single tear rolled down his cheek as Elena slept on his chest. The deed has been done; the die is cast; no going back.
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Chapter 140
The rain had slowed by dawn, but the chill lingered. The warehouse in Milan was quieter now, but inside its steel walls, the tension had never been louder.Riva lay on a medical cot, her breathing shallow but stable. A white bandage wrapped tightly around her thigh, stained with faint pink. Tomiwa stood guard at the door, rifle slung casually over his shoulder, eyes alert for any sign of The Crows.Dino stood by the window, staring out at the grey morning light. His fists clenched as he replayed Riva’s warning over and over again in his mind. The Crows.Paula approached silently. "She’ll recover. She said they tracked her from Zurich. They're ghosts. She barely got out."Dino nodded. "Sanchez planned this in layers. Mirador, Navaro... and now a third unit completely off-grid. This wasn’t just legacy preservation. He wanted scorched earth if he ever went down."Paula looked over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. "Alejandro’s been... distant. Since yesterday. He hasn’t said a word t
Chapter 139
The warehouse in Milan reeked of oil, gunmetal, and burnt rubber. Rain drummed against the corrugated roof in a steady rhythm, each drop a drumbeat to the gathering storm.Dino paced in the shadows, his jaw tight, the weight of their victories doing little to ease the tension clawing at his nerves. Zurich had been a win—but it was only a scratch on the surface. Mirador was in custody, but his silence thus far was a louder scream than any confession.Sergio stood by the makeshift monitor wall, watching a live feed from the G-8 security compound where Mirador was being held. “Still nothing. Not a damn word.”“He knows his fate,” Paula muttered, crossing her arms. “If he speaks, he dies by the hands of Sanchez’s loyalists. If he stays quiet, he’ll rot.”Tomiwa walked in then, soaked to the bone but with fire in his eyes. “Intercepted chatter. A coded message was left outside the Zurich site. It’s from Sanchez. He’s trying to reach someone.”Dino’s gaze snapped to him. “Who?”Tomiwa tosse
Chapter 138
The storm hit Genoa that night. Rain lashed at the windows of Dino’s high-rise office, now serving as the nerve center of their alliance. Lightning split the sky in violent forks, illuminating the tension that never truly left the room.Dino stood before the massive glass pane, the city below flickering with half-dimmed lights and panic. News of the vault explosions had sent shockwaves across Europe, and while the world tried to make sense of the attacks, Dino was several steps ahead. He had to be. Especially now that Sanchez was no longer a shadowy cartel figure pulling strings—he was caged. But dangerous still."He won’t stay quiet," Tomiwa muttered, tossing a newly intercepted message on the table. It was written in code, but the threat was loud and clear. Capello and Elena. They were targets.Sergio, seated at the corner of the room with a pistol on the table before him, let out a low whistle. "Man’s in prison, and he's still swinging blades. This guy is relentless.""And smart,"
Chapter 137
The soft hum of fluorescent lights buzzed in the concrete bowels of the high-security prison outside Palermo. Inside a heavily guarded wing, Sanchez sat behind reinforced glass, his face older but no less venomous. His once-expensive suit was replaced with an orange jumpsuit, but his eyes burned with undiminished rage.Two guards flanked the security post while a prison psychologist observed him from the other side of the partition. He barely blinked."I want to send a message," Sanchez said coolly.The psychologist raised an eyebrow. "This isn’t a press room."Sanchez leaned forward, revealing a stitched scar on his temple, a reminder of his violent capture. "Then write this down. Tell Capello... and Elena. The walls of this cage won't last forever. And when I get out, I’ll bury them both."The guards stepped in, but Sanchez didn’t resist. As they dragged him back into his cell, he laughed—low and venomous."Time doesn’t heal debts. It just fattens them."---Milan – Rooftop Safehous
Chapter 136
The dawn was bleak over Milan, casting long shadows across the shattered skyline. The fallout from the strikes against Mirador had left a void — and in that silence, new threats were already clawing to the surface.Dino stood in the armory, his fingers brushing over the cold steel of a modified pistol. The vault explosions, the fall of Vexler, and the disruption of Mirador’s European backbone — it was everything they had fought for. But there was no triumph in his eyes. Not yet.Sergio approached, his face smeared with soot and cuts. “The final reports are in. Vexler’s entire chain collapsed. Offshore accounts frozen, the Lisbon office burnt out, and the rest — scattered. We should be celebrating.”Dino looked up slowly. “We took out the snake’s head. But the body is still thrashing.”Alejandro strode into the room, black gloves in one hand, the other holding a blood-stained dossier. He hadn’t said much since the strike in Madrid. Something had changed. The Alejandro who had stood bes
Chapter 135
The Swiss Alps stood like eternal sentinels under a gray sky, their peaks sheathed in white silence. Somewhere beneath them, the Genesis facility awaited.Sergio tightened his gloves and adjusted the scope on his rifle. He crouched behind a snow-covered ridge, eyes fixed on the distant structure nestled into the mountain face. The facility wasn’t marked on any map. No lights. No footprints. Just shadows.Beside him, Tomiwa checked the schematics again. “Thermal says two heat signatures inside. Small security. This is more a tomb than a lab.”Sergio nodded. “Still. Whatever Vexler left behind, it was worth hiding this deep.”Tomiwa shifted his gaze toward the other ridge, where Alejandro stood alone, silent, staring down at the complex below. The wind howled around him, but he didn’t flinch. He looked like a ghost—or worse, a man reborn.“He’s different,” Tomiwa muttered.Sergio glanced up. “Back to his old self.”“More like... what he was trying not to be.”---Back at the temporary b
