Mafia Prosecutor De Luca Blood Oath

Chapter 13: Secret Codes

Matteo De Luca returned to Il Silenzioso with the scent of gasoline and smoke still clinging to his clothes. He parked his black Ducati in the rear warehouse, killing the engine with a long hiss that broke the silence of the early morning. The fire at the Prato textile factory was now just a memory, but the heat of it still burned in his mind.

He stepped into the basement. Nico Santoro was sitting in an old chair, sharpening his dagger with slow, methodical movements. The scent of gun oil mingled with the smell of old books. Vincenzo Moretti, on the other hand, looked tense in front of his laptop, his fingers dancing across the keyboard as he analyzed the data he had recovered from Beppe's flash drive.

Nico looked up, his eyes meeting Matteo’s as he removed his balaclava, revealing half of his face, which looked even more menacing in the dim light.

"You succeeded, Maestro. Ivan is no longer a problem." There was a hint of satisfaction in Nico's voice, but also a sharp sense of observation. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Matteo did not answer immediately. He tossed Ivan’s encrypted phone onto the table. The impact of the hard object made Vincenzo jump.

"He said Elias wants my father’s old inheritance. Not cash, but the vault in a Swiss bank. The codes. He called it 'Lorenzo's future'."

Vincenzo snatched Ivan's phone. With trembling hands, he began to work, hacking through the layers of encryption Ivan had installed. Meanwhile, Matteo stared at the small flame dancing on the gold lighter that had belonged to Elias, which he was now holding. He saw the reflection of his face in the polished metal, a face that was once full of idealism now turned into a mask of hatred. He had met fire with fire. Yet, deep inside, he felt empty.

"Have I become like him?" Matteo whispered, his voice hoarse, not to anyone in particular.

Nico stopped sharpening his blade. He looked at Matteo. "Everyone chooses their own path, Maestro. What matters is not what you do, but why you do it. Are you doing this for justice, or just to satisfy your bloodlust?"

"I am doing this for a justice that the law cannot reach," Matteo replied, his voice firm.

"A justice you shape in your own way," Nico nodded. "That is enough for me. Now, let’s see what we can learn from the viper’s fangs you just pulled out."

Vincenzo shouted, "I’m in! Ivan’s phone database is open!"

The laptop screen cast a blue glow. Displayed there were Ivan’s communication logs, a contact list, and most importantly, several photos and videos of targets he had been tracking. One of the videos showed Elias Volkov talking to a man Matteo recognized—Senator Alessandro Ricci, the most influential politician in the capital.

"Ricci?" Matteo muttered, his eyes narrowing. "He was in my father’s ledger, but he only ever took small bribes. Why is Elias meeting him in person?"

Vincenzo scrolled further through the data. "Ah, here it is. An internal memo. Elias Volkov is preparing Ricci for a run at becoming the Mayor of Milan. And for that, he is going to cleanse Ricci’s tracks of all old scandals. Including those connected to the De Luca Clan."

"Elias is going to use Ricci as his puppet to control Milan completely," Matteo clenched his fists. "He doesn't just want to take my father’s inheritance, he wants the throne my father once held."

Suddenly, Vincenzo pointed to a hidden file. "Sir, this is an encryption code. It looks like Ivan was using it to communicate directly with Elias. There might be a note about the Swiss vault here."

Matteo leaned over the laptop, his sharp mind working hard to analyze every line of code. He recalled the encryption techniques Volkov usually employed. After a few tense minutes, a short message appeared on the screen.

To Ivan: Ensure all of Ricci’s documents are clean before the campaign launch. And about the Lorenzo vault: you must find the code. Remember, there are only two copies. One with me, and the other... you know where. Find the 'key' first. This is our throne.

"Two copies," Nico murmured. "Elias has one, and the other... what is he referring to?"

Matteo looked at Nico. "My father never fully trusted banks. He always kept a 'key' backup in an unexpected place. A place he would only use if he felt threatened."

Matteo recalled his previous conversation with Vincenzo, the assets Volkov had missed. The warehouse in Genoa, the vineyards in Tuscany, and... the old bookstore in Florence.

The key...

"Florence," Matteo whispered. "The key is here, right under our noses."

Deep inside his luxurious mansion, Elias Volkov threw his phone against the wall, letting the expensive device shatter into pieces. News of the textile warehouse fire in Prato had reached him. And along with it, the report about the discovery of Ivan's charred and unrecognizable corpse amidst the ruins.

"IVAN IS DEAD?!" Elias roared, his voice echoing throughout his vast study.

Viktor, the consigliere, trembled in the corner of the room. "Yes, sir. The firefighters identified him by his distinct snake tattoo. They reported that the warehouse was doused in gasoline, exactly like prosecutor De Luca's apartment."

Elias stared out the window, his eyes flashing with cold rage. "Matteo De Luca. You dare play with my fire? You dare kill my loyal dog?" A thin, but horrific, smile appeared on his lips. "Good. I love a challenge. But you have made a big mistake, Maestro. You have killed my fangs, and now I will pull your teeth out by the roots."

Elias pulled out a new phone. "Call every unit leader. I want Florence surrounded. I want every street checked. I want everyone who has ties to the De Luca Clan dragged out of their hiding holes. I want his head. Dead or alive. Bring Senator Ricci here, too. I want to discuss the 'future' of Milan with him."

At Il Silenzioso, Matteo, Nico, and Vincenzo were busy searching through the old bookshelves. The search for the "key" Ivan mentioned turned out not to be as simple as they had expected. Lorenzo De Luca was a master at hiding things in the most unexpected places.

"Your father always liked things that smelled of the classics, Maestro," Nico murmured while moving aside a thick volume. "He said the most valuable things are usually hidden behind the most innocent faces."

Matteo glanced at the old photo of Lorenzo De Luca hanging crookedly on the wall—the photo Isabella had shown Nico. In the photo, a young Lorenzo was holding a book. A classic Italian novel, Dante Alighieri's Inferno.

"Nico, that book," Matteo said, his eyes fixed on the photo. "My father always read the Inferno. Where is his old copy?"

Nico frowned. "He had many copies. But the oldest one, he always kept in his private library in Milan."

"No," Matteo replied. "He told me that there was one first-edition copy he always kept close, wherever he was." Matteo walked quickly to the classic bookshelves, his eyes scanning the rows of thick, dusty books. He had a hunch. "He wouldn't keep it in Milan if he wanted to keep it safe from Volkov. He would keep it here, in a place Elias would never suspect."

Finally, his fingers touched an old, cracked leather cover. A first edition of Inferno. He pulled it out. Nothing seemed strange. However, Matteo flipped through the pages, and in the middle of the book, a small, secret compartment was hidden behind sheets of paper that had been neatly glued together.

Inside, there was a small bronze key and a roll of old parchment tied with a red ribbon.

Matteo opened the scroll.

Inside, there was a series of coordinates, a digital passcode, and a name: Swiss National Bank – Vault No. 713.

"We found it," Vincenzo whispered, his breath catching.

Nico stepped closer, staring at the coordinates and the code. "This isn't just about money, Maestro. That Swiss vault isn't just for storing wealth. It’s where Lorenzo kept the evidence."

Matteo looked down at the bronze key in his hand, then shifted his gaze to Nico.

"What will Elias do once Ivan is dead?" Matteo asked. "He will track us down. He will know we found this."

Nico took out a cigar and lit it, the smoke curling slowly into the air. His icy blue eyes fixed on Matteo with a calculating stare.

"He will come, Maestro," Nico replied, his voice heavy and laced with menace. "But he won't come alone. And this time, he won't just want you dead." Nico drew deeply from his cigar, then exhaled slowly. "He will come to destroy you. Piece by piece. Exactly the way you did to Ivan."