Chapter 21 - A Dark Threat Emerges From Shadows
Three weeks after the family was reunited under one roof in Lincoln Park, a heavy autumn fog rolled off Lake Michigan, blanketing the Chicago skyline.
Luca was working late in his home study, reviewing legal dissolution papers for the remaining Shaw family shell companies on his laptop screen.
A sudden, jarring power surge flickered the smart-home lighting system, plunging the expansive study into absolute, suffocating darkness.
Before Luca could reach for his desk phone, his secure mobile device chimed with an encrypted incoming alert message.
He tapped the screen to open the notification, finding an untraceable digital video file attached to a blank sender profile.
He pressed play, watching the grainy security camera footage load slowly on the backlit display of his phone.
The video showed the interior of his private corporate vault downtown, where his master family trust documents and backup drives were stored.
A tall, hooded figure wearing a silver signet ring stepped into the camera’s view, placing a small digital explosive device directly against the vault’s steel reinforced door.
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As the video ended, a single text message popped up on the screen, chilling Luca’s blood straight to the bone:
“You thought you won the empire back, Luca... but the real owners of Moretti Global are just getting started, and your new family is our next target.”
