Chapter 10 - Fortress Under Total Lockdown
Dante Moretti did not wait for Victoria to offer another pathetic lie; the time for human words had entirely expired.
He turned toward the banquet table one last time and slammed his open palm down with concussive, final authority.
The sound reverberated like a thunderclap off the golden columns, sending a clear, predetermined signal through the estate’s intercoms.
Dante turned toward the massive double entrance doors, his eyes blazing with an icy, imperial command.
“SECURITY!” Dante roared, his voice echoing through the vaulted ceiling. “LOCK THE DOORS! CALL THE COPS!”
The heavy mahogany doors flew open instantly as two towering figures marched into the grand foyer in synchronized precision.
Marco and Franco, the boss’s personal enforcers, stepped across the threshold, their broad frames clad in tailored black security suits.
Both men had their hands resting near their concealed sidearms, their communication earpieces glowing with active green signals.
Franco immediately grabbed the brass handles of the massive double doors, pulling them shut with a heavy, definitive boom.
The heavy brass deadbolts slid into place automatically, their mechanical clicks sealing the multimillion-dollar mansion from the outside world.
Marco stepped smoothly around the banquet table, his massive six-foot-four silhouette cutting off Victoria’s view of the exit entirely.
He reached into his inner pocket, not for a weapon, but for his tactical radio, speaking directly to the estate’s legal and tactical units.
“Lock down the main gates,” Marco ordered calmly into his lapel microphone. “Nobody leaves the perimeter. Alert the commissioner.”
Victoria gasped, scrambling desperately to her feet, her hands reaching out toward Dante as if begging for an impossible pardon.
“Dante, you can’t call the police! Think of your family name! Think of the press! We can settle this privately!” she shrieked.
Dante did not even look at her; he stepped protectively in front of his mother, placing a gentle, reassuring hand on her frail shoulder.
Elena Gomez slowly rose from the floor, wiping her tears with her apron, and moved instinctively to Sofia’s side.
The young maid gently took Donna Sofia’s braced right hand, cradling it with tender, loyal devotion that money could never purchase.
Sofia looked down at the young girl, offering a faint, grateful nod that silently promised Elena would be protected and rewarded for life.
Behind them, the massive eighty-five-inch surveillance monitor gave a soft digital chime as the automated recording advanced.
The screen flickered, switching from the entrance hall feed to a hidden camera positioned inside Victoria’s private dressing suite.
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On the screen, a man whose face was partially concealed in shadows was handing Victoria a small, dark glass vial labeled with a skull.
Dante’s eyes shifted to the screen, his gaze turning infinitely colder as he realized his treacherous fiancée had not been acting alone.
