This Means War

**Damiano**

“This is what we have found so far.” Ava rolled out a map on the table. Everyone had been gathered to the manor once Ava and Rafaelle had something useful for us to lay out a new plan.

“Based on the information given, they can’t be more than two hours away in fly time and we have narrowed it down to this.” She drew a circle around the area. I looked at the circle, frowning a little as it was still a large area and it would take us time to pin down exactly where they were hiding.

“But our theory is they have to be closer to this area.” She drew another circle within the circle, but this time it was smaller.

“Your reason?” I asked.

“The type of helicopter they’re using can’t fly more than five hours at a time, and since this is not a helicopter that can refuel midair, they have to go to the fuel station, which is two and a half hours away. But we don’t want to rule out the area completely.” Rafaelle explained.

“They could already have a truck ready to fill up.” Luca pointed out.

“It’s possible to have a truck ready to refuel, but I doubt Gaetano would take the chances of having one there because it’s one *large* truck. In case we manage to follow him and see the helicopter fly away and the truck being on its way, it will fuck up his hiding place.” Rafaelle finished. I listened to everything carefully and assessed every possibility.

We couldn’t afford to have our plans fail and I needed it to be bulletproof. Time was ticking and we had no idea if Althaia and Cara were okay. The thought of them being hurt triggered my anger even more, but I had to stay calm.

I was saving my wrath for Gaetano.

“How confident are you about it?” I needed them all to be entirely sure. I couldn’t risk them being wrong and wasting time on it, and we definitely couldn’t afford to underestimate Gaetano once again.

“It’s the only explanation, plus the radar system did show they flew around this area. Now, we just need to find where exactly. It will be easy enough since we have managed to narrow it down.”

“Good.” I nodded.

The discussions went on as we laid out a plan. While we could be prepared for the worst, Gaetano would still have the advantage as we still didn’t know where he was and he definitely had traps set up around the area. I had the manpower and weapons to take him down but the lack of information about the building was a great disadvantage for us as we couldn’t plan how to navigate around and find Althaia and Cara. He would be able to take us by surprise again if we weren’t careful.

“We will do our best to find it by satellite but it will take some time.”

“In the meantime, everyone, go get some rest and prepare yourselves.” Everyone stopped moving when the landline phone on my desk began to ring. I stared at it and let it ring a few times before hitting the speaker.

“Speak.”

“I see you made it alive. What a shame.” The tension in the room raised at the sound of Gaetano’s voice. My hands clenched into fists on the table at the sound of his laughter. I closed my eyes for a second, forcing my body to a Cold Zero. I couldn’t let my emotions control me and I needed my head to be clear. He had my wife at his mercy. The one person that truly mattered to me. The one who had brought meaning to my life.

I had to shove every single one of those thoughts away and deal with him the way I knew best.

Painting the city fucking red with his blood.

“Let’s cut the crap and name your demands.” I leaned on the desk, facing my men. They all listened intently, staring daggers at the phone.

“Watch your tone with me, boy. I am after all the one who can determine the fate of your wife.” Gaetano chuckled. A slight frown appeared on my face. He knew we got married.

“I don’t like wasting time, Gaetano.” My voice was cold and steady. I knew he was playing games, dragging out time to get a reaction out of me. I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes as before, and give him the pleasure of reacting to his bullshit. He knew what she meant to me, but I knew how to play games as well.

And I always fucking win.

“I guess we shouldn’t waste time. Time is precious after all.” He heaved a sigh before laughing.

“Hand over all of your weaponry and shipments.” Now, it was my turn to let out a dark chuckle.

“Quite a big demand, Gaetano.”

“In the trade of your wives.”

“Hmm, I see.” He went silent, not expecting my response. I let him sit in silence for a while before I decided to speak again.

“And how do I know they’re alive?” My voice was void of any emotion. Steady and calm.

“You will have to take my word for it.” I let out a laugh.

“They could be dead as we speak. My wife is of no value to me if she’s dead. I’m rejecting your demands.” I hung up the phone. I met Lorenzo’s gaze but he didn’t say anything. He trusted me and knew what I was doing.

“I will get your wife back.” I told him. A smirk formed on his lips when the phone rang again. I mirrored his expression and let it ring a few times.

“Gaetano.”

“You dare to hang up on me?!” He was furious. Just the reaction I wanted.

“Yes.” I retorted. Luca and Giovanni wanted to laugh. They knew it was Althaia’s personality talking. Gaetano was left stunned once again, not expecting this was how the call was going to be.

“You should be careful. Disrespect me again, and a bullet will find its way between her brows.” He hissed out.

“I don’t like repeating myself, Gaetano. If you want me to meet your demands, I need proof they’re still alive.”

“Fine. A picture will be sent to prove they’re still alive.”

“Not good enough. I need live footage.”

“No.”

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to meet your demands.” I hung up once again. I was going to make this bastard go crazy.

“Damiano…” My father called with a warning tone.

“He’s not going to kill them. He’s desperate.”

“He can still hurt them.”

“I know.” I crossed my arms and waited for him to call again. This was a risk I had to take, and he showed his desperation immediately when it didn’t go after his plan.

Ten minutes passed and he still hadn’t called back.

“Patience.” I told them all. I knew they were just as desperate to get their hands on him and make him pay. Especially now that he had their Donna. I wasn’t a patient man in the slightest, but in this very situation, I had to be. This was going to end once and for all, and I couldn’t be reckless.

More time passed by, and a few of my men paced the floor. I popped a few painkillers in my mouth to keep the pain minimal. I was annoyed about the fact I wasn’t in top form and was significantly slower than usual because of the pain.

Everyone stopped and their attention snapped to me the minute my cell phone rang. It was a video call.

“Connect it to the screen.” I tossed the phone to Rafaelle, and he immediately connected the phone to the large screen hanging on the wall in my office.

And there they were.

Gaetano was standing at a doorway, filming them as Althaia and Cara looked to be in a basement.

“You piece of shit!” Althaia screamed and threw a heel at Gaetano. He managed to close the door before it could hit it. The camera switched to him.

"Now, it’s your turn to deliver. You have 24 hours. I will be tracking you and send you the direction once you’re on the move. Come alone. If not, your Russian whore is going to be hanged.” The line went dead.

Whispering turned into loud discussion behind me as I continued to stare at the black screen. It was confirmed now.

He knew she wasn’t his daughter.

“Russian?! Did he say Russian?!” My father erupted furiously. I slowly turned around and faced them all. The only ones who weren’t surprised were my closest men who had been investigating this with me.

“He did.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked at them all.

“You’re saying we swore to protect a filthy Russian?!” One shouted out. My head snapped in his direction, a dark look taking over my face. The sound of a gun firing filled the room, and he dropped dead with a bullet in his head.

“That’s my brother’s wife you’re talking about.” Lorenzo sneered.

“Anyone else?” I cocked a brow at them, waiting to see who else dared to disrespect my wife. Their eyes flickered around between me and the gun in Lorenzo’s hand. Antonio, Luca, and Giovanni drew out their guns as well, challenging them to utter something disrespectful.

“Did you know about this?” My father’s gaze was cold as he looked at me.

“I had a hunch. I wasn’t completely sure and I wanted it to be confirmed before I broke the news. Gaetano managed to do us dirty before we could gather a DNA test.”

“Did you know before you married her?”

“I did.” I wasn’t fazed by his disappointed look.

“You have fooled us all.” I slowly walked up to my father, stopping until I was completely up in his face.

“I didn’t fool anyone.” I told him in a firm, low voice. I gave him one harsh look before I faced my men.

“I didn’t keep anyone in the dark. Althaia doesn’t even know about this. She believes her father is Gaetano. New information surfaced and we took time to investigate different possibilities. We found out her mother had an affair during her marriage to Gaetano.”

“Who’s the father?”

“It doesn't matter who the father is. What’s important here is, hasn’t she been treating you well? Has she ever been vile against you? Has she not shown kindness to you and how much she cares about you?” I asked them all as I looked at them. They shared a look and a few nodded.

“Althaia has no idea. She’s innocent. Don’t let her heritage cloud your judgment when she has been nothing but caring for you all. I am not going to force you to stay and fight. But you all know the consequences if you decide to leave. It’s blood in, blood out. Make your decision.”

One stepped out from the group and stopped in front of me. Enzo looked at me with a serious expression before placing his fist on his heart.

“I swore my loyalty to you. You helped me and my family back on our feet. I am yet to be honored to have a conversation with your wife, but she always had a bright smile and waved when she passed us. I am with you all the way. Viva Don Damiano e Donna Althaia.” I gave him a firm nod and faced the others. They followed Enzo’s lead and they all chanted at the same time.

“Father.” I glanced at him.

“Either fight with me or against me. Your choice.” My father heaved a sigh and slightly shook his head.

“What’s the plan, son?” The corner of my mouth tilted upwards.

“I will give him what he wants.” Time flew by as I explained to them what I had in mind and what I expected from them. Once everyone was confident with the plan, we started to move.

Just as I was about to slide into the car, I turned my attention to the gate. A car sped through the gate and crashed right into the fountain in the middle of the driveway. I held my hand up to signal my men to hold their fire as I walked toward it. I stopped when the car door opened and a body slumped out to the ground.

It was Michael.

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Sorry for the long wait! I litteraly just moved to a different country, but I'm back! :D

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