Chapter 517: Darkness
Chapter 517: Darkness
Chapter 517: Darkness
Dante folded Clara’s address and slipped it into his pocket.
Men were spreading through the trees, careful and quiet. They were surrounding the property.
Marco checked the magazine in his pistol.
“There are at least six.”
“More,” Dante said.
Isabella stood beside him. “How do you know?”
“Because Adrian never sends six men when twelve can do the job.”
Marco gave him a look of approval.
Dante moved toward the rear hallway.
“There’s another exit.”
Marco frowned. “Where?”
“Kitchen.”
They crossed the dark house. Dante remembered his father teaching him how to move through rooms without making noise. Back then, he had thought it was another strange lesson from a distant father.
Now it felt like a warning sent twenty years too late.
Dante opened the kitchen door.
A bullet struck the frame.
Everyone ducked.
“They’re already inside the yard,” Isabella whispered.
Dante looked through the window.
Three men were moving toward the back door.
He turned to Isabella.
“When I open this door, stay behind me.”
She shook her head.
“You know I hate when you say that.”
“I know.”
“Then stop saying it.”
He laughed.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Dante kicked the door open and fired twice.
One man dropped behind a tree.
Marco fired from the hallway.
Isabella grabbed a heavy metal pan from the counter and struck another man who tried forcing his way through the side window.
The man collapsed.
Dante stared at her.
“Did you just hit him with a pan?”
“He was coming inside.”
“That wasn't an answer.”
“It was the correct answer.”
Marco pulled the door shut.
“Argue later.”
They ran through the kitchen and into the cellar.
Dante found an old wooden trapdoor beneath a rug.
He opened it.
A narrow tunnel descended beneath the house.
Isabella stared down.
“Another tunnel?”
Dante sighed.
“I know.”
“This family really needs therapy.”
Marco actually laughed.
They descended.
The tunnel was cramped and damp, forcing them to move single file. Dante went first, Isabella behind him, and Marco followed.
After several minutes, Dante stopped.
“What?”
He pointed ahead.
A light appeared beneath another door.
They pushed it open and emerged inside an abandoned garage.
“No cars.”
Marco pointed toward a motorcycle beneath a tarp.
Dante pulled it free.
“One bike.”
Isabella looked at him.
“We're not all fitting on that.”
Marco shook his head.
“You two go.”
Dante immediately refused.
“No.”
“I'll find another way.”
“You're coming.”
Marco looked toward the tunnel.
“If Adrian wants me, he'll follow me. That gives you time.”
Dante stepped closer.
“You killed my father because he asked you to. I'm not leaving you behind now.”
Marco's eyes hardened.
“Then don't make his sacrifice meaningless.”
Marco lowered his weapon.
“You have the folder. You have the address. Find Clara.”
Dante stared at him.
“You're asking me to trust you.”
“No. I'm asking you to trust your father.”
Then Isabella touched Dante's shoulder.
“He's right.”
Dante looked at her.
“You agree?”
“I agree that we need Clara before Adrian finds her.”
Dante reluctantly nodded.
Marco handed him the motorcycle keys.
“Blackwater Pier. Warehouse fourteen.”
Dante looked at the address Clara had given him.
It was different.
“Why two locations?”
Marco shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then stay alive until I figure it out.”
Marco smiled faintly.
“That's an order?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds like your father.”
Dante mounted the motorcycle.
Isabella climbed behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hold on.”
“I am.”
The motorcycle roared into the night.
They disappeared through the back streets before Adrian's men could reach the garage.
For several minutes, Isabella said nothing.
Then she leaned closer.
“You're angry.”
“At everything.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Your father?”
“No.”
“Marco?”
Dante thought about it.
“No.”
“Clara?”
He tightened his grip on the handlebars.
“I don't know.”
The city blurred around them.
Isabella rested her cheek against his back.
“You don't have to figure it out tonight.”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone else has been deciding things for me my entire life.”
He slowed near an intersection.
“This time, I decide.”
Isabella smiled against his shoulder.
“Then decide what you want.”
Dante glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
“You.”
Her arms tightened around him.
“Good answer.”
They reached Blackwater Pier forty minutes later.
The waterfront was deserted.
Warehouse fourteen stood at the end of the pier, its windows dark.
Dante parked behind a stack of shipping containers.
They entered through a side door.
Inside, the warehouse smelled of salt, oil, and old wood.
“Clara?” Dante called.
No answer.
Isabella stayed close.
Dante raised his weapon.
They moved between rows of crates.
A light flickered above them.
Then a woman's voice came from the darkness.
“Dante.”
He stopped.
Clara stepped into view.
Older than he remembered.
Her hair was streaked with gray, and exhaustion had carved lines around her eyes.
But it was her.
Dante lowered his weapon.
“You're alive.”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“You shouldn't have come.”
“You told me to.”
“I didn't think you'd bring Isabella.”
“She stays with me.”
Clara looked at Isabella.
Then she nodded.
“I understand.”
Dante stepped closer.
“You knew my father asked Marco to kill him.”
Clara's face changed.
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother betrayed him.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Adrian was after me.”
“Yes.”
Dante's voice cracked.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because every person who knew the truth became a target.”
“And now?”
“Now you're the target.”
Dante stared at her.
Clara reached into her coat.
Isabella raised her weapon.
Clara stopped.
“I'm not here to hurt you.”
She pulled out a small envelope.
“This belonged to your mother.”
Dante took it.
“What is it?”
“The last thing she left before she disappeared.”
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph of his mother with Adrian.
On the back were four words.
I know what you did.
Dante looked at Clara.
“What did she know?”
Clara's eyes filled with fear.
“She discovered Adrian had ordered the death of someone he believed was protecting you.”
“Who?”
Clara looked toward Isabella.
Then back at Dante.
“Someone you never knew existed.”
Before Dante could respond, the warehouse lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot exploded.
Clara screamed.
Dante grabbed Isabella and pulled her behind a crate.
“Stay down!”
More shots tore through the warehouse.
Marco's voice echoed from the entrance.
“Dante!”
Dante looked toward the sound.
Marco stood in the doorway, bleeding but alive.
“You came back.”
“I told you I would.”
Clara stared at him.
“You were supposed to stay away.”
Marco raised his gun.
“So was everyone.”
A figure appeared on the upper catwalk.
Adrian Vale.
He looked down at Dante and smiled.
“Finally.”
Dante raised his weapon.
Adrian spread his arms.
“You wanted the truth.”
Dante's expression hardened.
“Give it to me.”
Adrian laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
He pointed toward Isabella.
“She was never outside this war.”
Dante's body went rigid.
Adrian smiled wider.
“She was part of it before she ever met you.”
Isabella's face went pale.
Dante looked at her.
For the first time, uncertainty entered his eyes.
Adrian disappeared into the darkness.
And Dante realized the next secret might destroy the one person he had finally learned to trust.