Chapter 529: The Blackwater Heir
Chapter 529: The Blackwater Heir
Chapter 529: The Blackwater Heir
The old estate waited beneath a moonless sky.
Dante killed the headlights two blocks away.
The black sedan rolled silently along the narrow street before stopping behind a row of abandoned warehouses. Rain tapped against the windshield.
Isabella stared through the glass.
“That is the Moretti estate?”
Dante nodded.
“It belonged to my grandfather.”
“Salvatore said my father was here.”
“He also said Antonio is alive.”
“And you believe him?”
“No.”
She turned toward him.
“Then why are we here?”
“Because liars usually hide the truth inside the lie.”
Isabella studied his face.
“You're scared.”
Dante almost smiled.
“I am.”
She hadn't expected that answer.
“Of Salvatore?”
“Of what we might find.”
Isabella reached across the seat and took his hand.
“Then we find it together.”
His fingers closed around hers.
“That is exactly what worries me.”
“Why?”
“Because if this goes wrong, I can't lose you.”
She held his gaze.
“You're not getting rid of me.”
They left the car and moved through the rain.
Dante carried his pistol beneath his coat. Isabella had one too, tucked into the waistband of her jeans.
They reached the estate's rear gate.
The lock had been cut.
Dante stopped.
“Someone has been here.”
“Salvatore?”
“Maybe.”
He pushed the gate open.
The grounds were overgrown, but the mansion itself looked untouched.
That bothered him more.
They approached the back entrance.
Dante checked the handle.
Unlocked.
Inside, the house smelled of dust, old wood, and something metallic.
Blood.
Isabella felt her stomach tighten.
“Dante.”
“I smell it.”
They entered the kitchen.
A trail of blood crossed the floor and disappeared beneath a doorway.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
They followed the trail.
It ended in the dining room.
A dead man sat slumped against the wall.
He wore a black suit.
Dante crouched beside him.
“Moretti security.”
“Was he killed recently?”
Dante touched the man's neck.
“Within hours.”
Isabella looked around.
“Who killed him?”
Dante stood.
“Someone who knew the house.”
They both froze.
Dante pulled Isabella behind him.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
He started toward the staircase.
Halfway up, a gunshot cracked from the second floor.
Dante shoved Isabella against the wall.
Another shot struck the railing.
“Run!”
They rushed into the nearest bedroom.
Dante slammed the door and locked it.
Bullets punched through the wood.
“There's a window,” Isabella whispered.
Dante looked outside.
“Three floors.”
“I can climb.”
“No.”
“You have a better idea?”
He crossed the room and pulled open a wardrobe.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Isabella stared.
“Secret tunnel?”
“Moretti families have always loved secrets.”
They slipped inside.
The passage descended beneath the mansion.
At the bottom stood a steel door.
Dante tried the handle.
Locked.
Isabella noticed a keypad.
“Six digits.”
Dante examined it.
“Maybe a birthday.”
He looked at her.
“Yours.”
She frowned.
“Why mine?”
“Because Salvatore brought us here.”
Dante entered Isabella's birthday.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a hidden office.
Files covered the walls.
Bank records.
Property deeds.
Photographs.
Names.
Isabella stepped toward the desk.
“My father.”
A photograph showed Antonio standing with Salvatore and several men Isabella didn't recognize.
Another showed Elena.
But the final photograph made her stop breathing.
It showed her parents holding a newborn baby.
Isabella.
On the back was a date.
The day she was born.
Beneath it were three words.
“THE HEIR LIVES.”
Dante took the photograph.
“What does this mean?”
Isabella shook her head.
“I don't know.”
A drawer slammed open by itself.
Both of them raised their weapons.
Nothing.
Dante approached cautiously.
Inside was a black folder.
He opened it.
The first page carried a name.
ISABELLA MORETTI.
Her blood went cold.
“What is that?”
Dante read the documents.
“It's a succession file.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Why would my father have a succession file on his daughter?”
Dante turned another page.
“Because he planned to put you in charge.”
Isabella stared at him.
“No.”
“Look.”
The first page contained bank accounts, properties, shell companies, weapons routes, political contacts, and names of every major criminal organization connected to Blackwater.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
“When Antonio falls, Isabella inherits everything.”
Isabella backed away.
“My father wanted me to inherit Blackwater?”
“Apparently.”
“I was a child.”
“He planned for the future.”
“Or someone forged this.”
Dante nodded.
“Possible.”
A noise sounded behind them.
They spun around.
Elena stood in the doorway.
Isabella's eyes widened.
“Mom?”
Elena was pale and weak, but she was standing.
“You were shot.”
“I've survived worse.”
“You should be in a hospital.”
“There isn't time.”
Elena looked at the folder.
“You found it.”
Isabella held it up.
“What is this?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“The reason your father disappeared.”
“Tell me.”
“He built Blackwater.”
Dante stiffened.
“You said Antonio tried to destroy it.”
“He did.”
“Then why was my name in that file?”
Elena looked directly at her daughter.
“Because Antonio believed Blackwater could only survive if it became legitimate.”
Isabella stared.
“He wanted to turn criminals into businessmen?”
“He wanted to control them.”
Dante's expression darkened.
“That isn't legitimacy.”
“No.”
Elena looked at him.
“It was power.”
A distant explosion shook the house.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Dante grabbed Isabella.
“Someone found us.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“They found me.”
Dante moved toward the tunnel.
“We're leaving.”
Elena caught his arm.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the people coming aren't Salvatore's men.”
Dante stared at her.
“Who are they?”
Elena's voice dropped.
“The original Blackwater.”
Dante's face hardened.
“I thought Blackwater was collapsing.”
“It is.”
“Then who's left?”
Elena looked at Isabella.
“The people who never needed Antonio, Salvatore, or your family.”
Another explosion shook the mansion.
Windows shattered upstairs.
Dante raised his weapon.
“How many?”
Elena whispered.
“Enough to kill everyone in this house.”
Isabella looked at Dante.
He looked back.
Neither needed to speak.
They had walked into a war.
Not a family dispute.
Not a power struggle.
A war between the men who inherited Blackwater and the people who created it.
Dante loaded his gun.
“We're getting out.”
Isabella stood beside him.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“We're finding out who they are.”
“Elena needs medical attention.”
“She does.”
Isabella tightened her grip on the folder.
“But if we run now, they'll disappear.”
Dante studied her.
Then he nodded.
“Five minutes.”
“Three.”
He almost laughed.
“You're negotiating with me now?”
“I'm learning from you.”
Elena watched them.
For a moment, sadness crossed her face.
Then she said quietly,
“You two remind me of your fathers.”
Dante's smile vanished.
“That's not necessarily a compliment.”
“No.”
Elena looked toward the hidden entrance.
“It is a warning.”
Footsteps thundered above them.
Dante moved between Isabella and the door.
“Whatever happens next, stay with me.”
Isabella took his hand.
“Always.”
The steel door began to bend inward.
Someone was trying to break through.
Dante raised his weapon.
Isabella raised hers.
Elena stepped behind them.
And then a voice came through the metal.
“Isabella Moretti.”
She froze.
The voice continued.
“Your father has been waiting twenty years for you.”
Dante looked at her.
Isabella's face went white.
A second voice followed.
“Come out, princess.”
The door exploded inward.
And the war for Blackwater began.