Chapter 532: The Man Behind the Curtain
Chapter 532: The Man Behind the Curtain
Chapter 532: The Man Behind the Curtain
The hidden staircase seemed to have no end.
Dante led the way with his gun raised, while Isabella stayed directly behind him. Elena followed, one hand pressed against her wound.
Above them, gunfire thundered through the warehouse.
“They’ll find the entrance,” Isabella whispered.
“Not if we seal it.”
Dante reached the bottom and shoved open another steel door.
They entered a narrow underground garage.
Two black cars waited beneath hanging lights.
Elena pointed toward the second vehicle.
“That one.”
Dante opened the rear door.
“Get inside.”
Isabella helped Elena into the back seat before climbing in beside her.
Dante took the driver’s seat.
The engine roared.
He accelerated through the tunnel.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Finally, Isabella looked at her mother.
“Who is Voss?”
Elena stared out the window.
“A man who learned how to survive by standing behind powerful people.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“No. It doesn't.”
Dante glanced at Elena through the mirror.
“You said he was the architect.”
“He helped build Blackwater into what it became.”
“Then why did Antonio trust him?”
“Because Voss saved Antonio's life.”
Dante's expression tightened.
“From whom?”
“Salvatore.”
Isabella frowned.
“So Voss and Salvatore are enemies?”
“They were.”
“What changed?”
Elena looked at Dante.
“Antonio disappeared.”
Dante slowed slightly.
“After my father vanished, Voss took control of the network. Salvatore challenged him.”
“And you?”
“I disappeared because both men wanted me dead.”
Isabella looked toward the front.
“Then why is Voss helping us now?”
“He isn't helping you.”
Elena's voice was quiet.
“He is using you.”
Dante's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“For what?”
“To take back Blackwater.”
The car became silent.
Isabella looked at Dante.
“You heard her.”
“I did.”
“You aren't going to do it.”
“No.”
Elena interrupted.
“You may not have a choice.”
Dante looked at her through the mirror.
“Everyone keeps telling me that.”
“Because you don't understand what you've inherited.”
“I inherited a family name.”
“No.”
Elena's gaze hardened.
“You inherited an empire.”
Dante pulled the car into an underground parking structure.
“We need answers before we do anything else.”
“There is someone who can give them to you.”
“Who?”
Elena hesitated.
“Luca.”
Isabella immediately shook her head.
“Luca works for Salvatore.”
“He works for himself.”
Dante parked.
“Where is he?”
Elena gave him an address.
“The old Saint Marlowe Hotel.”
Dante knew it.
“That place has been closed for years.”
“Exactly.”
They entered through a service door.
The hotel smelled of mold and dust.
Dante moved ahead while Isabella supported Elena.
They reached the ballroom.
A single lamp burned near the center.
Luca stood beneath it.
His hands were empty.
“I knew you'd come.”
Dante raised his weapon.
“You knew we'd come?”
Luca looked at Isabella.
“I knew she would.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“Where is Salvatore?”
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Dante moved closer.
“You're lying.”
Luca smiled.
“You sound like your father.”
“Don't mention him.”
“Why? Because he's alive?”
Dante froze.
Luca's smile disappeared.
“You want to know the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop asking the wrong people.”
Isabella stared at him.
“Who should we ask?”
“Voss.”
Dante lowered his gun slightly.
“Why?”
“Because Voss has been preparing for this night for twenty years.”
Luca reached inside his coat and removed a small key.
He tossed it to Isabella.
“What is this?”
“A room at the hotel.”
“Why give it to me?”
“Because your mother hid something there.”
Elena went pale.
“No.”
Isabella looked at her.
“What did you hide?”
Elena didn't answer.
Dante caught the silence.
“Luca, what is in that room?”
“A recording.”
“Of what?”
“Your father's final meeting before he disappeared.”
Dante stared at him.
“You have it?”
“No.”
“Then who does?”
Luca looked toward the dark hallway.
“Voss.”
A gunshot cracked.
Luca staggered.
Blood spread across his shirt.
“Luca!”
Isabella caught him before he fell.
Dante spun toward the hallway and fired.
A shadow disappeared through a doorway.
“Stay with him,” Dante ordered.
He chased the shooter.
Isabella pressed her hands against Luca's wound.
“Who shot you?”
Luca struggled to breathe.
“Not Salvatore.”
“Who?”
“Voss.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“He's started.”
Isabella looked at her.
“Started what?”
“The purge.”
Dante returned, furious.
“He's gone.”
Luca grabbed Isabella's wrist.
“You have to listen.”
“I'm listening.”
“Your father didn't disappear because he lost.”
Isabella's brow furrowed.
“Then why?”
“Because he won.”
“What did he win?”
Luca's eyes filled with fear.
“Control.”
“Control of Blackwater?”
“No.”
He looked directly at Dante.
“Control of the people behind it.”
Dante stared.
“Who are they?”
Luca swallowed.
“The council.”
Elena whispered, “There are seven.”
Dante turned.
“Seven what?”
“Seven families,” Elena said. “They financed Blackwater. They never appeared in its records. They controlled everything from behind the scenes.”
“And Voss?”
“He was their representative.”
Dante understood.
“He wasn't the architect.”
“No.”
Elena's voice trembled.
“He was the messenger.”
Isabella looked at Dante.
“And my father?”
“He discovered the council planned to replace him.”
“Replace him with who?”
Elena stared at her daughter.
“With you.”
Isabella felt the room tilt.
“Me?”
“They believed you could unite the families.”
“I don't want their empire.”
“They don't care.”
Dante stepped beside Isabella.
“They won't touch her.”
Luca coughed.
“They already have.”
Dante looked down.
“What?”
Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph.
It showed Isabella leaving her apartment weeks earlier.
Another showed her entering a restaurant.
Another showed Dante standing beside her.
They had been watched.
For months.
Isabella's hands shook.
“How long?”
Luca whispered, “Since before you met Dante.”
Dante's expression became murderous.
“Who took these?”
Luca pointed toward the hotel entrance.
“Voss.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was Isabella's phone.
She answered.
Voss spoke calmly.
“You found the photographs.”
Dante took the phone.
“Where are you?”
“Watching.”
“Show yourself.”
“You still don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No, Dante. You think this is a war over territory.”
Voss paused.
“It isn't.”
“What is it?”
“Succession.”
Dante's jaw tightened.
“Come for me.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Midnight.”
The call ended.
Isabella looked at Dante.
“Another midnight.”
Dante nodded.
“This time, we choose the battlefield.”
Elena stared at them.
“You can't fight the council.”
Dante looked at Isabella.
“We don't have to fight all seven.”
He picked up the photograph.
“We only need to find the first one.”
Isabella understood.
“And make them tell us where my father is.”
Dante took her hand.
“No more running.”
She squeezed his fingers.
“No more secrets.”
Behind them, Luca whispered the final warning.
“Then prepare yourselves.”
Dante turned.
“For what?”
Luca looked toward the darkness.
“The first family is already inside the city.”
And somewhere beyond the hotel walls, seven powerful men were preparing for the arrival of the woman they believed would inherit their criminal empire.