Chapter 8 - Forty-Eight Hours Later
The forty-eight-hour deadline struck at noon the following day.
The command center in Luca’s study was dead silent. Luca sat behind the monitors, his face carved of granite. Behind him stood Marco, his second-in-command, and four heavily armed tacticians. Elena stood by the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching the clock on the wall tick past 12:00 PM.
The encrypted terminal remained blank. No bearer bonds had been transferred. No funds had hit the holding accounts.
Instead, the red light on the emergency satellite receiver began flashing erratically.
"Boss," Marco said, leaning over the console. "We have an incoming broadcast on the open frequency. It's Voss."
Luca clicked a button. "Put it through."
A video feed flickered to life on the center monitor. Robert Voss was sitting in a brightly lit, sterile room. Behind him, however, stood three men in tactical gear with distinct black-and-red insignia on their sleeves.
Elena gasped, recognizing the mark. "The Volkov syndicate."
"Your father didn't spend the last forty-eight hours gathering money," Luca said, his eyes narrowing into deadly slits. "He spent it buying an alliance."
On the screen, Robert looked composed, his hair slicked back, wearing a tailored navy suit. The pathetic, bargaining coward from two days ago was gone, replaced by the ruthless oligarch who had built an empire on blood.
"Luca," Robert spoke, his voice cool and devoid of emotion. "You were arrogant to think you could hold my daughter and dictate terms to me. Did you really think eighteen million was going to bring me to my knees?"
"You're running out of cards, Robert," Luca replied, his voice chillingly steady. "You sold your soul to the Russians. What did you promise them? Half of your port shares?"
"I promised them your territory," Robert said with a cold, predatory smile. "You made a critical mistake, Moretti. You kept Elena in your compound. You thought she was a hostage. But a daughter with my blood in her veins is an asset, whether she lives or dies."
Elena felt the blood drain from her face. "Dad... what are you saying?" she cried, stepping in front of the camera.
Robert didn't even blink. He looked directly at her through the screen with dead, indifferent eyes. "Elena, darling. If you survive this afternoon, we’ll talk about your inheritance. If you don't... well, your sacrifice will unite the Voss and Volkov families for generations."
"You sick bastard!" Elena screamed.
"Goodbye, Luca," Robert said calmly. "Enjoy the fireworks."
The screen went black.
A second later, the perimeter alarms of the estate began to shriek, a deafening, pulsing siren that echoed across the Hudson valley.
"Perimeter breach at Gate 1 and Gate 3!" Marco shouted, cocking his assault rifle. "Convoys incoming! Heavy artillery! They're hitting the outer walls with RPGs!"
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The entire compound shook violently as an explosion detonated down at the front gates, rattling the reinforced glass windows.
Robert Voss hadn't sent a rescue team. He had sent an extermination squad to level the estate, wipe out the Moretti syndicate, and bury Elena beneath the rubble along with the truth.
