Chapter 7 – The Intruder

Luca and I sprinted toward the foyer.

Duke was standing near the front door, the fur on his back standing straight up. He was barking a deep, raspy warning at the heavy oak doors.

Leo was standing on the stairs, clutching his teddy bear, eyes wide with fear.

“Leo, go to Teresa’s room!” I yelled.

Luca stepped in front of me, reaching for the firearm he always kept holstered at his hip.

The heavy front door suddenly rattled. Someone was trying to force the lock.

Luca grabbed my arm. “Take Duke and go upstairs. Now.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I said, my voice shaking but firm.

Before Luca could argue, the door burst open with a deafening crack.

Three men in dark clothes stepped into the grand hall. They weren’t Vanessa’s men.

The man in the center pulled down his mask.

I recognized him instantly from the news. It was Carlo Moretti. Luca’s uncle. The man who had been exiled to Italy ten years ago for trying to usurp Frank’s territory.

“Hello, Nephew,” Carlo sneered, holding a heavy crowbar. “I heard the wedding was off. Figured it was time for a family reunion.”

Luca didn’t flinch. He raised his weapon, pointing it dead center at Carlo’s chest.

“You have three seconds to get out of my house, Uncle.”

Carlo laughed. “Your house? Frank stole this territory from me. With Vanessa’s family out of the picture, you have no alliances left. You’re weak.”

“I’m not alone,” Luca said coldly.

Suddenly, Duke let out a ferocious snarl. The old, arthritic dog lunged forward, placing himself directly between Luca and the intruders. His back legs trembled, but he stood his ground, baring his teeth.

Carlo sneered. “Get that mutt out of the way.”

He raised the crowbar.

“NO!” I screamed.

A gunshot rang out, echoing through the massive hall.

The crowbar dropped to the marble floor with a clang.

Carlo screamed, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Luca stood perfectly still, smoke drifting from the barrel of his gun.

“I said, get out.”

The two other men grabbed Carlo and dragged him out the door, abandoning the fight before it even began.

Luca quickly locked and bolted the door. He turned around, breathing heavily, and immediately dropped to his knees beside Duke.

“Good boy,” Luca whispered, his voice shaking as he checked the dog for injuries. “You’re a good boy, Duke.”

Duke licked Luca’s face, his tail thumping weakly against the floor before he collapsed, exhausted.

I ran to them, dropping to my knees. “Is he okay?”

“He just pushed himself too hard,” Luca said, lifting the heavy dog into his arms.

We carried Duke upstairs and laid him gently on his bed in Teresa’s room. Teresa was crying, holding Leo tightly.

“They’re gone, Mom,” Luca assured her. “I’m calling the guards. Nobody gets through the gates again.”

I sat on the floor next to Duke, stroking his soft ears as his breathing slowed to a normal rhythm.

Luca sat beside me. He looked at his mother, then at Leo, and finally at me.

“Uncle Carlo was right about one thing,” Luca said quietly. “Without an alliance, the other families will try to make a move on our territory.”

“So what do we do?” I asked.

Luca looked at the gold pearl necklace around my neck.

“We stop playing by their rules,” he said. “Tomorrow, I’m dissolving the mafia syndicate.”

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