Chapter 10 - The Syndicate's Invitation
Before I could process the heavy gravity of his words, my phone—which had been resting silently in my coat pocket—vibrated violently against my leg.
I jumped, pulling it out with a sharp gasp. The screen lit up in the dark cabin, displaying an incoming video call from an unrecognized, encrypted number.
Luca leaned in closer, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the glowing screen. "Don't answer it."
"It's ringing," I murmured, my thumb hovering nervously over the glass. "If it's Moretti—"
"It's not Moretti," Luca interrupted, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper. He reached out and tapped the screen, accepting the call and switching it to speaker mode, laying the phone flat on the center console between us.
The screen flickered for a fraction of a second before displaying a live video feed. But it wasn't a dark warehouse or a thug with a gun.
It was a quiet, sunlit courtyard surrounded by towering brick walls covered in ivy. Sitting at a wrought-iron table in the center of the frame was an elderly man with silver hair, wearing an immaculate cashmere sweater, calmly sipping espresso from a delicate porcelain cup.
Beside him stood two armed guards in dark suits.
"Hello, nephew," the old man said, his voice smooth, cultured, and dripping with an terrifyingly polite menace as he looked straight into the camera lens. "And hello to you, my dear niece. It has been a very, very long twenty years."
Luca’s entire body went rigid, every muscle in his frame locking into predatory tension.
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"Donato," Luca hissed, his voice trembling with a level of pure, unadulterated hatred I had never heard from him before. "You should have stayed in Geneva."
Donato smiled, setting his coffee cup down with a soft clink against the saucer. "And miss family reunion week? Never, Luca. Especially now that we finally know where Matteo hid his most valuable artwork." Donato's eyes shifted directly to me through the screen, his smile turning razor-sharp. "Welcome home, Elena. Come see your grandfather before the night is over... or we’ll bring what’s left of your father’s empire straight to your doorstep."
