Chapter 11 - PIER NINETEEN
Midnight covered the Brooklyn waterfront in fog.
Pier 19 had been abandoned for twelve years.
Lorenzo arrived in a black sedan.
No visible convoy.
Isabella sat beside him.
A baby carrier rested in the rear seat.
Marco's men surrounded the vehicle immediately.
“Phones.”
Lorenzo handed his over.
“Weapons.”
He surrendered one pistol.
The guard missed the blade inside his boot.
Isabella carried a metal case.
Inside was the Conti trust file.
Or what Marco believed was the trust file.
They entered the warehouse.
Emma sat on a shipping crate.
Her gray rabbit had been returned to her.
Sophia gasped when she saw her daughter.
Salvatore Bellini stood behind Emma.
He looked older than the video.
But his eyes were sharp.
Beside him stood Caterina DeLuca.
Lorenzo stared at his aunt.
“You buried my father.”
“I attended his funeral.”
“Same difference.”
Caterina gave a sad smile.
“You sound exactly like Vittorio.”
Marco emerged from the shadows.
“You brought the child?”
Lorenzo looked toward the carrier.
“Yes.”
Isabella's hand tightened around the metal case.
Marco smiled.
“Then perhaps tonight ends peacefully.”
“No.”
Everyone turned toward Isabella.
She looked at Marco.
“Nothing involving you ends peacefully.”
Marco's smile disappeared.
Salvatore chuckled.
“Matteo's daughter.”
“I wondered when I'd hear your father's voice inside yours.”
Isabella placed the case on a table.
“Emma first.”
Marco nodded.
Salvatore released the child.
Emma ran.
Sophia caught her.
For one second, everyone watched them.
That second was enough.
Antonio's team cut power to the dock.
Darkness.
Gunshots erupted.
Lorenzo reached Isabella.
“Down.”
Emergency lights flashed red.
Marco's men scattered.
Sophia crawled behind machinery with Emma.
Antonio entered from the north door.
Lorenzo moved toward Salvatore.
Then froze.
The baby carrier was open.
Empty.
Marco stood twenty feet away holding a bundle.
Lorenzo's blood stopped.
“Don't.”
Marco smiled.
“You always were easy to control when family was involved.”
Isabella stood.
She wasn't afraid.
“Open the blanket.”
Marco frowned.
He looked down.
Inside the bundle was a doll.
His face changed.
Lorenzo smiled.
“Lucia was never here.”
Marco's eyes filled with rage.
Isabella lifted the metal case.
“And neither is the trust key.”
Salvatore shouted.
“Marco!”
Too late.
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
Antonio's men surrounded the building.
Marco grabbed Emma instead.
He pressed a gun near her shoulder.
Sophia screamed.
Lorenzo raised both hands.
“Let her go.”
Marco backed toward the pier.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
Marco's eyes burned.
“My father never wanted your empire.”
“He wanted your name erased.”
Salvatore stepped forward.
“Marco.”
“Enough.”
But Marco kept backing away with Emma.
Then Caterina spoke.
“Put the gun down, son.”
Lorenzo turned toward her.
Son.
The word struck the room harder than any gunshot.
Marco looked at Caterina.
And Lorenzo finally understood why his aunt had never returned home.
May you like
Marco Bellini was not only Salvatore's son.
He was a DeLuca too.
