Chapter 25 Luca
LUCA
The operation is going perfectly. Too perfectly.
I'm in the surveillance van three blocks from the first target, watching feeds from all three locations simultaneously. My earpiece crackles with check-ins every thirty seconds—clean and professional, exactly what I trained them to do.
"Team One, target secured. Two hostiles down, no casualties."
"Team Two, entry complete. Three hostiles neutralized."
"Team Three, clear. Building secured."
I lean back in my chair, watching the screens.
Three Marchesi safe houses were hit simultaneously, their operatives eliminated before they could warn each other or call for backup.
Dante wanted a message sent, now that the unrest in our own family has calmed somewhat.
The Marchesis have been getting bolder—moving product through our territory, recruiting our soldiers, testing our boundaries.
Tonight we intended to remind them why that's a mistake.
"I want every phone, every computer, every piece of paper. Bag it all up and bring it back.”
A chorus of affirmatives comes back. I watch the feeds as my men move through the buildings, overturning furniture, checking walls for hidden compartments, photographing documents, finding anything that will incriminate the Marchesi family further.
It’s a wild success, and it should feel satisfying, like things are going back to the natural order.
Instead, my stomach is tight with unease. I keep thinking about this morning and the anxiety that's been crawling under my skin all day, screaming that something is wrong.
I assigned Giulia the best security detail I have. Vince and Tommas are solid—former military, loyal, and competent. They'll keep her safe at the charity gala while I'm handling this.
She'll be fine.
"Boss." One of the tech guys monitoring communications taps my shoulder. "Team One is reporting something weird."
I lean forward. "Weird how?"
"The operatives they took down—they're low-level. Street soldiers. Not the kind of guys you'd station at a safe house with valuable intelligence."
My unease sharpens. "What about the other locations?"
He checks his screens. "Team Two is saying the same thing. The guys they found were barely armed."
"Team Three?"
"Still searching, but—yeah. Same story."
I stand up, moving closer to the monitors. On screen, I can see my men going through the first location. It's sparse—too sparse. A few mattresses, some basic supplies, minimal security equipment. This doesn't look like a safe house. It looks like a decoy.
"Team One, what are you finding?" I ask into the comm.
"Not much, boss. Some burner phones, a few weapons. Nothing that looks like operational intelligence."
"Team Two?"
"Same. This place is practically empty."
The cold feeling in my gut turns to ice. I close my eyes. They knew.
The Marchesis knew we were coming. These weren't safe houses. They were sacrifices, low-level soldiers left behind to make us think we'd won, to keep us occupied while—
While what?
My phone rings. Romeo's name flashes on the screen, and I answer immediately. "What—"
"Giulia is missing." His voice is sharp and urgent, and I can hear the panic threading through it. "The security team was found dead in the bathroom at the hotel. She's gone, Luca. Someone took her."
The world tilts. Everything—the van, the monitors, the voices in my earpiece—all of it disappears into a roaring silence. "What?" The word comes out strangled.
"Vince and Tommas are dead. Looks like they were ambushed. Giulia went to the restroom and never came back. Savannah went looking for her fifteen minutes later and found the guards. No sign of Giulia."
Alessandro. The realization hits me like a physical blow. It can’t be anything else.
This was planned. All of it. The Marchesi operatives were bait, expendable soldiers left behind to make us think we were winning while the real operation happened somewhere else. While they took Giulia.
"I'm on my way." I grab my gun. "Get everyone to the estate. Mobilize everything. I want—"
"Dante's already doing it." Romeo's voice is grim. "He wants you here. Now."
I disconnect and turn to the tech team. "You're in charge," I tell the senior guy. "Finish the sweep, collect everything, get the teams back to base."
"Boss, what—"
"Just do it."
I'm out of the van and in my car before he can respond. My hands are shaking as I start the engine. Giulia. Someone has Giulia.
Someone has my wife and my baby, and I wasn't there to protect them. I should have been there.
I knew something was wrong this morning. My instincts were screaming at me, telling me to stay, to cancel the operation, to keep her close. But I didn't listen. I left her.
“What do we know?” I ask the minute I’m in the office. Romeo looks up as I storm in.
"Not much. Giulia excused herself around eleven. Security followed protocol—stayed outside the bathroom and maintained visuals on the entrance. Someone must have been waiting inside."
"Cameras?"
"Hotel security is pulling footage now. But Luca—" He pauses. "It was professional. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."
Alessandro. It has to be Alessandro. He's been at the periphery for weeks, visible enough to be noticed but not threatening enough to eliminate. We thought he was just watching, gathering intelligence for the Marchesis.
We were wrong. He was planning this.
"Any demands?" I ask sharply, my fingers drumming against my thigh.
"Not yet. But they'll call."
They'll call, and they'll want something. Money, territory, information… me. The thought makes my blood run cold.
If they took Giulia to get to me—if this is about the marriage, about her choosing me over Alessandro—then I'm the price they'll demand. And I'll pay it. I'll pay anything to get her back.
A little while later, Dante comes in with two men. "Surveillance teams tracked a black SUV leaving the hotel." He taps a location on the map. "They followed it to a warehouse in Marchesi territory."
I look at the location on the map. It’s deep in enemy territory, where we can't move freely without starting a full-scale war. "How many men does he have?" I ask.
"Unknown. But the warehouse is fortified. Security cameras, reinforced doors, probably armed guards inside." Dante's voice is sharp and strategic, like he's discussing a business deal instead of his daughter's kidnapping. "Moving on to it directly would be suicide."
"Then we negotiate." Romeo is standing beside the desk, his jaw tight. "We find out what they want, and we give it to them."
"They want leverage." One of the capos leans forward. "The Marchesis have been losing ground for months. This is their play to get it back."
"Or they want revenge." Another capo crosses his arms. "Alessandro was humiliated when the engagement broke. This could be personal."
"It doesn't matter what they want." My voice comes out harder than I intend. "We get Giulia back. Whatever it takes."
Dante's eyes fix on me. "Whatever it takes?"
"Yes."
"Even if what they want is you?"
The room goes quiet.
I meet his gaze. "Yes."
"Luca—" Romeo starts.
"If they took her because of me, then I'm the solution." I'm surprised by how steady my voice is. "If handing myself over gets her back safely, then that's what we do."
"That's not happening." Romeo's voice is sharp and absolute. "We're not trading you when we can just—”
"She's pregnant with my child. She's terrified and alone, and if something happens to her because I wasn't there to protect her—" I can't finish the sentence.
Dante studies me for a long moment. "I’m in agreement with Luca. We trade whatever is necessary to get Giulia back. If they want Luca, that’s a trade I’m willing to make.”
I’m not surprised. Of all the things they could ask for, I imagine that would be the easiest for Dante to agree to. But Romeo’s jaw hardens, his eyes snapping angrily.
“I’m not sacrificing my best friend for my sister, or vice versa,” he growls. “We’ll find another way—”
My phone rings. Unknown number flashes on the screen. I answer immediately, putting it on speaker. "Yes."
"Luca Moretti." Alessandro's voice is smooth. "I hope you're having a pleasant evening."
Rage floods through me. "Where is she?"
"Your wife is safe. For now." There's amusement in his tone. "She's been very cooperative. Very concerned about the baby's well-being."
The baby. He threatened the baby. The thought makes me want to put my fist through the wall.
"What do you want?" I force the words out through clenched teeth.
"What I've always wanted." Alessandro pauses. "Respect. Territory. Compensation for the humiliation of having my fiancée stolen by her brother's enforcer."
"Name your price."
"Oh, I will. But not yet." His voice hardens. "First, I want you to understand something. Giulia is mine now. She was always supposed to be mine. You stole her, and now I'm taking her back."
"She's not yours." The words come out as a growl. "She's my wife. She's carrying my child. And if you hurt her—"
"You'll what? Storm my warehouse? Start a war with the Marchesi family?" Alessandro laughs. "You're not in a position to make threats, Luca. I have something you want. And you're going to give me what I want to get her back."
"What do you want?"
"I'll be in touch with my demands. In the meantime, I suggest you don't do anything stupid. Any attempt to rescue her will result in her immediate death. And the baby's. Do you understand?"
I have to force the words out through gritted teeth. "I understand."
"Good." There's a pause. "She's very beautiful when she's scared, you know. The way her hands shake. The way she keeps touching her stomach, trying to protect something she can't protect. It's almost touching."
The line goes dead. I spin, slamming my fist against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. Pain explodes through my knuckles, but I barely feel it.
"Luca." Romeo grabs my arm. "Stop. You're not helping her by—"