Blood in the Cellar
Chapter 05 - Blood in the Cellar
The air inside the underground wine cellar was cold, smelling of aged oak barrels, damp stone, and ancient dust.
Lorenzo Moretti stood near a massive rack of vintage Italian wines, holding a glass of cabernet, casually swirling the liquid. He was thirty-two years old, sharply dressed, with an arrogant smile that had always masked a deep-seated jealousy of Dante’s absolute power over the syndicate.
The heavy iron door of the cellar slammed shut with a metallic THUD.
Lorenzo turned around, his smile faltering slightly as he saw Dante walking down the stone steps, accompanied by Carlo.
“Dante!” Lorenzo chuckled nervously, setting his wine glass down on a barrel. “Carlo said you wanted to check the emergency weapons stash down here. What’s going on upstairs? The whole house looks like a military base.”
Dante didn't answer. He walked slowly across the stone floor, his heavy leather boots echoing through the cavernous space.
He stopped five feet away from Lorenzo, resting his hands inside his suit jacket pockets.
“Do you remember the night Isabella died, Lorenzo?” Dante asked, his voice disturbingly calm.
Lorenzo blinked, looking confused. “Of course I remember. It was the worst night of our lives, man. I was right there with you at the hospital.”
“You were,” Dante nodded slowly. “And do you remember what I swore over her casket?”
Lorenzo swallowed hard, taking a small step back. “Dante, why are you bringing this up right now?”
“I swore that if anyone ever put my family in danger again, I wouldn't just kill them,” Dante said, stepping closer, his eyes cold like graves. “I would tear their entire legacy out by the roots.”
Dante reached into his pocket, pulled out the surveillance photograph of the man scanning his computer, and tossed it onto the wine barrel beside Lorenzo.
Lorenzo looked down at the photo. His face turned instantly pale. He instinctively pulled his left wrist behind his back, trying to hide his gold Rolex under his suit sleeve.
“Dante... wait!” Lorenzo stammered, his voice rising in sheer panic. “It’s not what it looks like! Dominic Falcone threatened my wife! He said he’d butcher my daughter if I didn't give him the entry codes to your estate!”
“You traded my children’s lives for your own, Lorenzo,” Dante said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper.
“They’re just kids, Dante!” Lorenzo screamed out, losing his mind with fear as he reached frantically for his shoulder holster. “You’ve been obsessed with your dead wife for two years! You’re weak! The whole syndicate knows you’re weak!”
Before Lorenzo could even clear his leather holster, Dante moved with horrifying speed.
Dante lunged forward, grabbing Lorenzo’s gun hand, twisting his wrist until a sharp CRACK echoed through the cellar. Lorenzo shrieked in pain, dropping his gun onto the stone floor.
Dante grabbed Lorenzo by his throat, slamming him violently against the heavy oak wine rack. Vintage bottles fell and shattered on the floor, drenching the stone in dark red wine that looked exactly like fresh blood.
“You brought an assassin into the home where my children sleep,” Dante growled, his fingers tightening around Lorenzo’s windpipe until the traitor’s eyes began to roll back in his head. “You gave them the keycard to Isabella’s room.”
“Please... Dante...” Lorenzo gasped out, choking on his own spit. “Family... we’re family...”
“Isabella was my family,” Dante whispered into his ear. “My boys are my family. You are nothing.”
Dante drew his silent, suppressed pistol, pressed the barrel directly against Lorenzo’s chest, and pulled the trigger twice.
Pfft. Pfft.
Lorenzo’s body went limp. Dante let go of his throat, letting his cousin’s lifeless body slide down the oak barrels into the pool of red wine on the floor.
May you like
Dante stepped back, wiping a drop of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. He looked at Carlo, who stood near the doorway, his face grim.
“Clean this up,” Dante ordered flatly. “And tell the captains to assemble at the Brooklyn warehouse in one hour. We are wiping the Falcone family off the map tonight.”
