Chapter 12 - Fire on the Water
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The industrial harbor was cloaked in thick fog rolling off the dark waters of Lake Michigan.
Giant shipping containers stood stacked like iron monoliths against the stormy night sky.
At Berth 14, Michael Moretti was directing a forklift carrying a heavy wooden crate labeled with the Moretti family crest.
Suddenly, the harsh glare of floodlights swept across the wet concrete pier.
Three black pickup trucks burst through the perimeter security gate, tires screeching against the asphalt.
A dozen masked gunmen leaped out of the truck beds, brandishing automatic weapons.
“Moretti!” a voice bellowed through a megaphone.
Antonio Bellini stepped out from behind the lead vehicle, holding a heavy military rifle, his eyes wild with deranged fury.
“Where is your brother, boy?” Antonio screamed over the sound of crashing waves.
Michael ducked behind a steel container just as a deafening hail of bullets shattered the forklift’s windshield.
“Bellini, you're insane!” Michael yelled, returning fire with his service sidearm.
“The Roman council blacklisted you! You're throwing your life away!”
“If I am going down, I am taking your entire dynasty into the lake with me!” Antonio roared, signaling his men to flank the container.
Before the shooters could advance, the roar of twin-turbo V8 engines tore through the fog like a sonic boom.
Luca’s armored convoy smashed through the outer perimeter fence with devastating impact.
Luca’s SUV rammed the lead pickup truck, spinning it around and crushing two gunmen against the guardrail.
The doors flew open, and Luca led the counterattack with ruthless, terrifying precision.
Gunfire erupted into a deafening symphony of thunder and flashes of orange fire.
Luca moved through the crossfire like an unstoppable force of nature, picking off attackers with lethal accuracy.
Antonio panicked, realizing he was completely outmatched by Luca’s elite tactical enforcers.
Antonio sprinted toward the control booth of the massive container crane, intending to detonate the fuel valves.
Luca chased after him, bounding up the metal industrial staircase two steps at a time.
“Antonio!” Luca roared into the wind.
Antonio reached the catwalk, spinning around and firing three erratic shots from his rifle.
One bullet grazed Luca’s upper arm, tearing through his jacket and leaving a bloody streak across his bicep.
Luca didn't even flinch.
He closed the distance in two strides, disarming Antonio with a brutal strike to the wrist.
The rifle clattered over the railing, plunging fifty feet into the dark, churning water below.
Luca grabbed Antonio by the lapels, lifting him off his feet and shoving his torso out over the empty air.
Antonio shrieked in terror, clutching Luca’s forearms as he dangled precariously above the freezing harbor.
“Luca! Please! Don't drop me!” Antonio wept, all his billionaire arrogance vanishing into pathetic sobs.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn't feed you to the lake, Antonio,” Luca said, his voice cold as the November wind.
“I will give you the deed to the Bellini commercial tower!” Antonio begged frantically.
“I will sign over everything! Just let me live!”
Luca looked down at the sniveling coward who had tried to murder his brother and poison his life.
“You aren't worth the bullet, Antonio,” Luca spat with total disgust.
Luca hauled him back over the railing and threw him hard against the steel catwalk.
Dante and two guards rushed up the stairs, immediately pinning Antonio to the floor and locking his wrists in heavy steel cuffs.
Down below, the remaining mercenaries had thrown down their weapons, hands raised in total surrender.
Michael looked up from the pier, giving his older brother a thumbs-up through the drifting smoke.
Luca stood on the high catwalk, looking out over the city skyline as sirens wailed in the distance.
The war was over.
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The Moretti name was untarnished.
And for the first time in his life, Luca knew exactly where his heart belonged.
