Chapter 11 - The Betrayal at Bellini Harbor
Luca refused to believe Marco had betrayed him.
Evidence said otherwise.
Security footage showed Marco taking the statement.
His car was found near Gabriel's property.
Natalie saw Luca's devastation.
Marco wasn't an employee.
He was family.
Then Anthony Bellini called.
"Trust my son."
Nothing more.
Natalie examined Marco's message.
Don't come after me.
Not don't look for me.
He was protecting them.
They found a hidden tracker inside the document case.
Marco had deliberately taken the statement so Gabriel would take him too.
He had turned himself into a Trojan horse.
Luca almost smiled.
"Idiot."
Natalie understood that meant brother.
They tracked Marco to an abandoned coastal fortress.
Police surrounded it.
Luca, Natalie, and Elena waited.
Then Samuel emerged.
Alive.
Marco followed.
Gabriel had discovered the tracker.
He escaped through tunnels.
Again.
But this time Enzo stayed behind.
He surrendered.
And gave them Gabriel's final plan.
Gabriel intended to flee by yacht after detonating explosives beneath Moretti's main shipping terminal.
Hundreds of workers were there.
Luca ordered an evacuation.
Natalie coordinated it.
For the first time, her event-management skills became lifesaving logistics.
Every worker left.
Almost.
One person remained missing.
Elena.
Natalie called.
No answer.
Security footage showed Elena entering Warehouse Nine.
Samuel ran toward it.
Natalie followed.
Inside they found Elena standing before Gabriel.
He held a gun.
"I wanted my son back," Elena said.
Gabriel laughed.
"He was never yours."
Samuel stepped forward.
"I'm standing right here."
Gabriel looked at the man he had raised.
For the first time, fear appeared.
Samuel chose Elena.
Gabriel fired.
Luca tackled him.
The bullet struck a pipe.
Samuel dragged Elena away.
Luca and Gabriel fought.
Natalie saw the detonator on the floor.
The timer showed sixty seconds.
She grabbed it.
No stop button.
Only wires.
"LUCA!"
He looked.
Forty-five seconds.
Gabriel smiled through blood.
"You can't stop it."
Then Marco shouted from the entrance.
"There's a manual cutoff."
"Where?"
"Below the warehouse."
Natalie saw the access hatch.
She opened it.
Dark stairs descended beneath the terminal.
Thirty seconds remained.
Someone had to go down.
Luca reached the hatch first.
Natalie grabbed him.
He looked into her eyes.
Then he descended.
May you like
The timer reached twenty seconds.
And the hatch slammed shut behind him.
