Chapter 83: "It Was All Her"
The supersonic round ripped through the night and punched cleanly into the SUV’s front-left tire.
THWACK—PZZZZZZSST!
The tire detonated instantly, compressed air erupting outward in an explosive hiss.
Gael felt the front corner of the vehicle collapse beneath him, and every trace of color drained from his face.
"What the—"
His shout dissolved into panic as every muscle in his arms strained against the steering wheel, fighting to keep the SUV from careening into the concrete barrier lining the road.
He never got the chance.
Several buildings away, Aren had already adjusted her lead through the scope.
’One more.’
The rifle bucked against her shoulder.
THOOM!
A fraction of a second later, the second round tore through the front-right tire.
BLAM—PFFFRRRTTT!
The second tire exploded.
With both front tires obliterated, the SUV ceased being a vehicle and became several tons of uncontrolled steel. The front bumper crashed onto the roadway, sending a shower of orange sparks spraying behind it.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Gael stood on the brake pedal with all his weight, but there was nothing left to control. The SUV skidded sideways, screaming across the broken pavement.
SCREEECH!
One naked rim caught a jagged seam in the asphalt.
The impact launched the front upward.
For one surreal instant, time seemed to slow. The rear wheels lifted clear of the ground before the entire vehicle pitched forward into a violent end-over-end roll.
Metal folded like paper.
Windows burst apart in glittering explosions.
Gael screamed through it all.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
The SUV slammed onto its roof and continued sliding upside down, until it smashed into the brick wall of an abandoned warehouse with enough force to shake the entire structure.
SHREEEEEEEEK!
WHAMMM!
Silence followed.
Only the tortured groan of cooling metal and the hiss of the ruined engine disturbed the night.
Inside the wreck, Gael hung suspended for only a heartbeat before instinct overwhelmed shock.
’Move.’
’Move now.’
’Move before Caio gets here, or he’ll kill me.’
Ignoring the blood pouring from fresh cuts across his face, he desperately kicked against the twisted driver’s door until it finally gave way.
THUD! THUD! SCHRRRK!
The mangled frame groaned open just enough for him to drag himself free. A pistol was already in his hand by the time his knees hit the pavement.
’Run.’
’Just keep running before Caio gets here.’
High above the street, Aren tracked his every movement through the rifle’s optics.
Her expression remained perfectly serene as her fingers tightened against the trigger once more.
’Sorry, Don Caio’s cousin.’
’You’re not getting away.’
She steadied her breathing, lowered the reticle from his chest to his thigh, and squeezed the trigger.
THOOM!
The round smashed into Gael’s leg.
"HAAAAAARGH!"
His scream echoed down the empty street as his knee buckled beneath him. The pistol flew from his grasp, clattering uselessly across the asphalt.
Before the echo had even faded, Aren cycled the bolt, shifted her aim to his shoulder, and fired again.
THOOM!
"AAAAARGH!"
The impact spun Gael sideways instantly.
He crashed heavily onto the pavement, clutching at his mangled shoulder while blood spread rapidly beneath him.
Only then did she ease her finger away from the trigger.
’Target disarmed.’
’Don Caio can have the rest.’
Several hundred meters behind the wreck, Caio’s convoy screeched toward the scene — just in time to witness the SUV overturn and Gael collapse beneath two impossibly precise rifle shots.
Every vehicle slowed at once.
Leo’s eyes swept across the surrounding rooftops.
"Boss," he said sharply, "both front tires were taken out first. That’s precision work. We’ve got a sniper."
Caio’s attention snapped toward the surrounding buildings.
"Our men?"
Leo’s expression tightened.
"We didn’t have time to deploy any sniper teams."
A dangerous silence settled inside the vehicle.
Caio’s jaw locked.
’Then who?’
’Moretti?’
’Another House?’
’Or a third party waiting for both sides to bleed?’
"Tell the rear convoy to spread out and search every building overlooking this road," he ordered. "I don’t care who fired those shots. Find them."
His gaze shifted back toward the bleeding figure crawling beside the overturned SUV.
"And be careful approaching Gael. If there’s one sniper, there could be more."
"Yes, Boss."
Leo immediately relayed the orders through his communicator.
Within seconds, several Sartori vehicles peeled away from the convoy, splitting into neighboring streets as teams began converging on every accessible rooftop overlooking the crash site.
Far above them, Aren noticed the movement almost immediately.
Her eye left the scope.
’Oh no.’
’Don Caio sent search teams.’
Panic surged through her at once.
’But it’s me! Not some random enemy sniper!’
’Argh. Forget it. Time to disappear.’
She moved without hesitation.
The rifle came apart with practiced efficiency. Barrel, receiver, optic, bipod — every component disappeared into the carrying case.
After one final glance across the rooftop, she slung the case over her shoulder and hurried down the abandoned building’s dark stairwell.
At ground level, the capo assigned to escort her home had spent every passing minute pacing beside the parked cars, cold sweat soaking through the back of his suit.
’Please don’t let the Boss find out.’
’Please let nothing happen to Lady Ariana.’
The moment Aren burst through the entrance carrying the rifle case, the man’s shoulders sagged with overwhelming relief.
"Lady Ariana!" he called, hurrying toward her. "Is everything alright up there?"
"Yes!" Aren answered as she strode straight past him toward the waiting vehicle. "Everything’s fine. Target secured. But we have to leave now. Don Caio’s search teams are coming this way."
The capo’s face immediately went pale. He understood the implications without another word.
If the Don discovered that he had allowed Lady Ariana to sneak away instead of escorting her safely back to the estate, his career — if not considerably more — would be over.
He snapped his arm toward the convoy.
"Everyone, move! Back to the estate!"
No one questioned the order.
Doors slammed shut almost in unison.
Engines roared to life, and the convoy accelerated into the night, disappearing toward Sartori District only moments before the first of Caio’s search teams reached the surrounding buildings.
Meanwhile, several streets away, Caio’s convoy rolled to a stop beside the wrecked SUV and the broken man sprawled beside it.
Doors flew open in rapid succession as Sartori soldiers poured into the street, weapons raised and eyes sweeping across rooftops for any sign of the unseen sniper.
Caio spared none of it a glance.
The instant his boots touched the pavement, he strode straight toward the broken figure lying beside the wreck.
Gael heard the tires before he saw anyone. Then came the footsteps.
By the time he managed to lift his head, Caio was already standing over him.
THWACK!
A fist crashed into his face with enough force to snap his head sideways.
Before he could even register the pain, fingers twisted into the front of his shirt, hauling him upright as though he weighed nothing.
THWACK!
Another punch landed.
Gael’s vision burst into white sparks, his ears ringing violently.
Caio never lost his composure. There was no frenzy in his movements, no blind rage. Only cold, deliberate violence delivered with terrifying precision.
"This," he said through clenched teeth as another punch slammed into Gael’s face, "is for taking my girl."
THWACK!
"This is for torturing her."
THWACK!
"This is for stealing from my lab."
THWACK!
"And this, is for betraying your own blood and trying to kill me for an entire year."
When Caio finally released him, Gael crumpled onto the pavement in a broken heap. Blood trickled from his split lips as he coughed violently, yet somehow he still managed to summon a crooked, contemptuous smile onto his face.
"...You..." Gael rasped. "You fucking bastard... go to hell."
Caio regarded him almost lazily, one eyebrow arching.
"Not thrilled with me becoming Don, were you?"
The second eyebrow followed.
"And I suppose your mother wasn’t, either."
Whatever restraint Gael still possessed shattered.
"She was supposed to be Donna!" he screamed, spitting blood across the asphalt. "Not you! You fucking golden boy who was born with a crown already on your head!"
A humorless smile tugged at the corner of Caio’s mouth.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "And this fucking golden boy is going to make your life hell from now on, cousin."
He reached down to seize Gael by the collar again, ready to continue, but Leo’s voice cut cleanly through the night.
"Boss."
Caio glanced over his shoulder.
"What?"
Leo had just lowered his communicator. Even beneath his usual composure, concern showed plainly across his face.
"We’ve got a problem. Liviana wasn’t home."
Caio’s grip loosened almost imperceptibly.
"Then where the hell is she?! Find her!"
"Our men searched the estate and questioned the staff. They said she fled several minutes before we arrived. The moment she learned we’d mobilized into Moretti territory..." Leo paused. "She left the city."
For a long moment, Caio said nothing.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"Quick-witted as ever."
He turned fully toward Leo.
"Then widen the search. Airports. Ports. Highways. Every route out of the city. She couldn’t have gotten far."
"Yes, Boss."
Leo immediately turned away, already issuing fresh orders into his communicator.
Meanwhile, the news landed very differently for Gael. It struck him far harder than any punch had.
’No...’
Disbelief washed over his face.
’She wouldn’t leave me.’
’She can’t have left me.’
Everything — every betrayal, every lie, every corpse left behind — had been for one thing.
Her approval.
"No!" He lurched toward Leo despite his injuries. "No way she left without me! You’re lying!"
Caio looked down at him, and for the first time that night, something almost resembling pity flickered across his face.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Believe it, cousin. Looks like she abandoned you the second your plan stopped working."
His boot pressed against Gael’s chest, forcing him back onto the pavement.
"Doesn’t matter," Caio added flatly. "I’m dealing with you first."
Gael cried out as fresh pain exploded through his wounds.
"Haaaargh— No, Caio!" His composure collapsed entirely, tears mixing with blood and sweat. "No, no! Caio! It’s not me that you want! It was her! It was all her!"
Caio’s expression barely changed.
"What now?"
Gale seized the opening instantly.
"She’s the one who wanted all of this!" he blurted desperately. "She wanted you dead from the beginning!"
Caio remained silent.
"It’s true!" Gael insisted, panic cracking his voice. "She ordered the men who killed your father! She killed Uncle Macario! She’s the one you want! Not me!"
The street seemed to freeze.
Even the distant rumble of engines and the last scattered gunshots faded beneath the weight of those words.
Nearby, Leo and the surrounding soldiers exchanged tense, uneasy glances.
Slowly, Caio lifted his boot from Gael’s chest.
’Of course.’
A bitter smile ghosted across his lips.
’Who else would’ve dared?’
The thought settled inside him with unsettling ease.
He crouched before Gael, resting his forearms loosely on his knees as though settling in for a casual conversation.
"Keep talking," he said softly. "Maybe I’ll let you live."
Hope ignited across Gael’s battered face with pathetic speed. Despite the bullet lodged in his leg, he forced himself upright and awkwardly knelt before his cousin.
"The event was hers," Gael rushed out. "She arranged everything. She used the host to lure Uncle Macario there. The whole night was planned from the beginning. She wanted him dead the moment he walked in."
Caio studied him for several long seconds.
"...Just like how you wanted me dead today?"
Gael froze.
He never answered.
He didn’t need to.
The guilty hesitation written across his face spoke more loudly than any confession ever could.
Caio caught it instantly. He reached forward and gripped Gael’s jaw hard enough to force their eyes level.
"You know, Gael," he said conversationally, "I never intended to kill you tonight."
Gael blinked.
"T-then... then what do you want?"
The faint trace of amusement vanished completely from Caio’s face.
"Killing you would be too easy."
His voice dropped lower.
"After everything you did... to me... to my girl..."
His grip tightened.
"...Sartori prison sounds far more appropriate."
Every trace of color drained from Gael’s face.
’No.’
He knew exactly what Sartori prison meant.
Dark, windowless cells. Starvation. Sleepless nights of interrogation. Essentially a lifetime of slow, agonizing decay designed to make him pray for a bullet that would never come.
Death would have been mercy by comparison.
Before he could beg, Caio had already stood and dismissed him with a careless flick of his fingers.
"Bring him back."
Several soldiers moved immediately, hauling the struggling man upright despite his wounds.
"NO!" Gael shrieked. "CAIO SARTORI! YOU CAN’T! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!"
His cries dissolved into muffled screams as the men restrained him, dragged him across the pavement, and threw him into the waiting vehicle.
Once the door slammed shut behind Gael, Leo stepped closer, though his attention continued drifting toward the surrounding rooftops.
"Boss, we should move. The unidentified sniper could still be nearby. None of our search teams have found anyone."
Caio remained silent for a moment, his gaze wandering thoughtfully across the skyline.
"Did the capo assigned to escort Ariana report back?"
"He did," Leo replied. "About half an hour ago."
Caio looked toward the rooftops once more.
Before long, a faint smile slowly touched one corner of his mouth.
’You’re terrible at following my orders, aren’t you?’
At last, he turned back toward the convoy.
"After we’ve finished clearing the meatpacking plant, conduct a complete inventory of the armory we brought with us tonight."
Leo frowned. "Inventory?"
A glimmer of amusement returned to Caio’s eyes.
"See if a sniper rifle is missing. And after that..."
His smile widened.
"...bring that capo to my study."
