Chapter 10: The Trap

They had forty-five minutes to plan an operation that would either save Marco or get them all killed, and Elena spent the first five of those minutes forcing her hands to stay still while Damien coordinated with his men. He spoke rapid Italian with the cold precision he used when things turned serious, and Elena realized she was watching the version of him that had survived long enough to become an underboss despite growing up with a monster for a father.

The plan came together faster than she expected. Damien positioned his best shooters on rooftops surrounding the abandoned factory, while other teams prepared to enter through side doors once Elena was inside. She would walk in through the front, just as the message demanded, and keep whoever was waiting there occupied long enough for the teams to move into position. When the signal came, Damien’s men would strike fast and hard, before anyone could hurt Marco or use him as leverage.

Elena asked what happened if Marco had already been hurt, or if he was no longer alive, and Damien’s expression darkened as he said they had to assume Marco was alive. Otherwise, there would be no point to the trap. Whoever had taken Marco wanted something from Elena badly enough to risk a confrontation like this, and that meant they believed she was valuable enough to keep breathing until they got what they wanted.

The documents Richard had given her sat heavy in the pocket of her jacket, heavier than paper should feel, as if they carried the weight of every violent act that had followed her father discovering someone was stealing from him. She thought briefly about handing them over and walking away, but she knew better. In this world, once you stepped in, the only way out was in a coffin.

Damien came over and checked the bulletproof vest one of his men had strapped onto her, then made her promise that if things went wrong she would run instead of trying to be a hero. Elena told him she had no intention of dying tonight if that was his concern, and Damien cupped her face as he admitted he was worried about many things, but mostly about losing her before he understood what they truly were to each other.

She wanted to respond, but the words caught in her throat. Admitting her feelings felt like handing him a weapon he could use to hurt her, and trust was still something she struggled to give. Instead, she nodded. Damien kissed her quickly and firmly, then stepped back and told her it was time.

Up close, the factory looked even more abandoned. Broken windows gaped like empty eyes, graffiti covered the walls, and weeds pushed through cracks in the concrete. Elena left the car two blocks away and walked the rest of the distance alone, just as instructed. Every shadow felt alive, as if someone might step out with a gun already aimed at her head. She couldn’t see Damien’s men, but she felt them watching, and she hoped whoever waited inside the factory couldn’t see them either.

The front door was held open by a brick. Elena stepped inside, swallowed by darkness that smelled of rust and old oil. She paused until her eyes adjusted, then followed the sound of voices deeper into the building. The space had once been a manufacturing floor, and her footsteps echoed off metal and concrete in a way that made her feel exposed and vulnerable.

She found them in what appeared to be an old break room. Marco was tied to a chair in the center, three men standing around him with guns drawn. His face was swollen and bloodied, but he was conscious. When he saw her, he shook his head slightly, warning her that this was a mistake and she should leave. Elena ignored him and focused on the men, her stomach dropping when she recognized Salvatore Ricci among them.

Ricci smiled at her reaction and said he was pleased she remembered him. He had wondered whether Antonio’s daughter had inherited her father’s intelligence or if she would walk into an obvious trap like an amateur. Elena said she had come alone, just as instructed, and she had the documents. They should release Marco and take what they wanted.

Ricci laughed and said it didn’t work that way. She had seen their faces and identified him as the leak, which made her too dangerous to leave alive.

One of the other men stepped forward, and Elena froze when she recognized him. Leonardo Calabrese. The realization sent a shock through her, because it meant this went far higher than she had expected. Leonardo said he was impressed she had survived this long, given how unprepared she’d been for this life. He had expected her to fold within the first week, but instead she had fought back like someone who actually had a spine.

Elena asked if he had killed her father. Leonardo’s expression shifted into something close to regret as he admitted he hadn’t pulled the trigger himself, but he had ordered it. Antonio had discovered the theft operation Leonardo had been running through Russo territory and planned to expose him to the other families, which would have destroyed everything Leonardo had built over two decades. Killing Antonio and framing it as a power struggle had been the cleanest solution.

Marco made a sound of rage through his gag and tried to lunge forward, but the chair was bolted to the floor and all he managed to do was hurt himself. Fury burned in Elena’s chest as she asked Leonardo what he wanted from her now. He said he wanted the documents so he could erase the remaining evidence of his theft operation. After that, he wanted her to sign over half of Russo territory to the Calabrese family as compensation for the warehouse she had destroyed.

Elena laughed, because the audacity was almost admirable. She told him there was no version of reality where she handed anything over to the man who murdered her father. Leonardo’s face hardened as he raised his gun and pressed it to Marco’s head. He gave her ten seconds to agree, or Marco would die in front of her. After that, she would die too, and the Russo family would be torn apart by whoever claimed the remains.

Elena counted to five silently, then pulled the documents from her pocket and tossed them at Leonardo’s feet. She told him if he wanted them so badly, he could bend down and fetch them like the dog he was. Leonardo flushed with rage and swung the gun toward her.

That was when Damien’s voice echoed through the building, announcing that the factory was surrounded and ordering Leonardo to drop the weapon.

Chaos followed instantly. Damien’s men poured in through doors Elena hadn’t even noticed. Leonardo opened fire. Ricci grabbed Elena and pressed a gun to her head. She heard Marco shouting through his gag, gunshots ringing, someone screaming. Ricci dragged her toward what looked like a loading dock, using her as a shield.

Damien appeared in front of them, gun raised, his expression ice-cold. He told Ricci to let her go or die where he stood. Ricci threatened to kill Elena and continued backing toward the exit. Elena realized he planned to escape with her, and once he was clear, he would likely kill her without hesitation.

She remembered her self-defense training and the instructor’s words about acting when your attacker felt safest. She waited until Ricci’s attention flicked toward the door. Then she drove her elbow into his ribs and twisted away from the gun. Damien’s shot hit Ricci in the chest before Elena had fully moved.

Ricci collapsed. Elena stumbled into Damien’s arms, and he held her while the rest of the factory was secured. Leonardo lay bleeding from a shoulder wound as one of Damien’s men restrained him and another called for medical support.

Marco was still tied to the chair but alive. Elena went to him while Damien coordinated with his teams. She removed the gag and worked at the ropes. Marco called her an idiot for coming, but admitted he was glad she had. He’d thought he was dead. Elena told him she couldn’t afford to lose the only person who knew how to run a criminal empire, and his laugh was painful but real.

Once Marco was free and checked for serious injuries, Damien approached Elena and asked if she was hurt. She shook her head, even though her ribs ached and her hands trembled.

Leonardo glared at them from the floor. Damien crouched beside him and offered a choice: cooperate and reveal everyone involved in Antonio’s murder and the theft operation, or refuse and experience the most painful hours of his life before dying.

Leonardo spat blood and accused Damien of bluffing. Torturing a family boss would start a war. Damien smiled and said the war had already begun, and Leonardo had lost. He had ten seconds to speak.

Leonardo finally agreed, but only to Elena. Damien looked at her, and she nodded before crouching beside the older man. Leonardo admitted it had never really been about her or even Antonio. It had been about Vincent Cross and a deal made five years earlier to take over the East Coast by eliminating rival families.

The truth hit Elena like physical blows. Vincent had orchestrated everything, framing families while consolidating power. Antonio’s discovery threatened to expose it all. Vincent ordered the hit, then manipulated Damien into marrying Elena to absorb Russo territory. Leonardo had gone along with it, believing Vincent unstoppable.

Elena looked at Damien and saw her shock mirrored in his face. They had both been pawns from the beginning. Everything since her father’s death had been engineered by Vincent Cross.

Leonardo offered to testify if they protected him from Vincent. Elena told him she would consider it while he bled on the floor.