Chapter 20

Red and blue lights flooded the shattered warehouse windows. Sirens screamed through the night. Luca didn’t move. Around him, the armed men reacted immediately. Some reached for their weapons, while others bolted toward the back exit.  

“Police!” someone shouted.  

“Everyone move!”  

The syndicate leader speaking with Luca cursed under his breath.  

“You brought them here.”  

Luca’s eyes narrowed.  

“I didn’t.”  

The man didn’t seem convinced.  

“You think we’re stupid?”  

Outside, tires screeched as police vehicles surrounded the building. Megaphones crackled through the air.  

“THIS IS THE POLICE! EVERYONE INSIDE THE BUILDING DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!”  

The syndicate members scattered. Some ran while others prepared to fight. But Luca remained perfectly still. Something didn’t add up. The police had arrived too quickly and too precisely. It was almost as if someone had known exactly where he would be.  

The syndicate leader grabbed Luca by the collar and slammed him against the wall.  

“If this is a setup”  

“It isn’t.”  

“Then how did they find us?”  

Luca stayed silent. He was beginning to suspect the truth. Someone had followed him, or worse, someone had wanted him here.  

Gunshots suddenly erupted from the far end of the warehouse. Police had breached the building. The syndicate leader let go of Luca.  

“Everyone out the back!” he shouted.  

Men rushed past them in chaos. Footsteps, gunfire, shattered glass. The entire operation collapsed in seconds. Luca pushed off the wall. He could escape; the back exit was still open. But as he started toward it, a voice echoed behind him.  

“DROP YOUR WEAPON!”  

Luca froze. Three armed officers stood in the doorway, weapons aimed directly at him.  

“Hands where we can see them!”  

Slowly, Luca raised his hands. The officers advanced cautiously. One of them kicked the gun away from Luca’s belt.  

“Get on your knees.”  

Luca hesitated for a moment, then obeyed. Cold metal cuffs snapped around his wrists.  

“You’re under arrest.”  

Luca didn’t resist. At that moment, he realized something important. This arrest wasn’t an accident.  

Across the city, Damon was still awake. The penthouse felt eerily quiet without Luca. He sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the note Luca had left behind.  

“Stay alive, Damon.”  

Damon exhaled sharply.  

“You dramatic idiot.”  

But the frustration didn’t erase the emptiness in his chest. He hated the silence and not knowing where Luca was. Most of all, he hated the thought that Luca might not come back.  

Damon rubbed his temples. He needed a distraction, something to focus on. His laptop sat open in front of him, displaying company security reports. If Luca was gone, Damon would continue the investigation himself. Someone inside Moretti Holdings had been funding assassins, and Damon was determined to expose them, even if it meant tearing his own company apart.  

He scrolled through another financial file, then another, until something caught his eye. A recent payment, large and unusual, authorized just a few hours ago. Damon frowned.  

“Who approved this?”  

He clicked on the record. The authorization code appeared on the screen. Damon’s expression hardened as he recognized the code instantly. It belonged to someone with executive clearance, someone who technically shouldn’t have access to financial transfers anymore. Someone who had already died.  

Damon leaned closer to the screen.  

“This doesn’t make sense.”  

Before he could investigate further, his phone rang. Unknown number. Damon hesitated, then answered.  

“Yes?”  

A calm voice replied.  

“Mr. Moretti.”  

Damon frowned.  

“Who is this?”  

“Detective Alvarez.”  

Damon straightened.  

“What can I do for you, Detective?”  

“I’m calling about someone you know.”  

Damon’s stomach tightened.  

“Who?”  

There was a short pause before the detective spoke.  

“Luca Raines.”  

Damon froze.  

“What about him?”  

“He was arrested tonight.”  

The words echoed in Damon’s mind.  

“…Arrested?”  

“Yes.”  

“For what?”  

The detective’s voice grew serious.  

“For multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit murder.”  

Damon tightened his grip on the phone.  

“That’s impossible.”  

“We also recovered evidence linking him to several assassination contracts.”  

Damon felt his chest constrict.  

“You’re wrong.”  

“Mr. Moreau”  

“You’re wrong.”  

The detective paused.  

“You may want to come to the station.”  

The call ended. Damon sat in stunned silence. Luca… arrested? For murder? It didn’t make sense. But a dangerous possibility whispered deep inside Damon. What if Matteo had been right? What if Luca wasn’t protecting him… what if he had been using him?  

Damon pushed that thought away immediately.  

“No.”  

He stood abruptly.  

“Not possible.”  

But doubt had already taken root.  

Inside the interrogation room at the police station, Luca sat alone. The metal cuffs still restricted his wrists. A detective entered and placed a thick folder on the table.  

“You’ve been busy,” the man said.  

Luca remained silent. The detective opened the folder, revealing photos spread across the table. Crime scenes, bodies, assassination reports, each labeled with the same name: Luca Raines.  

The detective leaned forward.  

“Care to explain?”  

Luca studied the photos quietly. Some were real, some were manipulated, and some he had never seen before.  

“Interesting,” Luca said calmly.  

The detective frowned.  

“What is?”  

“This evidence.”  

“Why?”  

“Because half of it is fake.”  

The detective’s eyes narrowed.  

“That’s a bold claim.”  

Luca leaned back in his chair.  

“Someone wants me here.”  

“And why would they want that?”  

Luca’s gaze darkened slightly.  

“To remove me from the board.”  

The detective tilted his head.  

“What board?”  

Luca didn’t answer. But in his mind, the pieces were starting to fall into place. Someone had tipped off the police, planted evidence, and orchestrated this entire situation. Luca knew exactly who would benefit the most from his arrest. Matteo.  

Across town, Damon rushed into the police station. A receptionist looked up.  

“Can I help you?”  

“I’m here for Luca Raines.”  

She checked the system and then nodded toward the hallway.  

“Interrogation room three.”  

Damon walked down the corridor quickly. But before he reached the door, two detectives stepped out of another office. One of them held a tablet.  

“Mr. Moraeu”  

Damon turned.  

“Yes?”  

The detective’s expression was serious.  

“You should see this before speaking to him.”  

He turned the tablet around. A security video began playing. The footage showed Luca inside a dark room, speaking to several armed men. Damon watched as Luca clearly said,  

“I want the contract on Damon Moretti.”  

Damon felt his world tilt. The detective spoke quietly.  

“This video was recovered from the warehouse tonight.”  

Damon stared at the screen, heart pounding. For the first time since meeting Luca, he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.