Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia’s Reckoning : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

Chapter Forty-One Sophia’s breath caught in her throat.Leon.He looked older, leaner, but no less dangerous. His black coat hung from broad shoulders, water beading along the collar. His eyes—Alex’s eyes, but colder—gleamed in the low light of the study. The Morano crest ring, once worn by Alex’s father, gleamed on Leon’s finger as he twirled it between two fingers, a quiet mockery of legacy.She didn’t lower her hand from the blade hidden in her boot.“You shouldn’t be here,” she said evenly.Leon’s smile was polite, almost charming. “Neither should you. But here we are, two ghosts in the same house.”He moved toward the old desk, the one that only Alex and Dominic ever used. Without asking, Leon sat.“You’re bold,” Sophia said.“No,” he replied calmly. “I’m home.”She bristled, inching toward the edge of the study. If she could just get to the silent alarm near the shelf…“Don’t,” Leon said, without even looking at her. “I’ve already disarmed every trigger. If I wanted Alex dead,

Chapter Forty-ThreeThe city never slept, but tonight it felt more alive than usual. Shadows sprawled long over the cracked pavements, headlights flickered like searchlights in a war zone, and sirens wailed faintly in the distance, a haunting chorus to the chaos stirring beneath the surface.Alex Morano sat in the back of his armored vehicle, the leather seats creaking as he shifted, restless. The drive to the hidden compound on the outskirts of town was supposed to be routine—a regrouping with his most trusted lieutenants, a strategy meeting to counter the mess Diego left in his wake. But nothing had been routine since the night Sophia walked back into his life and shattered the illusion of stability he’d been clinging to.His fingers tapped against his thigh, betraying his unease.“Five minutes out,” Marco, his driver and one of the few men Alex still trusted implicitly, called from the front seat.Alex nodded but said nothing. His thoughts drifted, unbidden, to the file he’d found

Chapter Forty-Five The blood was still warm on Alex’s hands.He stared down at the crimson staining his knuckles, seeping into the creases of his skin like a mark that refused to fade. The man slumped before him—one of Diego’s loyalists—gurgled as he fought for a final breath, but Alex felt nothing. No regret. No triumph. Just the quiet, consuming void that had taken residence inside him ever since trust became a luxury he could no longer afford.He rose slowly, glancing at Dominic, who stood nearby, his face unreadable. The warehouse reeked of oil, metal, and death. Another one of their safehouses was compromised. Another trap sprang too late.“He confessed,” Dominic finally said, his voice low. “Diego’s pulling strings we didn’t know he had. That deal in Marseilles? It’s his. The ambush last week? His. He’s been steps ahead of us.”Alex wiped his hands on a rag, tossing it aside. “How many more are loyal to him?”“Too many. And some we thought were ours.”Alex’s jaw tightened. His

Chapter Forty-Seven The silence that followed the sniper’s shot wasn’t peace—it was a warning. Alex moved like a shadow through the hallway of the old estate, Sophia trailing close behind him, both of them hyperaware of the sounds outside—the creak of branches, the shift of gravel under boots, the sharp crackle of a nearby comm in Rico’s voice trying to stay calm through chaos. When they reached the command room, Rico was already waiting, blood running down his arm, soaked into the torn sleeve of his jacket. “Just a graze,” Rico muttered when Alex’s eyes dropped to the wound. “But they were aiming to kill.” “Did you get a visual?” Alex asked, scanning the surveillance monitors. “Not a clear one,” Rico said, wiping blood from his brow. “But they knew exactly where the cameras were. Took out all our feeds facing the northern treeline within seconds.” “Whoever it was,” Sophia added, her voice taut, “they’re sending a message.” Alex’s jaw clenched. “And I’m done receiving

Chapter Forty-Nine The Polaroid crinkled slightly in Alex’s grip, blood roaring in his ears as the edges of the photo curled under the pressure of his clenched fist. Sophia’s image was burned into his vision—her bruised lip, the blindfold, the rope binding her hands.Dominic stood stone-still beside him, the silence stretching long between them.“I’m calling the extraction teams,” Dominic finally muttered. “We’ll sweep the city. Docks, warehouses, and tunnels. He won’t be able to hide her.”“No,” Alex growled, voice low. Controlled. Dangerous. “This isn’t a random kidnapping. This is staged. Coordinated.”“Then what the hell is this?” Dominic snapped, snatching the photo from Alex’s hand and waving it. “He took her, Alex. Right from under us. We were seconds too slow.”Alex turned his back on him, stepping toward the surveillance table. His fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up feeds from the rear exit, street-level footage, heat sensors—anything that could give him an edge.T