Chapter 11 - The Barbieri Ring|
The first shot shattered the office window.
Tomasso threw Caterina to the floor as glass sprayed across the desk. Mateo dove behind a filing cabinet, clutching the recorder against his chest.
"Stay down!" Tomasso shouted.
A second shot struck the doorframe.
Tomasso fired twice toward the hallway, forcing the attackers to retreat. He reached for Caterina, checked her arms and shoulders, then turned toward Mateo.
"Can you move?"
Mateo nodded.
"There's a back exit."
"Show us."
They ran through the common room, past overturned chairs and broken toys, and into a narrow corridor that ended at a rusted metal door. Mateo kicked it open. The three of them emerged into an alley behind the building.
Marco's SUV screeched around the corner.
"Get in!"
Tomasso pushed Caterina into the back seat and followed. Mateo climbed into the passenger side as Marco accelerated away.
"How many?" Tomasso demanded.
"Three men," Marco replied. "They arrived in a stolen van. I saw one carrying a rifle."
"Did you get a plate?"
"No. But I recognized their insignia."
Tomasso's eyes narrowed.
"Whose?"
Marco hesitated.
"Barbieri security."
Silence filled the vehicle.
Caterina looked at Tomasso's ring.
"The recording said not to trust the man who carries it."
"I know."
"Is that your family crest?"
"Yes."
"Then perhaps your mother knew something you don't."
Tomasso turned to Mateo.
"Do you have another copy of the recording?"
"No."
"Then we protect the original."
Mateo held it tighter.
"You mean you protect it. I've been hiding from men like you my entire life."
Tomasso accepted the accusation without anger.
"Fair enough."
They reached the estate shortly before sunset. Marco escorted Mateo to a secure guest suite while Tomasso took Caterina to his study.
She stood by the desk, pale with fury.
"Your own security team tried to kill us."
"Someone used their insignia. That doesn't mean my men were responsible."
"How many people have access to your security codes?"
"Twenty-three."
"How many have worked for Enzo?"
Tomasso said nothing.
Caterina walked toward the window.
"Your uncle raised you. He controls your men. He knows your habits, your accounts, your private history. If Elena's warning was about him, you may have been protecting the wrong person for years."
Tomasso removed the ring.
He placed it on the desk.
"I wore this at my father's funeral. I wore it when I took over the family. I wore it every time I ordered someone to be punished for his death."
His voice hardened.
"If Enzo used my name to murder innocent people, I will find out."
Caterina studied him.
"And if he killed your father?"
Tomasso looked at the ring.
"Then I will have to decide whether blood means anything when loyalty has been a lie."
That night, Marco brought them a report. One of the men who attacked the children's home had been identified through a fingerprint recovered from the stolen van.
His name was Victor Salas.
He had worked as a driver for Enzo Barbieri for nine years.
Tomasso read the report twice.
"Find him."
Marco shook his head.
"He's missing."
"Then find the people who know where he is."
Before Marco could leave, the study telephone rang.
Tomasso answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"Your father knew the truth, Don. That's why he died."
"Who is this?"
"You have something that belongs to me."
The line went dead.
A moment later, a message appeared on Tomasso's phone. It contained a photograph of Mateo standing in the guest suite.
The picture had been taken from inside the mansion.
Beneath it was a sentence.
Deliver the heir before midnight, or Caterina will learn what happened to her mother.
Tomasso looked toward the ceiling.
Someone inside his estate was watching them.
May you like
And whoever it was had just made a mistake.
They had threatened the one person Tomasso could no longer afford to lose.
