Chapter 8 - The Betrayal
Our fragile peace was violently shattered exactly three days later.
Ricardo had left the estate for an emergency meeting with his lieutenants in the city.
I was reading a story to Leo in the library when the main power to the entire estate suddenly went out.
The heavy security doors automatically locked down, plunging the house into absolute darkness.
Leo immediately started screaming in terror, remembering the dark car where his mother had died.
"It's okay, baby! I am right here," I promised, pulling him tightly into my arms in the dark.
I grabbed my emergency flashlight and the heavy iron poker from the fireplace.
The library doors suddenly unlocked with an electronic click, which meant someone had bypassed the internal security system.
Dante stepped into the room, holding a suppressed pistol at his side.
"Thank God, Dante," I breathed a sigh of relief. "What is happening?"
Dante did not lower his weapon; instead, he raised it and pointed it directly at my chest.
"I am sorry, Clara. But the Russians offered me ten million dollars and a safe passage out of the country," Dante said coldly.
My blood ran completely cold as the ultimate betrayal finally made sense.
Dante was the mole; he was the one who let the gunmen into the park, and he was the one shutting down the estate.
"You have been with Ricardo for ten years!" I yelled, stepping completely in front of Leo to shield him.
"Ricardo is weak now. He cares more about you and the boy than he cares about the business," Dante sneered.
Two heavily armed Russian mercenaries stepped into the library behind Dante.
"Take the woman. The boss wants to use her as bait to lure Moretti into a trap," Dante ordered the men.
"If you touch the boy, Ricardo will hunt you to the ends of the earth!" I screamed as the men grabbed my arms.
"The boy stays here. He is no use to us," Dante replied, turning his back on me.
They dragged me out of the room while Leo screamed my name in the dark.
I fought, kicked, and clawed like a wild animal, but they were entirely too strong.
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They shoved me into the trunk of a waiting car, slamming the lid shut and plunging me into absolute darkness.
I knew Ricardo would come for me, but I did not know if he would arrive in time.
