Bound by Blood and Law

Chapter 7: The Betrayal

The night was heavy with tension as Amara waited in the De Luca mansion, her mind racing with worry for Matteo and the men who had gone with him. The house was too quiet, the silence pressing down on her like a weight. She tried to distract herself, pacing the halls and going over the details of the operation in her mind, but nothing could ease the gnawing anxiety that had taken hold of her.

She was used to high-stakes situations in the courtroom, where lives could be changed with the stroke of a pen or the outcome of a jury's deliberation. But this was different. This was life and death in the most literal sense, and the stakes were impossibly high. Matteo was out there, putting his life on the line, and all she could do was wait.

Hours passed, and still, there was no word from Matteo. Amara tried to tell herself that no news was good news, that silence meant they were too busy executing the plan to contact her. But the longer she waited, the harder it became to keep the fear at bay.

Finally, when the night was at its darkest, the phone rang. Amara snatched it up, her heart pounding in her chest. It was Matteo.

"Matteo," she breathed, relief flooding her as she heard his voice.

"It's done," Matteo said, his voice low and strained. "We intercepted the Lombardos at the docks. The shipment is secure."

Amara let out a shaky breath, the tension easing just a fraction. "Thank God. Are you alright?"

"We're fine," Matteo replied, though there was an edge to his voice that told her there was more to the story. "But there's something you need to know. It's about Leo."

Amara's blood ran cold. "What about him?"

Matteo hesitated for a moment, and Amara's heart sank as she realized what he was about to say. "He betrayed us, Amara. He tipped off the Lombardos about the shipment. That's how they knew where to strike."

Amara felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her. Leo, Matteo's own brother, had betrayed them. She had known that Leo was a troublemaker, that his ambitions often put him at odds with Matteo, but she had never imagined he would go this far.

"Where is he now?" Amara asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He's gone," Matteo said, his tone hard. "He fled before we could get to him. But I'm going to find him, Amara. And when I do, he'll pay for what he's done."

Amara's hand tightened around the phone, her mind reeling. "Matteo, he's your brother..."

"Not anymore," Matteo interrupted, his voice cold as ice. "He's nothing to me now. No one betrays this family and gets away with it."

Amara could hear the fury in his voice, the deep, simmering anger that Leo's betrayal had unleashed. She understood it, felt it herself even, but it also terrified her. She knew that Matteo was capable of terrible things when pushed, and she feared what he might do in his quest for revenge.

"Matteo, please," Amara said, her voice trembling. "Don't do anything rash. We need to think this through."

"There's nothing to think about," Matteo replied, his tone final. "Leo made his choice, and now he'll face the consequences. I'll be home soon."

Before Amara could respond, the line went dead. She stared at the phone in her hand, her heart pounding. The night had gone from tense to catastrophic in a matter of moments, and now she was faced with a new and terrifying reality. Leo had betrayed them, and Matteo was on the warpath.

She sank down into a chair, her mind racing. Leo's betrayal wasn't just a personal affront—it was a threat to everything they had built, to the fragile alliance that held the De Luca family together. If word got out, it could tear the family apart, leave them vulnerable to their enemies. And worst of all, it could push Matteo into a dark place from which there was no return.