Page 136 of Auctioned Innocence
Within minutes, I can see everything—their real positions, their actual numbers, their true strategy, their escape routes, their backup plans. And more importantly, I can start feeding them false information, creating confusion in their ranks, turning their coordination into chaos.
“What now?” Marco asks through gritted teeth, applying field dressings to his wound while maintaining his position. Despite the blood loss, his eyes are clear and focused, the sharp mind that’s kept our family alive for years already planning our counterattack.
I meet Dante’s eyes across the command center, seeing my own resolve reflected in those slate-gray depths. See the love and fierce protectiveness that’s driven him to risk everything for me. See the absolute trust that tells me he’ll follow me into hell if that’s what it takes.
“Now?” I smile without humor. “Now we show them exactly what happens when they hurt my family. When they violate our home. When they think they can destroy us.”
I turn back to my keyboard, fingers dancing across the keys as I prepare to unleash everything I’ve learned about digital warfare.
“Lorenzo thinks he knows me. Thinks he understands what I’m capable of. James thinks his betrayal gives them an insurmountable advantage.” My voice carries absolute certainty as I watch our enemies’ coordination begin to crumble under my digital assault. “They’re both about to discover something really fucking important.”
“What rose from those ashes,” I continue, my smile turning gleeful as I take complete control of their communication systems, “is something they’re not prepared for.”
I look at my wounded brother, at the man I love, and at the command center that represents everything our family has built over generations.
Lorenzo wants war?
Let’s give him war.
But this time, we’re fighting it onmyterms.
29
DANTE
Marco winces as he applies fresh pressure to his shoulder wound, but his eyes remain sharp as he watches Sofia direct his men. All trace of our earlier crisis is locked away behind laser focus. She’s magnificent. Terrifying.
“Teams two and four, flank the east corridor,” she orders through our comms, her voice carrying the same authority I’ve heard from Marco in combat situations. “They’re trying to herd us toward the vault. We herd them instead. Team six, I need you to create a distraction at the north entrance—make them think we’re trying to escape that way.”
“Copy that,” comes the immediate response, and I realize Marco’s men are following her orders without question. Not because she’s the boss’s daughter, but because she’s earned their respect through competence.
Marco catches my eye as we lay down covering fire, favoring his injured arm but still maintaining position. “You taught her that flanking maneuver?”
“She taught herself.” Pride bleeds into my voice as I watch her coordinate a defense that would make military tacticians weep with envy. “I just showed her the angles.”
More explosions rock the building above us, dust and debris raining down through the reinforced ceiling. Sofia doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even look up from her laptop as she coordinates our defense from the command center.
“Incoming from the service tunnels!” one of Marco’s men reports through comms.
“Team three, fall back to checkpoint alpha,” Sofia responds immediately, pulling up building schematics to track enemy movement. “I’m sealing tunnel access in three…two…one.”
Metal barriers slam shut throughout the building, trapping several of Lorenzo’s men in compartmentalized sections.
“Their primary comms are compromised,” she reports, scrolling through data streams with one hand while typing commands with the other. “But they’ve got backup channels I’m still tracking down. They’re after the Council records stored here. Lorenzo’s trying to destroy evidence before?—”
The lights flicker as another explosion rocks the foundation. Through our monitors, I watch Lorenzo’s forces breach the main level, moving toward our position.
“Sofia,” Marco warns, checking his ammunition with his good hand. “We’ve got maybe ten minutes before they reach us.”
“Then we don’t give them ten minutes.” Her fingers fly across the keyboard. “Teams five and seven, initiate Protocol Bravo. Draw them into the main ballroom.”
I watch our security feeds as Marco’s men execute her strategy flawlessly—falling back in apparent retreat, leading Lorenzo’s forces into what appears to be an advantage. The enemy pours into the grand ballroom, confident they’ve cornered their prey.
“Now,” Sofia whispers, triggering something I didn’t know existed.
Hidden panels slide open in the ballroom walls. Automated defense systems—not lethal, but incapacitating—flood the room with tear gas while sonic disruptors disorient the attackers. In seconds, twenty of Lorenzo’s men are neutralized without a single casualty on our side.
“Holyshit,” one of Marco’s lieutenants breathes through comms. “Where did those come from?”
