Chapter Seven: Blood Oaths and Broken Chains
The war began with fire.
Four of Lorenzo's safehouses were burned to the ground in one night.
A car bomb detonated outside one of his nightclubs, sending glass and body parts across three city blocks.
Two of his men disappeared. Their bodies surfaced in the river three days later — missing their hands.
It was Matteo's calling card.
The message was clear.
You took the girl. Now I'll take everything.
---
Lorenzo paced the war room like a caged animal, phone clutched in his hand, jaw clenched.
Julie sat at the table, reviewing maps and logistics with a focus that surprised even Marco.
"We hit back," Lorenzo snapped. "Tonight."
Marco frowned. "They've got more firepower. We need a plan, not a tantrum."
Lorenzo turned toward Julie.
"What would you do?"
She looked up, calm. Controlled.
"I'd cut off their funding. Hit the banks, the front businesses, the bribes keeping their politicians quiet. Bleed them dry. Make every bullet they buy cost twice as much."
The room went still.
Marco stared.
So did Lorenzo.
"You sure you were a bookseller?" Marco muttered.
Julie's eyes never left the map. "No. I just know how to dismantle systems. I've lived in one my whole life."
---
Over the next week, Julie's strategy played out like clockwork.
Three fake front companies went under overnight.
A bank manager loyal to Matteo had a sudden and very public arrest.
A high-ranking city official disappeared — only to resurface on TV, confessing a slew of dirty deals with the Lucetti family.
The tide turned.
Julie earned respect. Fear. Loyalty.
But the deeper she went, the more secrets began to surface — especially about her own past.
---
One night, while reviewing old files in Lorenzo's study, Julie came across a photo buried in an old envelope.
It showed her as a child — maybe six years old.
Standing next to her father.
And a man with Matteo Lucetti's eyes.
She froze.
Flipped the photo.
On the back, in faded handwriting:
"Daniel, Matteo, and little Julia — 2009."
Her stomach turned.
She rushed to Lorenzo, photo in hand.
"Is this a joke?" she demanded. "Why is he holding me like I'm his—?"
Lorenzo looked stricken.
He took the photo. Studied it.
And finally spoke.
"Julie… I didn't know for sure. I swear to you."
"Didn't know what?"
He met her eyes.
"Matteo might be your uncle."
Silence.
Julie's breath left her in a single sharp exhale. "That's not possible."
"Your father worked for him. They were close. Like brothers. There were rumors that—"
"That what? My whole life was a lie?"
Lorenzo stepped forward. "No. That Matteo loved your father like family. And maybe, just maybe, that's why he didn't kill you when your father betrayed him."
Julie's mind reeled.
It explained too much.
Why Matteo's men hadn't killed her on sight.
Why her apartment hadn't been hit.
Why she'd always felt like a shadow in someone else's story.
---
She walked into the courtyard that night alone, trying to breathe.
Trying to be still.
Lorenzo followed.
"You're not your blood," he said gently. "You're not your past."
She turned to face him, eyes fierce.
"I know."
And then she kissed him.
It wasn't soft.
It was desperate. Hungry. Full of everything they hadn't said.
They made love in the dark, under the stars, like two warriors clinging to a moment before the world tore them apart again.
---
The next morning, she stood before the table of capos.
All men.
All killers.
All staring.
"I'm leading the next mission," she said calmly. "We hit Matteo's weapons convoy at the rail yard. Tonight."
Silence.
Then one of them scoffed. "And if we say no, princess?"
Julie walked around the table, stopped behind him, and whispered:
"Then I'll do it without you. And when I succeed, you'll be the one explaining to Lorenzo why your balls shriveled up at the sight of a woman in charge."
The man flushed red.
Then, grudgingly, nodded.
Marco smirked.
"She's ready."
---
Meanwhile, in a cold penthouse across the city, Matteo sat in silence, watching footage from a drone above the rail yard.
He turned to the man beside him.
"I want her alive," he said. "No matter what it takes."
The man nodded.
"After all," Matteo said with a dark smile, "you always protect family."