Chapter 45 - A Serpent’s Echo

The three armed guards reacted instantly, drawing their concealed handguns, but before they could level them at Julian, the vaulted chamber erupted into blinding white light and deafening noise.

"Polizia di Stato! Lay down your weapons!"

From the side galleries, six heavily armed officers of the Vatican Swiss Guard and Italian Carabinieri emerged, their tactical rifles aimed squarely at Matteo’s men. At the front was Giancarlo, holding a satellite phone, accompanied by an Italian inspector in plain clothes.

"Drop your weapons immediately!" the inspector barked.

The tension in the stone vault was suffocating. Matteo’s men, realizing they were completely outmatched on sovereign Vatican territory, slowly dropped their firearms onto the flagstones and raised their hands.

Julian released Matteo with a look of pure disgust, dusting his hands as if he had touched filth. Matteo staggered back, clutching his chest, his face purple with humiliation and rage.

"How...?" Matteo wheezed, glaring at Giancarlo.

"You underestimated Signora Francesca," Giancarlo said with a dignified bow. "The moment we stepped foot in Rome, she had our security trace the incoming private jet manifests at Ciampino. She suspected you wouldn't send another proxy this time."

I looked at Matteo, my heart hammering against my ribs, but my expression calm and unwavering. "A Wall Street predator never leaves his back exposed, Matthew. You taught Jason how to hide money, but I spent eleven years auditing forensic balance sheets. Did you really think I wouldn't track the sudden liquidity movements from your Zurich trust over the last forty-eight hours?"

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The Italian inspector stepped forward, clicking a pair of steel handcuffs around Matteo’s wrists. "Matthew Ross, also known as Matteo Rossi. You are under arrest for conspiracy, international fraud, and the attempted homicide of Count Alberto Rossi based on recovered telemetry data from Switzerland."

As they dragged him away, Matteo looked back over his shoulder, his eyes burning with venomous malice. "You think this ends with me, Julian? The trust has already initiated the liquidity sweep! Jason Vance didn't die in prison—he broke bail yesterday in New York! He's already on European soil, Julian! And he wants his revenge!"