Police lights flooded the underground loading dock in harsh red and blue flashes. Officers moved in with weapons raised.
Luca and Anthony stood still.
Not allies.
Not enemies.
Just two heirs caught in the same spotlight.
Detective Isabella Reyes approached slowly, her heels echoing against concrete.
"You two are either the worst criminals I've ever seen," she said calmly, "or the smartest."
Neither responded.
She studied their expressions—steady, controlled.
"You were lured here," Isabella continued. "Just like the rest of us."
Anthony glanced at Luca briefly.
Isabella noticed.
"So it's true," she said quietly. "You're working together."
"For now," Luca replied.
That was the first word either of them had spoken.
Isabella tilted her head slightly. "You understand how this looks."
"Yes," Luca answered.
"And you still came."
Anthony stepped forward. "Caruso isn't just attacking us. He's attacking the city."
A long silence followed.
Isabella lowered her weapon.
"I know."
Outside, power was slowly returning across sections of New York City. Apartment windows flickered back to life. Traffic resumed cautiously.
But the damage had already been done.
News anchors were calling it a coordinated attack.
Financial markets would react in the morning.
Fear would spread faster than electricity.
Exactly as Matteo intended.
In a private penthouse overlooking the skyline, Matteo Caruso watched the lights come back on.
"They survived again," his lieutenant said carefully.
"Yes," Matteo replied calmly.
"You let them."
Matteo swirled the wine in his glass.
"Leaders under pressure reveal themselves," he said. "And tonight, they proved something."
"What?"
"They're capable."
The lieutenant frowned. "Isn't that a problem?"
Matteo smiled faintly.
"Not if they're divided."
He pressed a button on a tablet.
On-screen: leaked photographs.
Luca and Anthony at Pier 17.
Luca and Anthony in the parking structure.
Luca and Anthony tonight—under police lights.
"Release them anonymously," Matteo ordered.
The lieutenant hesitated. "To who?"
Matteo's eyes hardened.
"To everyone."
By morning, the photos were everywhere.
Anonymous social media accounts.
Encrypted message boards.
Even whispered conversations in restaurants and union halls.
The message was clear:
The heirs were conspiring.
Inside the Moretti estate, Vittorio threw a tablet across the dining table.
"You call this strategy?" he roared.
The image of Luca standing beside Anthony glowed on the screen.
Don Alessandro remained seated, silent but watchful.
"Explain," the Don said finally.
Luca stood firm.
"If we were betraying you," he said evenly, "we wouldn't be photographed in public."
"That's exactly what someone clever would do," Vittorio snapped.
Tension filled the room like smoke.
Meanwhile, across town, Anthony faced identical fury inside the Russo estate.
"You're negotiating with Moretti?" a capo demanded.
"You're trusting the man who kidnapped you?"
Anthony remained calm.
"Caruso wants us divided," he said. "This is proof."
"Or it's proof you've turned," another man accused.
Don Rafael said nothing.
But his silence was heavier than accusation.
Later that night, Luca stood alone on a rooftop overlooking New York City.
The skyline glittered.
But beneath it, doubt was spreading.
Anthony joined him moments later.
"It's working," Anthony said quietly.
"Yes," Luca agreed.
"Our fathers are questioning us."
"That's the goal."
Anthony exhaled slowly. "If they lose trust—"
"We lose control," Luca finished.
For the first time, uncertainty touched Luca's voice.
Matteo hadn't just attacked infrastructure.
He had attacked perception.
Trust was the foundation of both empires.
And once cracks formed—
Everything collapsed.
"So what now?" Anthony asked.
Luca stared at the city lights.
"We force Caruso into the open."
"How?"
Luca turned to him.
"We make him believe he's winning."
Anthony's eyes narrowed.
"That's dangerous."
"Yes."
A pause.
"But it's the only way."
Below them, sirens echoed faintly through the streets of New York City.
The city was stabilizing on the surface.
But underneath, loyalties were shifting.
Matteo Caruso believed he was isolating them.
Instead—
He was pushing them toward something irreversible.
The next move wouldn't just decide territory.
It would decide who truly controlled the future of the city.
And this time—
Someone would fall.