CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY - TWO - THE UNEXPECTED ALLY

Luca took a deep breath, visibly struggling to regain his composure. He stepped back, allowing Matteo to take the lead in the questioning. "What are they planning, Tanner?" Matteo asked, his tone almost conversational, as if they were discussing the weather rather than life-and-death matters. "What's their endgame?" Tanner spat a glob of blood onto the floor before answering. "They want to take over your territory, Luca," he said, his words slightly slurred from his swelling jaw. "They said they were going to make an example of you, to show what happens to those who don't cooperate with the Bratva." Luca's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles white with the effort of restraining himself. "And my family?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "What do they have planned for Rebecca and Helena?" Tanner's eyes widened with genuine fear. "I don't know the specifics," he said quickly. "But they... they talked about using them as leverage. Said that a man would do anything to protect