Chapter 7 - THE RECKONING
"BUSTER!" I shrieked, running at full speed toward the dock ledge.
Enzo was right behind me, his gun raised, calling for his men to secure the perimeter.
I reached the broken railing and looked down into the black water. Rain beat down furiously on the surface, making it almost impossible to see.
"Buster! Buster!" I wept, leaning over the edge.
Ten feet below, the water surged.
Dominic surfaced first, gasping for air, thrashing wildly. But he wasn't swimming. Cerberus had his jaws locked onto the collar of Dominic’s heavy leather coat, dragging the struggling man backward toward the rusted iron ladder attached to the pier pillar.
The dog wasn't drowning him. He was holding him until his master arrived.
Enzo reached down, grabbing the dog’s harness with his powerful hands and pulling Cerberus out of the water first. The dog shook his coat fiercely, showering us with river water, before immediately standing guard over the edge.
Enzo’s men hauled a shivering, half-drowned Dominic up onto the wet wooden planking.
Dominic collapsed onto his back, coughing up salt water, his nose bleeding, his expensive suit ruined. He looked up into the barrel of Enzo's pistol.
"Please... Enzo..." Dominic sobbed, raising his trembling hands. "We're blood... family..."
"Arthur Vance was family too," Enzo said, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "And you poisoned him in his own home while his daughter slept in the next room."
Enzo looked over at me. "Clara. Turn around."
"No," I said, wiping rainwater and tears from my eyes. I walked up until I was standing right beside Enzo. I looked down at the man who had stolen my childhood, murdered my father, and tried to turn my beloved puppy into a killer.
"I spent seven years thinking I was alone in the world," I told Dominic, my voice cold as ice. "I spent seven years blaming myself for leaving the backyard gate unlocked. You didn't just steal my dog. You took my peace."
Dominic looked at me with pure venom. "You... you worthless little—"
Enzo didn't let him finish.
He didn't shoot him. Enzo pulled a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his guard's belt and tossed them onto Dominic's chest.
"Death is too clean for you, Dominic," Enzo said softly. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been building a RICO case against the Moretti family for five years. Tonight, I am turning over your location, your bank records, and Arthur's drive to the U.S. Attorney."
Dominic's eyes widened in horror. In the mob world, being sent to a maximum-security federal prison as a marked traitor was a fate far worse than a bullet.
"You're giving them the drive?!" Dominic gasped. "It’ll ruin you too!"
Enzo smiled, stepping back and wrapping a arm around my shoulder. "My father's empire is being restructured. Starting tonight, my business is entirely legitimate. And you, Dominic... you will spend the rest of your life in a six-by-eight cell, thinking about the puppy you shouldn't have stolen."
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Sirens wailed in the distance, red and blue lights reflecting off the wet warehouse walls.
Enzo took my hand, pulling me away from the edge. "Come on, Clara. Let's go home."
