Chapter 6 - Shadows of the Past
The alleyway shattered into chaos.
Marco’s men spotted us just as Enzo shoved the Escalade into reverse, slamming into a heavy steel dumpster to clear a path toward the side street.
Suppressed gunfire whistled through the night air, striking the brick walls and shattering glass windows above us. I ducked behind a heavy concrete pillar, firing three precise shots that dropped the lead gunman instantly.
"Go! Go!" I shouted to Enzo.
The heavy armored Escalade roared to life, its bulletproof tires spinning against the ice, before bursting out of the alleyway and onto the main road, speeding away toward the highway.
With Sophia and Lily safe, the rage I had held in check all night broke free.
I advanced through the shadows of the alley, firing with cold, lethal precision. Marco scrambled backward, trying to reload his weapon, but I was already upon him. I kicked his firearm across the icy pavement and slammed him violently against the brick wall, pressing the heated barrel of my gun beneath his chin.
"Who sent you, Marco?" I growled, my voice dangerous and low. "Was it Salvatore, or was it Isabella?"
Marco coughed up blood, grinning through bruised lips. "It doesn't matter, Moretti... You’re a dead man walking. Don Salvatore put a five-million-dollar bounty on your head. Every crew in the five boroughs is looking for you and your little bastard child."
"She’s not a bastard," I said softly. "She’s a Moretti."
I pulled the trigger, dropping Marco to the snow.
I picked up his radio, pressing the receiver button. "Salvatore," I said into the microphone.
Static hissed over the channel, followed by the deep, raspy voice of the Vitale Don. "Dominic? You should have married my daughter. You would have had everything."
"You and your daughter made a mistake four years ago," I replied coldly. "You threatened the woman I love. You tried to erase my child. Tell Isabella that I am coming for her crown, her family, and everything she owns."
"You're one man against an army, Dominic!" Salvatore shouted through the speaker.
"I’m not just a man, Salvatore," I said, crushing the radio under my boot. "I’m the King of New York."
Twenty minutes later, I met up with Enzo at a safe house near the Hudson River—a heavily fortified estate built by my father that only a handful of loyal men knew existed.
When I walked through the door, Sophia rushed into my arms, sobbing with relief. I held her tight, feeling her heart beating rapidly against mine, assuring myself that she was real, that she was safe.
In the bedroom upstairs, Lily was tucked into a massive king-sized bed, fast asleep, safe from the brutal war waging outside.
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"What do we do now?" Sophia asked softly as we stood by the fireplace in the living room, listening to the crackle of burning oak.
"Tonight, we take back control," I said. "My mother thought she was protecting the family by making deals with snakes. It's time I cleaned house."
