Chapter 8 - The Sane Brother
The gunshot echoed like thunder across the abandoned railyard.
Clara Marino gasped, dropping her silver umbrella as blood bloomed across her red trench coat.
She collapsed backward into the mud, staring in absolute disbelief at the young man holding the smoking gun.
Dante and Emily stood completely paralyzed in shock.
Leo did not look terrified anymore.
He did not look like a helpless schizophrenic patient.
His posture was perfectly straight, and his eyes were terrifyingly sharp and calculating.
He smoothly racked the slide of the stolen pistol and aimed it directly at Dante's chest.
"Leo?" Emily whispered, her voice cracking in pure confusion.
"What are you doing?"
Leo looked at his sister with a completely cold, unrecognizable expression.
"I am securing the empire, Emily," Leo said, his voice entirely devoid of madness.
"You killed her," Dante realized, keeping his own weapon raised.
"She outlived her usefulness," Leo replied casually.
"She was stupid enough to believe I was actually her prisoner."
Emily stepped forward, shaking her head violently.
"You are sick, Leo," she pleaded.
"You need your medication."
Leo let out a dark, arrogant laugh that sent chills down her spine.
"I have not taken a single pill in ten years, Emily."
"The schizophrenia was the perfect cover."
"No one suspects the heavily medicated boy in the psychiatric ward."
Dante's mind raced as the pieces finally clicked together.
"You engineered this entire war," Dante stated.
"You fed Clara information about my accounts to make her attack me."
"Exactly," Leo smiled.
"I needed Clara to force you into transferring all your assets into a single blind trust."
Leo pulled a small black device from his pocket.
"And thanks to my brilliant, loyal sister, I just downloaded the password Clara typed into her tablet."
Emily felt the world spinning out of control.
Her entire life, her sacrifices, her grueling job, had all been a complete lie.
She had protected a monster masquerading as a victim.
"Why?" Emily choked out, tears streaming down her face.
"Because the Marino syndicate controls the largest shipping ports in the country," Leo explained.
"And with five hundred million dollars, I can finally take the throne without a messy succession war."
Leo snapped his fingers, and two dozen heavily armed men stepped out from the shadows of the train cars.
They were not Clara's men.
They were wearing tactical gear with a completely different syndicate logo.
"I own the Russian faction now," Leo boasted.
"Drop the gun, Dante, or my men will execute you both right here."
Dante looked at the army surrounding them and slowly lowered his weapon to the ground.
"You will not get away with this," Dante promised quietly.
"I already have," Leo smiled.
He turned to his heavily armed men.
"Kill the mafia boss."
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"But leave my sister alive."
"She still has some administrative uses."
