Chapter 10 - The False Victory
Dante moved faster than Rosa could possibly pull the trigger.
He threw his heavy body forcefully against the housekeeper, slamming her hard into the concrete wall.
The pistol fired wildly into the ceiling, raining plaster down onto the floor.
Dante wrestled the weapon from Rosa's grip and struck her viciously across the jaw with the heavy steel barrel.
Rosa collapsed into an unconscious heap on the ground.
Dante stood over her, chest heaving, his dark suit completely ruined by blood and dust.
He looked at Sadi and offered a genuinely warm, reassuring smile.
"It is over, Sadi," he promised softly.
He pulled a secure satellite phone from his pocket and called his most loyal lieutenants.
Within twenty minutes, heavily armed men loyal only to Dante flooded the lumber yard.
They secured the perimeter, dragged Rosa away to be interrogated, and brought a medical team to properly treat Dante's wounds.
Dante escorted Sadi to the comfortable back seat of a pristine luxury town car.
He poured her a glass of expensive champagne from the vehicle's minibar and handed it to her trembling hands.
"Your father's debt is entirely erased, Sadi," Dante vowed, sitting close beside her.
"You are officially under my absolute protection for the rest of your life, and no one will ever hurt you again."
Sadi took a sip of the champagne, tears of profound relief finally spilling down her cheeks.
She leaned her head against Dante's strong shoulder, feeling incredibly safe for the first time in years.
Dante kissed the top of her head softly before stepping out of the car to speak with his security captain.
Sadi smiled and noticed that Rosa had dropped her stolen cell phone onto the leather seat during the scuffle.
She picked up the device to check her messages.
The screen was open to a highly encrypted text thread between Rosa and a saved contact named "The Boss".
The final message from Rosa read: "The assassination attempt failed, but the girl believes the Falcone family ordered it."
Sadi felt her blood turn completely to ice as she read the shocking reply from "The Boss".
May you like
The reply read: "Good work, Rosa; continue making her trust me until I secure the ledger, and then kill her just like I killed her father."
Sadi slowly looked out the window at Dante Russo, realizing he was the true monster all along.
