Chapter 10 - The Ledger and the Lovers
The thick smoke slowly cleared from the ruined doorway of the penthouse.
Dozens of Alex's loyal enforcers stormed into the room with assault rifles raised.
They swiftly neutralized the remaining Romano mercenaries in a brutal, efficient crossfire.
The terrifying siege was finally over.
Paramedics rushed into the destroyed office with emergency medical equipment.
They quickly loaded the fading Don onto a stretcher to transport him to the syndicate hospital.
Alex absolutely refused medical attention until he knew Nina was completely safe and uninjured.
As the paramedics wheeled the Don past them, the old man weakly grabbed Nina's hand.
He gave her a subtle, respectful nod of profound approval before closing his eyes.
The red ledger was handed over to the federal authorities through anonymous channels the next morning.
The evidence completely destroyed the Romano syndicate and permanently cleared Nina's name.
Six peaceful months later, Nina was standing on the balcony of Alex's massive new penthouse.
She looked down at the beautiful, sparkling diamond ring resting perfectly on her left hand.
Alex wrapped his strong, warm arms around her waist from behind.
He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent under the Boston moonlight.
"Sending that accidental text was the absolute best mistake of my entire life," he whispered softly.
They shared a slow, lingering kiss, entirely ready to begin their happy, peaceful life together.
They walked back inside the warm apartment to pour a celebratory glass of wine.
Nina's secure encrypted phone suddenly buzzed loudly on the marble kitchen counter.
She opened the incoming message, and her blood ran completely cold in her veins.
May you like
It was a recent photograph of her supposedly dead father holding today's morning newspaper.
The text beneath the chilling image read: "I am coming back to take my empire, little bird."
