Chapter 10 - The Syndicate's Fall
A deafening gunshot echoed loudly through the shattered office, but it did not come from David's weapon.
I had fully retrieved the pistol I kicked across the floor while David was entirely distracted by Dante's dramatic surrender.
The bullet tore directly through David's shoulder, causing him to drop his gun and scream in agonizing pain.
Before his thumb could release the explosive dead-man's switch, Dante lunged forward with impossible, blinding speed.
Dante grabbed the detonator directly from David's weakening grip, holding the red button down safely with his own massive hand.
I rushed forward and frantically unbuckled the terrifying explosive vest from Leo's tiny, trembling body.
I scooped the crying boy into my arms, burying his face tightly into my shoulder as he sobbed uncontrollably.
Dante looked down at my bleeding, pathetic ex-boyfriend with a gaze colder than absolute zero.
"Your debts are officially canceled," Dante whispered, before delivering a fatal, decisive blow that silenced David forever.
Dante carefully disarmed the explosive switch, tossing the neutralized device aside before wrapping his strong arms around both me and his son.
We walked out of the warehouse together, leaving the completely decimated ruins of the Moretti syndicate burning behind us.
Six months later, the violent chaos of that terrifying night felt like a distant, faded nightmare.
I was standing on the sunlit balcony of the Salvatore estate, wearing a beautiful diamond ring that weighed heavily on my left hand.
Dante walked up behind me, wrapping his warm, protective arms around my waist while Leo played happily in the garden below.
I had finally found the family I had always desperately dreamed of, safely protected by a man who would burn the world to keep me safe.
The bloody turf war was completely over, and our perfect, peaceful future was finally secured.
Far away in a dark, smoke-filled room in Palermo, a mysterious woman elegantly crossed her legs and took a slow sip of red wine.
She carefully pinned a candid photograph of Dante and me to a massive corkboard covered in blood-stained maps.
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She traced her perfectly manicured finger over my smiling face, her lips curling into a wicked, venomous smile.
"Enjoy your stolen crown while you can, little waitress, because the true Queen is finally coming home," she whispered into the empty shadows.
