Chapter 6 - The Unraveling Syndicate
The battle for the estate ended within forty-five minutes. By the time the heavy blast doors unsealed, the estate was once again under complete control, though the air smelled faintly of smoke and chemical residue.
Damiano walked into the bunker, his dark hair slightly rumpled, a faint streak of soot across his jawline, but completely unharmed. Behind him, Matteo carried a laptop confiscated from the team leader of the mercenaries.
"Is it over?" I asked, standing up with Emma sleeping soundly on the tactical cot.
"The immediate threat is cleared," Damiano said, reaching out to gently touch Emma's cheek before turning his attention to me. "The mercenaries were carrying tactical commands signed directly by Vincent Vance. He wanted Emma retrieved alive, but gave explicit orders to eliminate anyone standing in his way—including you."
I swallowed hard, feeling a cold chill run through me. "What do we do now?"
"Now we strike back," Damiano declared. "Matteo traced the signal back to a safehouse in Brooklyn. Vincent Vance isn't in Chicago. He’s here, in New York, personally directing this invasion."
He walked over to the bank of monitors, opening a encrypted communication channel. Within seconds, the faces of the four other family dons appeared on the screens.
"Moretti," Don Falcone barked, his voice laced with annoyance. "We heard shots fired near your estate. What the hell is going on?"
"Vincent Vance just breached my home," Damiano announced coldly to the screens. "He attempted to kidnap the young heiress to his family’s bloodline—the child currently under my protection. And he did so using insider security passcodes provided by someone sitting in this meeting."
Silence deadened the line. The dons exchanged suspicious looks through their screens.
"Are you accusing one of us of treason, Damiano?" Don Russo demanded, leaning forward.
"I don't need to accuse," Damiano said smoothly. He nodded to Matteo, who uploaded a series of encrypted log files to the shared screen. "These are the transfer logs from the estate’s security grid. The passcodes used to disable the western security fence belonged to your nephew, Don Falcone."
Falcone’s face drained of color. "That’s impossible! Anthony would never—"
"Anthony was promised full control of the Brooklyn docks once Chicago took over," Damiano cut in mercilessly. "Matteo, execute protocol Charlie."
On Falcone’s camera feed, the sound of heavy doors bursting open rang out, followed by raised voices and quick scuffles before the feed went black.
"The traitor has been dealt with," Damiano said calmly to the remaining three dons. "Tonight, we wipe the Vance family off the East Coast map entirely. Stand with me, or burn with them."
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One by one, the remaining dons gave their nod of agreement. Damiano closed the channel and turned to me, his dark eyes filled with absolute determination.
"Pack a bag, Sophia," he said softly. "We’re going to end this tonight."
