Chapter 10
The stone door at the tunnel's entrance groaned under another massive impact, dust raining down from the low ceiling. Alessio stood squarely in the center of the narrow passage, checking the magazine of his silenced pistol. He had seven rounds left.
"Go!" Alessio roared.
Gianni didn't hesitate this time. He grabbed the heavy steel lockbox, motioned for Maria to carry Ruby, and grabbed Evelyn's hand. They sprinted down the damp corridor toward the exit, their footsteps splashing through shallow puddles of groundwater until they disappeared into the darkness.
Claudia remained slumped against the wall, paralyzed by fear.
"Run, Claudia," Alessio said without looking at her. "Or stay and die. I no longer care."
With a final, deafening crack, the hidden stone door blew entirely off its hinges, crashing into the tunnel. The bright beams of tactical flashlights immediately pierced the gloom, blindingly bright.
Alessio didn't wait for them to acquire their targets. He dropped into a crouch, using the uneven curve of the stone wall for cover, and fired three rapid shots into the glare of the lights.
Two men screamed and dropped in the chokepoint of the doorway, their bodies instantly creating a gruesome barricade for the rest of the assault team. The remaining attackers returned fire, but the narrow confines of the tunnel caused their bullets to ricochet wildly off the stone, making it nearly impossible to aim accurately.
Alessio moved with cold, predatory efficiency. He waited for a pause in the gunfire, leaned out, and fired twice more. Another mercenary fell.
"Throw a flashbang!" someone yelled from the doorway.
A small, metallic canister clattered down the stone floor, rolling rapidly toward Alessio's boots.
He had a fraction of a second. Alessio turned and sprinted down the tunnel, throwing his body behind a heavy structural support pillar just as the grenade detonated. The concussive blast was agonizing, ringing his ears and filling the corridor with thick, blinding white smoke.
Through the ringing in his ears, Alessio heard the heavy boots of the remaining attackers charging down the tunnel. They thought he was incapacitated.
Alessio stepped out from behind the pillar into the smoke, a ghost in a tailored suit. He raised his pistol, aimed point-blank at the lead mercenary bursting through the fog, and pulled the trigger.
Click.
Empty.
The mercenary smiled, raising his assault rifle.
In a blur of motion, Alessio threw the empty pistol directly into the man’s face, shattering his nose. As the man staggered back, Alessio closed the distance, grabbed the barrel of the rifle, twisted it violently upward, and drove a brutal elbow strike into the mercenary's throat. The man collapsed, gagging.
Alessio picked up the dropped rifle, chambered a round, and fired into the remaining smoke, dropping the last two attackers before they even knew what hit them.
The tunnel fell entirely silent, save for the dripping of groundwater and Alessio’s heavy breathing. He stood among the bodies of the men who had come to destroy his family, his white dress shirt stained with blood and soot.
He walked slowly down the remainder of the tunnel, stepping out into the cool, humid air of the Chicago night. The storm drain emptied into a secluded alleyway. A block ahead, he could see the taillights of his armored ghost cars waiting, the engines idling quietly. Gianni stood by the open door, watching the alley.
Alessio walked toward them, looking back one final time at the distant, towering brick walls of his estate. Flames were licking the night sky, consuming the mansion and his wife's memorial garden. The physical remnants of his past were burning away.
He climbed into the back of the heavy SUV. Ruby was fast asleep in Maria's arms. Evelyn sat rigidly next to Gianni, guarding the steel box on her lap. She looked up at Alessio, her eyes wide with a new, terrifying understanding of the world she belonged to.
"Are we safe, Uncle Alessio?" Evelyn whispered.
May you like
Alessio looked at the steel lockbox, resting his hand on the cold metal. The ledgers inside held the names of every traitor, every capo, and every New York boss who had signed off on his wife’s murder. They had tried to prune his family tree. They had failed.
"For tonight, we are safe," Alessio said quietly, his eyes reflecting the distant fire. "But tomorrow, we go to New York. And we burn their gardens to the ash."
