Chapter 13 - the confrontation begins
Rain poured heavily over the industrial district of Brooklyn as four black Bellaro SUVs pulled up outside an abandoned naval warehouse near the docks.
Dominic stepped out into the dark, pulling his coat collar up against the wind. Mateo and eight heavily armed operatives assembled beside him, weapons held low.
"Marcus has been living in this warehouse since he retired six years ago," Mateo whispered, checking his tactical radio. "Thermal optics show three men inside."
"Take the side doors," Dominic commanded. "Leave Marcus to me."
Dominic kicked the heavy metal side entrance open, stepping into the cavernous, shadowy space. The smell of salt water, rust, and motor oil filled the air.
In the center of the warehouse, under a single hanging lightbulb, sat Marcus—an elderly, silver-haired man sitting in a wheelchair, staring at a set of blueprints spread across a wooden table.
"I knew you'd come eventually, Dominic," Marcus said without turning around.
Dominic walked toward the light, his boots echoing off the concrete. "You told me seven years ago that Elena’s body was burned beyond recognition in that car."
Marcus turned his wheelchair around slowly. His face was weathered, scarred from the fire.
"I told you what was necessary to keep you alive, Don Dominic," Marcus said quietly.
"You lied to me!" Dominic barked, pulling his weapon and pointing it at Marcus's head. "She didn't die in that fire, did she? You helped her stage it!"
"Yes!" Marcus yelled back, showing no fear. "I helped her escape! Because if she stayed in New York another night, your brother and Sophia would have poisoned her just like they tried to poison Maisie!"
Dominic’s hand trembled slightly on the grip. "Where is she, Marcus?"
"She was hiding in Europe," Marcus stammered, coughing weakly. "But six months ago, Moretti found her. He forced her to give up her private biometric codes by threatening to kill Maisie! Everything that happened to Vivienne, to Sophia, to your docks... it was all Moretti forcing Elena to act as his puppet!"
A sudden burst of gunfire shattered the silence of the warehouse.
Marcus gasped as two bullets tore through his chest from the shadows above the steel catwalks. He slumped forward over the wooden table, blood pooling across the blueprints.
Dominic ducked behind a heavy crate, firing three rounds toward the upper balcony.
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Above him, standing in the shadows of the catwalk, a figure dressed in a dark coat aimed a weapon down at him.
"Dominic!" Moretti’s voice echoed through the rafters. "You're too late! The dock deal is sealed!"
