Chapter 10 - the founder's blood
"Frank?" Dominic whispered, the shock cutting deeper than any bullet could. "You?"
Frank didn't turn around, but a sad, bitter smile spread across his face in the dim red emergency light. "I'm sorry, Don Dominic. You were always too soft for this business. Just like your father."
"You breached my home?" Dominic’s voice shook with suppressed fury. "You put my men in the crossfire?"
"Your men are fine, Dominic. They work for me now," Frank said calmly. "They've worked for me since the night Charles was brought into the fold. The Founders don't want a war. They just want the journal from Archive 4."
"Where is Charles?" Dominic demanded, pressing the gun harder against Frank’s skull.
"Charles is dead," Frank replied coldly. "He became a liability the moment that maid’s kid found Elena’s key. Now, give me the map, Dominic, and I'll let you take the maid and leave Chicago forever."
Before Frank could finish his sentence, Dominic kicked the back of Frank’s knee, collapsing him to the floor, and disarmed him in a single brutal movement. Frank rolled, pulling a hidden blade from his boot, but Dominic slammed his heavy foot down on Frank’s wrist, pinning him to the marble floor.
Dominic leaned down, his eyes blazing with cold, lethal authority. "Who are the Founders, Frank? Give me a name!"
Frank spat blood onto the floor and laughed weakly. "You want a name? Look at your own family tree, Don. The head of the Founders... is the person who gave you your name."
Dominic froze.
Before he could ask another question, a loud explosion rocked the lower level of the mansion. The floor beneath them shook violently. Dust and plaster rained down from the ceiling.
"The subterranean level!" Dominic realized with horror. Frank’s team wasn't trying to find the map from Dominic—they had already located the entrance to the old wine cellar!
Dominic slammed the butt of his pistol against Frank’s temple, knocking him unconscious. He grabbed Frank’s tactical radio and sprinted back toward the parlor.
He burst through the doors. Sofia was standing in the center of the room, the handgun raised and steady, her face pale but determined.
"It's me!" Dominic yelled, raising his hands.
Sofia lowered the gun, relief washing over her. "What was that explosion?"
"They're blowing open the entrance to the old subterranean cellar," Dominic said, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward a hidden servant’s passage behind the parlor bookcase. "We have to get to Archive 4 before they do!"
"What about Emma?" Sofia cried, holding her toddler tight.
"She comes with us," Dominic said, opening the hidden door into a narrow, dark stone staircase winding down into the earth. "Hold on to me."
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As they descended into the pitch-black tunnels beneath the estate, the sound of gunfire above them faded, replaced by the damp, eerie echoing of the hundred-year-old catacombs.
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