Chapter 8 - the guard at the gate
Dominic didn’t draw his weapon. He kept his hand steady, his eyes locking onto Marco with icy indifference.
"You followed me," Dominic said.
Marco stood under the granite archway, the rain dripping from the brim of his black cap. His gun didn't waver. "Eleanor told me where you were going. She ordered me to make sure you didn't leave this crypt with that box."
"Eleanor ordered you?" Dominic took half a step forward.
"Don't move, Boss," Marco warned, his grip tightening on the pistol grip. "I've served this family for twenty-five years. I served your father before you could even hold a gun. Vito gave me specific instructions before he died: if you ever found out about the child, the secret had to stay buried."
Dominic held up the gold signet ring between two fingers. "Julian is alive."
Marco’s face twitched. A flash of regret crossed his weathered features. "Julian is dead, Dominic. That part is the truth. He died three years ago in Chicago from a heart failure. But the boy... the boy is six years old. He carries your father's blood."
"And Clara?"
"Living under an assumed identity in upstate New York," Marco said, his voice dropping low. "Vito paid for everything. He knew District Attorney Miller was building a RICO case that would wipe out the entire family tree. Vito staged Julian's death to pull his younger son out of the crosshairs. But Julian couldn't stay away from the money. He started pulling funds from the maritime accounts, and Vivienne caught on."
Dominic pieced the puzzle together in an instant. "Vivienne wasn't trying to take over the docks to get rich. She was looking for Julian's child."
"If the DA gets custody of that boy," Marco said, "they get legal claim to Vito's private trusts. They seize eighty million dollars in untouchable assets and bring down every capo loyal to you. Vito made me swear to protect that boy at all costs."
"By pointing a gun at me?" Dominic challenged, stepping directly into the line of fire.
Marco’s hand trembled slightly. "Vito said you were too proud. That you would burn the entire city down before you let the DA take an inch. And he was right. If you go to war with Miller now, the family will be annihilated."
"Put the gun down, Marco," Dominic said softly. "You know damn well you're not going to pull that trigger."
A tense, agonizing silence hung in the mausoleum. The rain pounded against the granite roof like distant drumfire.
Slowly, Marco lowered the muzzle of his weapon. He exhaled a long, ragged breath. "What are you going to do, Boss?"
"I'm going to finish what my father was too cowardly to handle," Dominic said, pocketing the ring and the birth certificate. "Call the house. Tell the guards to bring Vivienne down to the study."
May you like
"She won't talk," Marco said.
"She will," Dominic said, walking past him into the rain. "Because now I know what she's terrified of losing."
