Chapter 5 - The Velvet File
Dominic acted on pure instinct. He grabbed Alina and Lucia, throwing his massive frame over them as he shoved them into a shallow stone alcove behind the staircase.
"Marco! Down!" Dominic roared.
A split second later, the seamless stone panel exploded inward with a deafening roar. A wave of dust, pulverized granite, and heat swept through the subterranean chamber. The shockwave rattled through Dominic’s broad back, but his heavy body completely shielded the mother and child beneath him.
As the dust began to settle, three figures dressed in dark tactical gear stepped through the smoking hole in the wall, their suppressed rifles raised, tactical lights cutting through the haze.
Marco opened fire from behind a concrete pillar. Two rapid shots struck the lead tactical operative in the chest, dropping him to the stone floor.
Dominic rose from the ground like a vengeful titan. He drew his heavy sidearm, firing three precise rounds into the second intruder before the man could adjust his sight line.
The third operative lunged forward, knife drawn, but Dominic caught the man's wrist in mid-air, twisting it with terrifying force until the bone snapped with a sickening crack. Dominic slammed the operative back against the granite wall, disarming him in a single fluid motion, and pinned him by his throat.
"Who sent you?" Dominic growled, his face inches from the operative's tactical visor.
The operative gasped for air, his hands clawing uselessly at Dominic's iron grip. "The... the Chicago coalition... they bought the harbor deeds..."
Dominic's eyes narrowed into razor slits. "Chicago doesn't have the access codes for this wing."
"Your... your lieutenant gave them to us..." the man choked out.
Dominic’s jaw set like iron. He delivered a swift, brutal strike to the man's jaw, rendering him unconscious, and let him drop to the floor like a sack of stones.
Marco reloaded his sidearm, his forehead bleeding from a small piece of flying debris. He looked at Dominic with grim intensity. "Lieutenant? He means Cassian. He's the only one who had the server keys besides me."
Dominic didn't answer immediately. He walked back to the alcove where Alina and Lucia were huddled. Alina was shaking violently, but Lucia was looking at Dominic with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Are you hurt, little one?" Dominic asked softly, extending his broad, dust-covered hand.
Lucia took his hand, her tiny fingers wrapping around his thumb. "No, sir. Your suit is dirty."
A faint, rare smile touched Dominic’s rugged features before vanishing back into steel. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat, pulling out a small, velvet-lined leather folder he had retrieved from his desk before they fled.
He opened the folder under the red emergency light.
Inside was a faded photograph from twenty years ago. It showed a young Dominic standing beside his late brother, Joseph, on the very docks of Boston Harbor. Standing right beside Joseph was a young woman holding an infant.
Alina looked down at the photograph, her breath catching in her throat. Her hands trembled as her eyes locked onto the woman's face.
"That's... that's my mother," Alina whispered, her voice cracking. "How do you have this?"
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Dominic looked from the photograph to Alina, a heavy, profound truth finally settling into his blue-gray eyes.
"Your mother didn't just work in Boston, Alina," Dominic said softly. "She was my brother Joseph's secret wife. Which means you aren't just a maid in this house. You are a Ferrero."
