Chapter 10 - Sins of the Fallen
The rain stopped just before dawn, giving way to a pale lavender sunrise that washed over the Hudson River. The city was waking up, entirely oblivious to the silent tectonic shift that had just occurred beneath its streets.
The Moretti and Lucciano empires were completely dismantled by morning. Their captains surrendered without firing a single shot, swearing fealty to the Vance banner. By noon, the Federal District Court unsealed a sweeping, thirty-count indictment against Vanessa Sterling for premeditated murder, grand larceny, and felony assault, based on the insurmountable digital evidence provided by an 'anonymous whistleblower.' Her family’s high-society assets were frozen, her luxury cars seized, and her name became a public symbol of treachery across the nation's headlines.
Standing on the high balcony of my estate in Long Island, I watched a team of workers replace the grand mahogany entrance doors and clear away the last traces of the battle. The broken crystal, the shattered vases, the stained carpets—all of it had been hauled away.
My phone buzzed. It was Leo.
"Dominic. The Moretti and Lucciano families are aboard the freighter, halfway to international waters. Their capos have fully integrated into our ranks. The waterfront contract is signed, completely clean and legal through our new logistics firm."
"And Vanessa?" I asked.
"Bail was denied without exception," Leo replied with a grim chuckle. "She had a complete nervous breakdown in the holding cell when they took her jewelry and cut off her extensions. She’s awaiting trial in maximum security at Bedford Hills. She’ll never see sunlight without barbed wire again."
"Good," I said, exhaling a long breath of fresh, salt-tinged air. "Close down the private basement cells, Leo. Disband the tactical hit squads."
Leo paused on the line, surprise coloring his tone. "Disband them? Dominic, you control the entire tri-state area now. You have more power than your father ever dreamed of."
"My father died because our business was drenched in blood, inviting vipers into our living room," I said firmly. "We take the shipping lines legitimate. We transition the real estate holdings into clean commercial trusts. We honor my mother’s wish. The Vance family is done living in the shadows."
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"Understood, Boss," Leo answered with deep, unmistakable reverence. "Long live the Don."
I hung up the phone and walked back inside the sunlit manor.
