Chapter 5 - BLOOD ON THE CONCRETE
The concrete tunnels beneath the Vance estate were built during the Prohibition era, a damp, labyrinthine network designed to move contraband and escape federal agents. Cold water dripped steadily from the vaulted ceiling, mingling with the fresh scarlet droplets left by Dante and Vanessa’s hurried footsteps.
I moved through the shadows with silent, predator precision, the assault rifle pressed tightly against my uninjured shoulder. Every breath felt like inhaling ground glass, but the pain only anchored my focus.
Ahead, near the subterranean boat dock where high-speed launches sat moored to the Sound, a woman’s frantic voice echoed off the damp stone walls.
"You said this was foolproof, Dante!" Vanessa was screaming, her voice cracking with terror. "You said Dominic would be dead in Manhattan before the ink on the will was dry! Now his old guard is here, and we're trapped like rats!"
"Shut up and start the boat!" Dante snarled back, the sound of an engine coughing to life reverberating across the water. "We have the Swiss bank account codes you stole from the safe. We take the boat across to Connecticut, grab the private jet, and disappear. But if you don't shut your mouth, I'll dump you in the harbor right now!"
I stepped out from behind a concrete pillar into the dim glow of the dock lights.
"You aren't going to Connecticut, Dante."
Dante whipped around on the wooden pier, holding an Uzi in one hand and untying the mooring rope with the other. Vanessa gasped, dropping a duffel bag stuffed with stolen diamonds and bearer bonds.
"Dominic, wait!" Vanessa cried, raising her hands, instantly shifting back into her role of the helpless victim. Tears poured down her cheeks with cinematic perfection. "He forced me! Dante threatened to kill my family if I didn't help him! He made me put the poison in your father's drip! Please, darling, look at me! You love me! We can leave together!"
The sheer audacity of her lie made my stomach churn. "I saw the recording, Vanessa. I heard how you mocked my father as he suffocated. I saw the pleasure in your eyes when you struck my mother."
Vanessa’s face instantly hardened, shedding every ounce of fake sorrow like an old coat. Her mouth twisted into an ugly, rancid sneer. "Your father was a stubborn old dinosaur who refused to die! And your mother was a pathetic peasant! Just like you, Dominic! You think you're a king, but you're just a glorified thug in an expensive suit!"
She reached suddenly into her trench coat for her concealed pistol.
I didn't blink. A single, deafening round from my rifle tore through Vanessa’s right knee.
She let out a piercing shriek of pure agony, collapsing onto the splintered planks of the pier, clutching her shattered leg as blood pooled into the dark water below.
"Vanessa!" Dante roared, opening fire with his Uzi.
Rounds chewed through the concrete piling beside my head. I dove behind a stack of steel shipping drums, returning fire with three controlled bursts. The first shot took Dante in the shoulder; the second punched through his hip. Dante cried out, his weapon spinning out of his hand and splashing into the deep water of the slip.
He fell to his knees on the edge of the dock, gasping for air, clutching his bleeding side.
I walked toward him slowly, the barrel of my rifle lowered, my eyes fixed on the man I had called my brother for twenty years.
"Why, Dante?" I asked quietly, standing right over him. "I gave you half of everything. You had the docks. You had the casinos. You were family."
Dante spat a mouthful of blood onto my shoes, his face pale as death. "Because it was never enough, Dom. You were always the favorite. Your father always looked at you like a god, and looked at me like a stray dog you brought home from the gutter. I wanted the throne. And I almost took it."
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"Almost," I said.
Dante lunged suddenly with a concealed boot knife, aiming for my throat. But I caught his wrist mid-air, twisted it until the bone snapped like dry kindling, and slammed him face-first onto the hard wooden boards.
