Chapter 6 - THE STORM BEFORE THE DAWN
The sun rose over Chicago, cutting through the heavy gray clouds with shards of pale, cold light.
Inside the Moretti mansion, the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
The staff whispered in the corridors, casting nervous glances toward the massive iron vault in the basement where Vanessa Bellini spent her final night as a free woman.
Federal agents had arrived at dawn.
Marcus had personally handed over the black briefcase containing Swiss bank records, wire transfers, and syndicate ties.
By noon, Vanessa's father—a prominent senator—would be dragged down in the scandal as well, his political career burning to ash.
I sat in the vast, sunlit conservatory overlooking the manicured gardens, sipping black coffee.
Maisie was playing happily on the plush rug, coloring with expensive markers Dominic had somehow procured within ten minutes of her waking up.
Footsteps echoed on the marble tiles.
Dominic walked in.
He had changed out of his blood-stained suit into a crisp white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the intricate dark tattoos wrapping around his forearms.
He looked tired.
The dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn't slept a wink.
He stopped a few feet away, watching Maisie scribble green crayon all over a drawing of a horse.
“She's a Moretti through and through,” he murmured softly. “Stubborn as hell.”
I didn't smile, but the tension in my shoulders eased just a fraction.
“She's my daughter, Dominic,” I said quietly, setting my coffee cup down on the glass table.
“We established that last night.”
“Legally, she was mine first,” I reminded him, my voice firm.
“And legally, I am prepared to sign over every penny of my estate into a trust bearing your name and hers, with absolute custody granted solely to you, Claire,” he replied without missing a beat.
I looked up sharply.
“You're giving up custody?”
“I'm giving you control,” Dominic corrected, taking a seat across from me.
“I spent my entire life building an empire of blood and concrete, Claire. I thought power was about holding everything in an iron grip. Last night, I realized I had nothing at all.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“I want to fix this. Not just with the courts, but with you.”
“You can't just buy a family, Mr. Moretti.”
“Call me Dominic.”
I looked away, staring out at the rain-slicked gardens.
“Vanessa isn't the only threat out there,” I said, lowering my voice so Maisie wouldn't hear.
“Her father is a United States Senator. And the syndicate leaders who bought that baby from her four years ago... they know Vanessa is locked in your basement. They know you have those files.”
Dominic's face hardened instantly.
The soft, vulnerable father vanished, replaced once again by the ruthless mafia syndicate boss who ruled the underworld.
“Let them come,” Dominic whispered, his voice dropping an octave into something truly terrifying.
“Anyone who tries to touch you or my daughter will not leave this city alive.”
Before I could answer, my cell phone buzzed violently on the glass table.
I picked it up.
An unknown number flashed on the screen.
I pressed accept and put it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Claire,” a distorted, synthetic voice hissed through the speaker.
My blood ran cold.
May you like
“If you and the little girl want to live to see tomorrow, tell Dominic Moretti to open the vault and hand over Vanessa Bellini by midnight. If he doesn't... we burn the house down with all three of you inside.”
The line went dead with a sharp click.
