Chapter 3 - The Shadow War
The rain beat down relentlessly against the skylights of the Moretti mansion. In the master suite, Lily was sitting on Dante’s massive bed, eating a bowl of warm soup served by a terrified yet gentle elderly housekeeper.
Dante entered the room, having swapped his silk shirt for a tactical black vest and holstered sidearms. He looked down at the tiny girl who had changed his entire world in less than twelve hours.
"Are you going to bring my mommy back?" Lily asked, holding her rabbit tightly.
Dante knelt beside the bed. He reached out and gently smoothed her damp curls away from her face. "I promise you, Lily. I will bring your mother back. And no one will ever hurt either of you again."
"Are you a superhero?" she asked innocently.
Dante gave a bitter, fleeting smile. "No, little one. I'm far from a hero. But I'm your dad. And that means I fight for you."
He stood up and nodded to the housekeeper and two heavily armed guards stationed inside the room. "Guard this door with your lives. If anyone unauthorized approaches, shoot first."
Outside the mansion, a fleet of ten black armored SUVs idling silently in the driveway. Dante stepped into the lead vehicle alongside Dominic.
"We tracked Silvio’s signal," Dominic reported, handing Dante an automatic rifle. "He didn't go to the foundry yet. He’s hiding out at the Falcone estate in the north district. Don Carmine Falcone has surrounded the perimeter with over a hundred mercenaries. It's a fortress, Dante. A direct assault will be a bloodbath."
"I don't care about the blood," Dante said, pulling the bolt of his rifle back with a sharp click. "I care about the antidote."
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The convoy tore through the rain-slicked streets of New York, bypassing traffic lights and speeding toward the northern estates. Dante pulled up a schematic of the Falcone compound on his tactical display.
"Falcone thinks he's safe behind his electric fences and armed guards," Dante said, his eyes burning with cold vengeance. "He forgot who built those defenses for him ten years ago. We aren't knocking on the front gate, Dominic. We're blowing the foundation."
