Chapter 3 - The Fire and the Escape
The Long Island estate was ablaze with red emergency lights by 4:35 AM.
"Move! Clear the lower archives! Load the primary drives into the armored transport!" Alessandro’s roar echoed down the main gallery of the mansion.
Dozens of armed men in dark suits were running through the halls, clearing documents, burning ledgers in the courtyard incinerators, and securing the perimeter. The family’s elite security force—loyal only to Alessandro—didn't ask questions. When the Don spoke, they executed.
Alessandro walked briskly through the main study, holding Maya securely against his chest with his left arm while barking commands into his radio with his right hand.
"Dominic! Is the boat ready at the cove?"
"Engine idling at the private dock, Boss!" Dominic’s voice came back over the radio speaker. "Coast Guard radar is clean for the next fifteen minutes. But the federal marshals just crossed the bridge at Glen Cove! They’ll be at the main gate in six minutes!"
"Blow the gate security power," Alessandro ordered. "Leave the main doors open. Let them find Robert’s body in the war room alongside the planted files."
Alessandro stopped beside the grand mahogany desk in his study. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the brass key that had hung around his neck for ten years, and unlocked the heavy iron wall safe behind his father’s portrait.
Inside sat two passports, three million dollars in untraceable bearer bonds, and the velvet-lined box containing the second silver wolf head.
He pulled the box out, opened it, and took out the silver chain.
Maya watched him quietly as he carefully draped the chain around her neck, letting the second wolf head hang beside the first.
"Two wolf heads," Maya whispered, touching the cold metal with her small fingers.
"One for your father," Alessandro said softly, looking into her green eyes. "And one for you. As long as you wear these, nobody on this earth can touch you. Do you understand me, Maya?"
Maya nodded solemnly. "You’re like my dad."
Alessandro felt a sharp, sudden ache in his throat. He had spent five years believing he was entirely alone in the world—a solitary king sitting on a throne built on blood and paranoia. Now, holding his brother’s child in his arms while his empire burned around him, he realized he wasn't a king anymore.
He was a protector.
"Boss! We have to move now!" Dominic shouted from the hallway, carrying two heavy tactical duffel bags. "The convoy just hit the outer driveway!"
Sirens began to wail in the distance, cutting through the heavy sound of the rain outside.
Alessandro closed the safe, grabbed his wool coat, wrapped Maya tightly inside it, and headed down the secret stairwell leading directly to the subterranean sea cave beneath the cliffs.
May you like
As the heavy iron doors slid shut behind them, a loud explosion rocked the mansion above—the sound of federal tactical teams breaching the front gates.
Alessandro didn't look back. He walked down the stone steps into the dark, rain-swept night, carrying the last remnant of his family into the safety of the open sea.
