CHAPTER 7: THE RESCUE
CHAPTER 7: THE RESCUE
The abandoned steel mill stood on the edge of Lake Michigan like a rusting monument to the city's forgotten past.
It was the kind of place where secrets disappeared.
And tonight, Clare Bennett was one of them.
Her wrists were bound to a metal chair.
A single overhead light swung gently above her.
Across the room stood an older man with silver hair and sharp blue eyes.
Salvatore Ricci.
The ghost of Chicago.
The man everyone believed had died twenty years ago.
Yet here he was.
Alive.
Watching her.
"You've caused quite a bit of trouble, Miss Bennett."
Clare refused to lower her eyes.
"You destroyed Sebastian's prison."
Ricci smiled.
"He was never supposed to recover."
The admission chilled her.
"You ruined his life."
"No."
Ricci's smile widened.
"I preserved mine."
Footsteps echoed through the warehouse.
Several armed men entered.
One approached Ricci.
"Boss."
"They're coming."
Ricci nodded.
"Of course they are."
Miles away, Sebastian's convoy raced through the night.
Dozens of vehicles.
Dozens of armed soldiers.
But for Sebastian, none of it mattered.
Only Clare.
The woman who had risked everything for him.
The woman who had restored something he thought he'd lost forever.
Hope.
Gabriel sat beside him.
Scouts had traced the call.
The steel mill.
A trap.
Everyone knew it.
Sebastian didn't care.
For twenty years, he had lived in fear.
Tonight, fear belonged to someone else.
The convoy arrived shortly before midnight.
Rain hammered the rusted rooftops.
Thunder rolled across the lake.
Vincent Lombardi stepped from one of the vehicles.
He stood beside his nephew.
For the first time in years, they were fighting on the same side.
Gabriel checked his weapon.
"Ready?"
Sebastian looked toward the dark warehouse.
"No."
He gripped his cane tightly.
Then took another step.
This time without assistance.
Without support.
Without fear.
"But let's finish it."
The assault began.
Gunfire erupted across the property.
Windows shattered.
Metal screamed.
Ricci's men fought desperately.
But they were outnumbered.
One by one, defensive positions collapsed.
Within minutes, Sebastian's forces pushed into the main warehouse.
Bodies littered the floor.
Smoke filled the air.
Then Sebastian saw her.
Clare.
Still alive.
Relief flooded through him.
But before he could reach her—
A gun clicked behind her head.
Ricci emerged from the shadows.
Holding a pistol against Clare's temple.
Everything stopped.
"No closer," Ricci warned.
Sebastian froze.
The old mob boss smiled.
"This is where your father failed."
The words hit like a punch.
"What?"
Ricci laughed.
"The bomb wasn't meant for him."
Silence.
"It was meant for you."
Sebastian stared.
Ricci continued.
"Your father stepped in front of the blast."
The world seemed to tilt.
For twenty years, Sebastian believed his father had simply been unlucky.
But now—
The truth.
His father had died saving him.
The realization shattered something inside him.
Ricci's smile faded.
"Unfortunately, we're about to correct that mistake."
His finger tightened on the trigger.
Then a single gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
Ricci's eyes widened.
A red stain spread across his chest.
Behind him stood Vincent.
Holding a smoking pistol.
Ricci staggered backward.
Shock covered his face.
"No..."
Vincent lowered the weapon.
"It's over."
Ricci collapsed.
May you like
And for the first time in twenty years...
The war ended.
