CHAPTER 7 — A Father's War
CHAPTER 7 — A Father's War
The black SUV disappeared into the snowy streets before Dominic noticed it.
But someone else did.
Vincent.
He memorized the license plate and immediately ordered two men to follow.
Ten minutes later, the call came.
"They lost the vehicle."
Dominic wasn't surprised.
"If Alessandro wanted to be found," he said quietly, "he wouldn't have survived twenty years in hiding."
That night, Grace's little house became the safest place in Chicago.
Not because of walls.
Because every captain who had once sworn loyalty to Dominic voluntarily surrounded the neighborhood.
No flashy cars.
No weapons in sight.
Just ordinary-looking men shoveling snow, walking dogs, pretending to fix fences.
Grace looked out the window.
"Your entire organization is outside."
Dominic smiled faintly.
"No."
"My family is."
She looked at him.
"They still chose you."
"I never asked them to."
"No."
She reached for his hand.
"They simply remembered who you were."
For the first time since their divorce...
Grace didn't pull her hand away.
Three days later...
Vincent burst through the front door.
"We found Alessandro."
Dominic stood immediately.
"Where?"
"He wants you to come alone."
Grace's expression hardened.
"It's a trap."
Dominic nodded.
"I know."
"So don't go."
He looked toward Noah, who was asleep on the couch with a comic book lying across his chest.
"I have to."
Grace grabbed his arm.
"If you die..."
He gently touched her cheek.
"I already died once."
She understood exactly what he meant.
Seven years ago.
When he'd lost them.
He kissed Noah's forehead before leaving.
"I'll be back."
The sleeping boy smiled unconsciously.
"Okay...Dad..."
The single word nearly broke Dominic.
The meeting took place inside an abandoned cathedral.
Dust floated through broken stained-glass windows.
Alessandro Romano stood at the altar.
Older.
Thinner.
But his eyes were just as calculating.
"You've grown."
Dominic stopped several feet away.
"You should've stayed dead."
Alessandro chuckled.
"I taught you everything."
"You taught me fear."
"I taught you survival."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"You destroyed my family."
"No."
The old man smiled.
"I protected the empire."
"You convinced me Grace betrayed me."
"You believed it because you wanted to."
The words struck like bullets.
Because they were true.
Dominic had chosen pride over trust.
That failure belonged to him.
Alessandro slowly walked closer.
"You know why I separated you?"
Dominic remained silent.
"Because men in love don't make good kings."
"I don't want to be king."
The old man laughed.
"You already proved that."
He reached into his coat and removed a folder.
Inside were contracts.
Financial reports.
Medical patents.
"The boy is worth more than the entire Russo empire."
Dominic never looked at them.
"He's not for sale."
"You misunderstand."
Alessandro smiled.
"I wasn't asking."
Suddenly—
The cathedral doors exploded open.
Armed mercenaries flooded inside.
More than thirty.
Every weapon pointed at Dominic.
Alessandro sighed dramatically.
"I was hoping you'd agree peacefully."
Dominic slowly looked around.
Outnumbered.
Outgunned.
Alone.
Then...
A familiar voice echoed from outside.
"I told you..."
Vincent stepped through the doorway.
"...he'd never come alone."
Behind him...
Every Russo captain entered.
Then more.
And more.
Nearly a hundred loyal men filled the cathedral.
None wore suits.
None carried mafia symbols.
Only fathers.
Brothers.
Friends.
Men who had chosen loyalty over fear.
Alessandro's smile disappeared.
"You resigned."
Dominic nodded.
"I did."
"So why are they here?"
Dominic looked around proudly.
"Because leadership isn't a title."
"It's earned."
For the first time in decades...
Alessandro looked afraid.
Gunfire erupted.
The cathedral became chaos.
Bullets shattered ancient stained glass.
Stone columns splintered.
Mercenaries fell one by one.
Dominic fought his way toward Alessandro.
The old man fled through a hidden passage beneath the altar.
Dominic chased him into underground tunnels built nearly a century earlier.
Finally...
They reached the end.
A collapsed chamber.
Nowhere left to run.
Alessandro aimed a pistol.
"You ruined everything."
Dominic slowly lowered his own weapon.
"No."
"You did."
"You chose greed."
"You chose power."
"You chose to destroy innocent lives."
The old man laughed bitterly.
"And you're better?"
"I wasn't."
Dominic answered honestly.
"But my son deserves a better father than I had."
Alessandro fired.
The bullet struck the stone wall.
At the exact same moment...
Dominic fired once.
Silence.
Alessandro staggered backward.
The pistol slipped from his hand.
He looked almost surprised.
Then collapsed forever.
May you like
The war that had begun decades earlier...
Ended with a single shot.
