Chapter 6 - The Secret History
The gunfire outside grew deafening as heavy ordnance impacted the reinforced exterior walls. Glass from the upper-floor solarium rained down into the courtyard like glittering diamonds.
Dominic holstered his pistol and walked over to a concealed panel behind the mahogany bookcase. He pressed a sequence of buttons, and a heavy steel vault door slid open, revealing an armory filled with tactical gear, shotguns, and crates of ammunition.
"Miller, take half the men and flank them from the east greenhouse," Dominic ordered, tossing an assault rifle to his lieutenant. "Draw them into the courtyard. Let them think they've breached the main hall."
"And you, boss?"
"I’m staying here," Dominic said, racking the slide of a shotgun with a satisfying metallic clack. "This is my home. And nobody threatens my people under my roof."
As Miller dashed out to coordinate the defense, Dominic turned back into the room. He noticed me trembling as I held Lucia tightly against my chest.
Walking over, he knelt beside us, setting the shotgun against the desk. For the first time, I saw the deep, unrelenting sorrow behind the ruthless mafia boss persona.
"You don't belong in this world, Alina," Dominic said softly, his voice barely audible over the distant concussive thuds of flashbangs outside. "When I was your daughter's age, I watched men in suits take my father away from our kitchen table. They promised him safety if he handed over his shipping docks. He trusted them. Ten minutes later, his car blew up in the driveway."
I stared at him, stunned. The cold, untouchable boss of the Boston underworld was revealing a wound that had bled for decades.
"From that day on," Dominic continued, his jaw tightening, "I swore I would never let anyone take what was mine. I built an empire so impenetrable that no one could ever touch me. But empires don't keep you safe, Alina. People do. Your daughter saw poison in a cup when my entire army was blind. She reminded me of what humanity looks like."
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"Dominic..." I whispered, my voice catching on his first name for the very first time.
Before he could answer, the heavy double doors of the study shuddered under the impact of a heavy battering ram.
