Chapter 5 - Fire on the Grand DriveDownstairs, the grand entrance doors of the estate had been shoved open with brutal force.
Standing in the center of the foyer was Vincent Romano himself. He was sixty years old, built like an iron vault, wearing a tailored navy overcoat and carrying a silver-topped walking stick. Standing behind him were six heavily armed bodyguards, their leather jackets pulled back to reveal the black handles of submachine guns tucked into their shoulder rigs.
Isabella stood beside her father, her arms crossed, a cruel, triumphant smirk plastered across her painted lips.
Mr. Bruno stood at the foot of the staircase, his arms folded neatly behind his back, looking entirely unbothered by the armed men invading the house.
“Where is he, Bruno?” Vincent Romano boomed, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. “Where is the bastard who thinks he can disrespect my blood?”
“The Don is descending now, Mr. Romano,” Bruno replied calmly, gesturing toward the staircase.
Alessandro stepped down the stairs with effortless grace, his right hand resting casually in his pocket, his expression completely unreadable. Behind him, emerging from the side corridors, were eight Moretti enforcers—men built like brick walls, holding silenced automatic rifles pointed directly at the floor, waiting for a single nod from their Don.
Vincent Romano’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the room. He knew he was outnumbered inside the house, but his confidence remained unshaken.
“Alessandro,” Vincent barked, tapping his walking stick loudly against the marble floor. “What is the meaning of this insult? My daughter calls me crying, telling me you put a servant’s bastard in the master guest suite and threw her luggage into the driveway!”
Alessandro reached the bottom step, stepping directly into Vincent’s personal space without showing a shred of fear.
“Your daughter raised her voice at a child in my home,” Alessandro said, his tone icy and measured. “And then she called that child a brat.”
Isabella took a step forward, her eyes flashing with anger. “She is a maid’s child, Alessandro! She was touching my clothes with her sticky hands! I am your fiancée! I am supposed to be the mistress of this house!”
Alessandro slowly turned his head to look at Isabella. The utter absence of emotion in his eyes made her freeze mid-sentence, a cold shiver running down her spine.
“You were never the mistress of this house, Isabella,” Alessandro said quietly. “You were a business transaction that has just been terminated.”
“You can't terminate this contract, you fool!” Vincent spat, taking a step closer, his face turning dark purple with rage. “Our agreement guarantees the consolidation of the New York and Chicago shipping lines! If you break this engagement, my family will pull every ship out of your harbors by midnight! You will lose fifty million dollars in revenue by sunrise!”
Alessandro casually pulled a gold cigar case from his pocket, flipped it open, and lit a thin dark cigar with a silver lighter. He blew a slow cloud of blue smoke into the space between them.
“I don't care about the fifty million, Vincent,” Alessandro said smoothly.
“You’re lying,” Vincent sneered. “No Moretti turns his back on that kind of money for a piece of street trash and her fatherless kid!”
Alessandro took a slow drag from his cigar. Then, with terrifying suddenness, his left hand shot out, grabbing Vincent Romano by his silk tie and slamming the older man’s back hard against the heavy marble pillar nearby.
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The Romano bodyguards immediately raised their weapons, but before they could clear their holsters, eight red laser dots appeared simultaneously on Vincent Romano’s forehead and chest. The Moretti enforcers didn't hesitate; their weapons were already locked on target.
“Listen to me very carefully, Vincent,” Alessandro growled, his face inches from the trembling elder Don’s. “That child is not fatherless. Her name is Lily Moretti. She is my daughter. And if you or your daughter ever speak her name again—if you so much as look in the direction of this estate—I will not just pull your ships out of the harbor. I will sink every single one of them with your men inside.”
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