Chapter 8 – THE PROMISE FULFILLED

The water from the sprinklers poured down around us, but Bianca stood just outside the blast radius, near the dry wooden stairs.

She flicked the lighter. A small, orange flame danced in her hand.

“If I can’t have this empire, neither can the servant girl,” Bianca spat.

Before she could drop the flame, a massive shadow loomed behind her on the stairs.

Sebastian.

His tuxedo was torn. He was bleeding from a cut above his eye. But he was standing.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t use a weapon.

He simply reached out, grabbed Bianca’s wrist, and crushed it until she screamed, dropping the lighter into the puddle of water at his feet.

“It’s over, Bianca,” he breathed, his chest heaving.

Sirens began to wail outside. Red and blue lights flashed through the basement windows.

“The police?” Bianca laughed bitterly, clutching her wrist. “My brother owns the police, Sebastian.”

“He owns the local precinct,” Sebastian corrected. “He doesn’t own the FBI.”

Bianca froze.

“For six months, I’ve been feeding the feds everything,” Sebastian said quietly. “The ledgers. The bank accounts. Every move your brother made. I just needed the proof of who killed my mother to finish the puzzle.”

He patted the pocket containing his mother’s drawing.

“And thanks to Miss Flo, now I have it.”

FBI tactical teams flooded down the stairs. They grabbed Bianca, cuffing her immediately.

Dominic and his men were already in custody upstairs.

When the basement was clear, Sebastian slowly walked toward me.

He looked exhausted, battered, but completely free.

He reached past me and unlocked the steel storm door.

Florence stepped out first, followed by Sarah, who was holding a crying Leo.

Sebastian dropped to his knees right into a puddle of water.

He looked at little Leo.

“Hey, buddy,” Sebastian said softly. “You don’t need to cry. The bad people are gone. Nobody is ever going to hurt you or your mom again.”

Leo looked at him. Then, tentatively, the little boy reached out and wrapped his small arms around the feared mafia boss’s neck.

Sebastian closed his eyes, hugging the child tight.

He looked up at Florence.

“You kept your promise, Miss Flo. You saved me.”

Florence smiled, resting her wrinkled hand on his wet hair.

“No, my sweet boy. You saved yourself.”

Sebastian stood up and looked at me.

He didn’t say a word. He just pulled me into a fierce, desperate hug.

The nightmare was over.

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