Chapter 10 – The Mentor Who Poured the Poison

The gates of Silvio’s sprawling estate opened slowly, allowing Dominic’s armored SUV to pull into the circular driveway.

Dominic came alone.

He stepped out of the vehicle, the cool night air biting at his face. He patted the heavy pistol holstered beneath his jacket.

He had told Emily to stay at the mansion, surrounded by guards. She had begged him not to go, terrified it was a trap. But Dominic had to look the man who killed his sister in the eye.

Silvio’s massive oak front doors opened.

Silvio stood in the foyer, smiling warmly. He was in his late sixties, with silver hair and a grandfatherly demeanor that hid a ruthless, calculating mind.

“Dominic!” Silvio cheered, opening his arms. “Come in, come in. I’ve opened a bottle of Barolo from your father’s favorite vintage.”

Dominic walked inside, his expression completely unreadable. “Thank you, Silvio.”

They walked into a lavish dining room. A roaring fire crackled in the hearth. Two crystal glasses sat on the table, already poured with dark red wine.

“Sit, sit,” Silvio gestured.

Dominic didn’t sit. He remained standing, staring at the older man.

“You’ve done a magnificent job, Dominic,” Silvio said, swirling his wine. “Destroying the Carlisles without firing a shot. Your father would be proud. We have absolute control of the city now.”

“We?” Dominic asked quietly.

Silvio smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course. I’ve always been by your side, guiding you.”

“Like you guided Clara?” Dominic asked.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Silvio stopped swirling his wine. He slowly set the glass down on the mahogany table. The grandfatherly mask slipped, revealing the cold, predatory mobster underneath.

“So,” Silvio whispered. “You found out.”

Dominic’s hands balled into fists. “She trusted you. My father trusted you. And you handed her over to Richard Carlisle to be murdered.”

Silvio sighed, shaking his head as if deeply disappointed.

“It was business, Dominic,” Silvio said calmly. “Clara was going to expose the Carlisles to the Feds. If the Feds brought down the Carlisles, they would have looked into our books next. She was putting the entire syndicate at risk over a moral crusade. She had to be stopped.”

“She was a twenty-year-old girl!” Dominic roared, his voice shaking the crystal on the table. “She was your goddaughter!”

“She was a liability!” Silvio snapped back, his eyes flashing with anger. “I built this empire with your father! I wasn’t going to let an idealistic little girl burn it to the ground!”

Silvio reached into his jacket pocket.

Dominic instantly drew his pistol, aiming it directly at Silvio’s chest.

Silvio didn’t draw a gun. He pulled out a small, black remote control.

“Go ahead, shoot me,” Silvio smiled coldly. “But if my heart stops, the dead man’s switch in my hand triggers a bomb underneath your SUV outside. And the one underneath the guest house at your estate. The one where Arthur Parker sleeps.”

Dominic froze.

“You think I didn’t know you were investigating me?” Silvio chuckled. “I have eyes everywhere, Dominic. I knew Arthur was alive. I knew about the letter. I invited you here tonight to give you a choice.”

Silvio sat down in his chair and took a sip of his wine.

“You can kill me, and Emily loses her father tonight. Or, you can walk away. You step down as head of the family. You hand the syndicate over to me, and you take Emily and Isabella and leave Chicago forever. You get to live.”

Dominic stared at the man who had shaped his entire life. The man who had manipulated him, lied to him, and murdered his sister.

Killing Silvio would be so easy. Pulling the trigger would bring Clara the justice she deserved.

But it would cost Emily her father. It would make Isabella an orphan if he died in the blast.

Dominic looked at the gun in his hand. He looked at the syndicate empire he had spent fifteen years building—an empire built on blood, lies, and betrayal.

He thought about Emily’s bright green eyes. He thought about Isabella laughing in the garden.

He slowly lowered his weapon.

“You win, Silvio,” Dominic said quietly.

Silvio smiled triumphantly. “A wise choice, my boy. The paperwork for the transfer of assets will be—”

“I don’t care about the assets,” Dominic interrupted. He placed his gun on the dining table and backed away. “Keep the money. Keep the territory. It’s poison anyway.”

Dominic turned and walked toward the door.

“You have twenty-four hours to leave the city,” Silvio called out after him. “If I see your face again, I’ll kill the girl.”

Dominic didn’t answer. He walked out the front doors, into the cold night air, leaving his empire behind.

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