Chapter 13 - Midnight Retribution
Midnight arrived draped in heavy black clouds, a thunderstorm rolling violently over Lake Michigan, drowning the city in sheets of torrential rain.
The estate had become a fortress on war footing. Dozens of armored vehicles lined the courtyard, and heavy caliber weapons were distributed among the syndicate soldiers. Vincent stood in the grand foyer, strapping on his combat vest, a man preparing to execute judgment.
Claire stood by the grand staircase, wrapped in a dark cashmere cardigan, holding Lily’s hand.
Vincent walked over to them. He leaned down, kissing Lily’s forehead gently. "Stay with Mommy in the safe room, little bird. When I come back, we’ll build that treehouse you asked for."
"Promise?" Lily smiled sleepily.
"I swear it on my life," Vincent promised.
He turned to Claire. For a moment, the world stopped spinning. Vincent cupped the back of her neck, pulling her into an intense, searing kiss that tasted of rain, desperation, and five years of unspoken devotion. Claire kissed him back, clutching his tactical vest, tears wetting her cheeks.
"Come back to us," she pleaded against his lips. "Don't you dare leave me again, Vincent Moretti."
"Never again, my Donna," Vincent swore, his eyes burning with devotion. "This city belongs to you now."
Vincent turned and stepped out into the raging storm, flanked by Luca and fifty heavily armed men. The convoy roared to life, headlights tearing through the darkness as they drove toward the old industrial shipping docks where Valenti’s forces were fortified.
Inside the estate, Claire guided Lily back down toward the reinforced bunker. The house was dead quiet, guarded by the elite inner circle left behind to protect them.
*BOOM!*
A deafening explosion tore through the front gates of the estate, shaking the very foundations of the mansion.
Sirens wailed into the stormy night. The terrifying sound of automatic gunfire erupted from the gardens—not miles away at the docks, but *here*, right on the front lawn.
"Ambush!" a guard shouted down the hall before a hail of bullets shattered the grand foyer windows. "The docks were a decoy! Valenti’s main force hit the manor!"
Claire gasped, clutching Lily to her chest as the lights flickered and died, plunging the mansion into pitch-black darkness.
Footsteps—heavy, tactical, and numerous—echoed across the marble floor above them.
Claire scrambled into the bunker corridor, desperately reaching for the emergency lock panel. But before her fingers could slam the red button, the reinforced steel doors were violently kicked open.
A flash of lightning illuminated the doorway.
Standing in the shadows was not Valenti, nor was it Vincent.
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It was a man dressed in the uniform of the Moretti inner guard, holding an assault rifle aimed directly at Claire's heart. He slowly lowered his tactical mask, revealing a cruel, triumphant smile that Claire had not seen since her wedding day.
"Did you really think Vincent was the only one who wanted you dead, Claire?" the man whispered, his finger tightening on the trigger.
