Chapter 8 - Unmasking the Serpent
Pier 42 was shrouded in a thick, freezing fog rolling off the Hudson River.
At 2:30 a.m., three unmarked cargo trucks pulled onto the concrete dock.
Marcus stood beside the lead vehicle, smoking a cigar, surrounded by twelve armed hitmen.
"Unload the crates quickly!" Marcus barked, checking his gold watch. "We need this warehouse cleared before dawn!"
Suddenly, four massive floodlights mounted on the surrounding cranes slammed on, blinding Marcus and his men with brilliant white light.
Screeching tires echoed across the pavement as six black SUVs surrounded the dock, cutting off every escape route.
"Drop your weapons!" Mateo’s voice boomed through a megaphone.
Marcus’s men panicked, reaching for their sidearms, but before anyone could fire, I stepped out from the lead SUV.
I didn't carry a cane.
I wore no dark glasses.
I walked steadily into the center of the floodlights, my eyes fixed squarely on Marcus’s shocked face.
Marcus dropped his cigar. His jaw fell open.
"Dominic?" he stammered, his eyes wide with absolute horror. "You... you can see?"
"I see everything, Marcus," I said, my voice carrying over the sound of the churning river. "I see the weapons in those trucks. I see the fake medical reports. And I see the man who betrayed my father's legacy."
"Kill him!" Marcus shrieked, grabbing his lieutenant's jacket. "Kill him now!"
None of his men moved.
Behind me, thirty veteran Moretti captains stepped into the light—men who had served my family for thirty years, men who had realized Marcus was leading them into destruction.
When they saw me standing tall, seeing clearly, their allegiance returned instantly.
Marcus’s lieutenants dropped their weapons one by one onto the cold asphalt.
Marcus stumbled backward, reaching for his own gun, but I moved faster than he had ever seen me move.
I drew my weapon and fired once.
The bullet struck the pavement an inch from his left boot.
Marcus froze, collapsing onto his knees, his hands flying into the air, shaking violently.
May you like
"Please, Dominic!" he begged, weeping. "It was Isabella! She came up with the plan! She wanted the empire!"
"You both built this cage," I said, stepping up to him and looking down into his sniveling face. "And now you're going to live in it."
