Chapter 14 - The Ultimate Reckoning
Salvatore Moretti let out a low, gravelly laugh, refusing to drop his weapon despite being caught in a lethal crossfire.
“You think killing me will stop what’s coming, boy?” Moretti sneered, keeping his eyes fixed on Ryan.
“My men control every access road out of this valley.”
“By sunrise, this entire estate will be a smoking crater, and the child will belong to my syndicate.”
Ryan’s expression did not change by a single micro-expression.
“Your men are currently tied up in the courtyard discovering what happens when they face a DeMarco blockade,” Ryan replied coldly.
“And you are about to discover what happens when you threaten my family.”
Moretti’s confidence finally wavered as the distant sounds of gunfire in the courtyard abruptly ceased, replaced by the heavy silence of defeat.
Without warning, Moretti lunged sideways, attempting to use the heavy mahogany desk as cover while raising his pistol toward Natalie.
In a fraction of a second, Ryan moved with terrifying, blinding speed.
Two muffled shots cracked through the library in rapid succession.
Moretti’s weapon clattered uselessly against the marble floor as the syndicate boss stumbled backward.
He clutched his shoulder, dropping heavily to his knees against the ruined bookshelves.
Ryan closed the distance instantly, kicking Moretti’s fallen gun across the room and pressing his boot firmly against Moretti’s chest.
“It’s over, Salvatore,” Ryan said, his voice as cold as an open grave.
Natalie stepped forward, standing beside Ryan as she looked down at the man who had terrorized her mother’s entire life.
“You hunted us for twenty-six years,” Natalie said, her voice steady and resonant in the quiet room.
“You destroyed my mother’s peace and forced her to hide in the shadows.”
“And you thought you could claim my child.”
Moretti spat a drop of blood onto the floor, glaring up at her with bitter hatred.
“The blood contract... was absolute,” Moretti wheezed, gasping for breath.
“It was written in blood, and it will be paid in blood.”
“The contract died the moment you brought an army to my gates,” Victor stated coldly, stepping around the desk with his cane.
He looked down at Moretti with the absolute authority of a king reclaiming his throne.
“Arthur,” Victor called out toward the shattered doorway.
“Call the federal prosecutor on our secure line.”
“Tell him Salvatore Moretti has finally decided to surrender himself to state custody after trespassing on private property.”
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“And ensure he spends the rest of his natural life in a maximum-security cell where nobody can ever reach him.”
Caldwell stepped out from the corridor, nodding briskly as he pulled out his encrypted satellite phone.
