Chapter 9 - The Blood of Kings
Dante rode down the mountain like the Angel of Death.
The ensuing war was the bloodiest Blackwood had ever seen. Dante didn't just defend his territory; he systematically dismantled the Marzano family. He cornered Victor Marzano in his own warehouse, surrounded by the burning wreckage of his illicit shipments.
But Victor was a cornered rat. As Dante raised his weapon to end the rivalry forever, Victor fired a hidden derringer. The bullet tore through Dante’s side, dropping him to one knee.
Through the haze of pain, Dante saw Clara’s face in his mind. He heard Leo call her Mama.
With a brutal roar, Dante pushed himself up, ignoring the blood pouring from his side, and fired. Victor Marzano fell, and the war was over.
Hours later, the mountain cabin doors burst open. Clara dropped her teacup as Dante was carried inside by two guards, pale and bleeding heavily.
"Dante!" she screamed, rushing to his side as they laid him on the dining table.
"I need a medic!" a guard yelled.
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"There's no time," Clara said, her vision sharpening. She wasn't just a mother; she had learned the brutal reality of this world. She grabbed the first aid kit, a bottle of whiskey, and a pair of forceps. "Hold him down."
While the hardened mafia enforcers looked away, Clara Hayes dug the bullet out of the crime lord's side, stitched him up, and saved his life.
