Chapter 6 - Secrets in the Ledger
Dominic’s breath seized in his chest. His vision blurred around the edges, tunneling until all he could see was Fiona’s bruised, terrified face.
*A debt unpaid by the father.*
"Why didn't you come to me?" Dominic’s voice shook with an agony he couldn't conceal. "Fiona, my God, why didn't you call my office? Why didn't you go to the contacts I left in Detroit?"
"What contacts?" she asked, her voice cracking. "The moment I landed in Detroit five years ago, three men broke into my apartment and took every penny from my account. They told me if I ever returned to this city, or if I ever tried to contact Dominic Russo again, they would finish what you started."
Dominic felt the room spinning. "Who? Who were they?"
"They said they worked for your underboss," Fiona whispered. "A man named Paulie. Paulie Varga."
Dominic stepped back, colliding with the edge of the metal bedside table. The tray rattled violently, sending a cup of water crashing to the floor. The plastic shattered, spilling across the linoleum.
*Paulie Varga.*
Paulie had been with Dominic’s family for twenty years. When Dominic had sent Fiona away, he had entrusted Paulie with her relocation. He had given Paulie two million dollars in cash and bearer bonds to set her up in safety. He had trusted Paulie’s monthly reports stating that she was living comfortably in a quiet suburb, working at a floral shop, untouched and content.
Paulie had taken the money. Paulie had threatened her, driven her into the slums, and kept Dominic in the dark for five long years.
"And last night?" Dominic asked, his voice dead, devoid of all emotion. "The car?"
"I was trying to get Leo," Fiona said, tears streaming freely down her cheeks now. "I saw the black SUV outside the bakery. I slipped out the back alley, trying to reach Baker Street before they did. But the silver car came out of nowhere on 14th. It didn't swerve. It sped up. I threw myself toward the brick wall of a shop, but the fender caught my hip and crushed me against the bricks."
She looked at him, her gaze piercing through whatever was left of his soul.
"They weren't trying to scare me, Dominic. They were trying to kill me so they could take Leo. They knew who he was before you did."
Before Dominic could answer, the heavy wooden door of Room 812 swung open without a knock.
Dante stood in the doorway, his face pale, his tie undone. He looked at Fiona, then at Dominic, his expression taut with sheer panic.
"Boss," Dante said, his voice breathless. "We have a massive problem."
Dominic didn't break eye contact with Fiona for another three seconds. "What is it, Dante?"
"Paulie Varga just missed the morning roll call at the warehouse," Dante said, stepping into the room and keeping his voice low. "And Lorenzo Moretti just posted a message through the back-channels. The sit-down at the St. Regis wasn't for a negotiation."
"What was it for?" Dominic asked coldly.
"A coronation," Dante whispered. "Paulie flipped. He sold Moretti our entire distribution grid, our safehouse locations, and the armory codes. And Moretti just announced that Paulie is the new head of the Russo family. Anyone still loyal to you has a bounty on their head by noon."
A heavy silence descended over the room.
Fiona stared at Dominic, the terror returning to her eyes, deeper and more paralyzing than before. "They know we're here," she breathed. "Dominic... they know Leo is here."
Dominic turned around slowly. The hesitation, the guilt, the remorse that had paralyzed him for the last six hours vanished in an instant. The man standing before them was no longer a regretful lover or an estranged father.
He was Dominic Russo, the devil who had built an empire on the bones of his enemies.
"Dante," Dominic commanded, his voice ringing with absolute, terrifying authority.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Lock down the hospital," Dominic said. "Bring the armored suburbans to the ambulance bay. Call every man who owes his life to my father, not to Varga. We are moving Fiona and Leo out of this city within the hour."
"Where?" Dante asked. "Every safehouse in the state is compromised if Paulie had the books."
Dominic looked toward the window, where the grey morning rain was lashing against the glass. "Not the estate in the Blackwood Ridge. That deed is in my mother’s maiden name. Even Paulie doesn't know it exists."
"Boss, moving her now could kill her," Dante warned, glancing at the monitors. "The doctor said—"
"Staying here *will* kill her," Dominic cut in. He walked to the side of the bed, leaning down so his face was inches from Fiona’s. "I failed you five years ago, Fiona. I was arrogant, I was blind, and I let wolves into our home. But I swear on my mother’s grave, if they want to touch you or my son, they will have to walk over my corpse first."
Fiona looked into his slate-grey eyes. For the first time since she had opened her eyes in that hospital room, she didn't see the man who had abandoned her. She saw the lethal, unyielding protector she had fallen in love with before the mafia had consumed him.
"Promise me," she whispered, her hand trembling as she reached up and grabbed the lapel of his coat. "Promise me Leo survives this."
Dominic placed his large, scarred hand over hers, holding it against his chest where his heart pounded like a war drum.
May you like
"I promise," he said.
***
