Chapter 4 - THE ARCHITECT OF RUIN AND THE KEEPER OF THE FLAME
Dominic Valli’s eyes narrowed,
his face hardening into a mask of ancient,
implacable malice.
"Careful,
Bennett,"
he whispered,
the sound carrying across the damp pavement.
"Loyalty to the Commission is the only thing keeping the Hale family from being erased."
"Is that what you call it?"
I asked,
taking a step forward,
closing the distance.
"Loyalty?"
"Or is it just fear of the truth?"
"You all knew what my father did twenty years ago."
"You all signed off on the murder of a family."
Dominic chuckled,
a dry,
rasping sound.
"It was business."
"The Morettis were weak."
"Weakness is a contagion in our world."
"And now,"
"you are showing symptoms of that same disease."
I felt my jaw set.
"The girl stays here."
"She is under my protection."
"Under the protection of a man who can barely keep his own mother alive?"
Dominic sneered.
"We know Eleanor is failing."
"We know you're distracted."
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
Behind me,
the heavy oak doors of the mansion creaked.
I didn't have to look to know who it was.
Clara stood there,
her face pale but her eyes blazing.
"I’m not a piece of property,"
she shouted,
her voice ringing out into the night.
"Clara,
get back inside!"
I barked,
not taking my eyes off Dominic.
But she didn't move.
She walked down the steps,
standing just behind my shoulder.
"You want to talk about the Moretti name?"
she asked,
looking directly at Dominic.
"My father died because he wanted peace."
"He wanted to break the cycle."
"And you killed him for it."
Dominic looked at her with a mixture of amusement and disdain.
"Look at that,"
he said to his men.
"The little bird has claws."
"It’s a pity we have to clip them."
He made a slight motion with his hand.
The two gunmen shifted their stance.
In that split second,
my own men appeared from the shadows of the porch and the corners of the estate.
Laser sights dotted the chests of Dominic’s guards.
Marcus stepped out from behind a pillar,
his rifle leveled at Dominic’s head.
"The situation has changed,"
I said,
my voice dropping to a low,
deadly rumble.
"You are on Hale ground."
"And on this ground,
my word is law."
Dominic looked around,
realizing he was outgunned.
He didn't look afraid;
he looked disappointed.
"You're choosing a ghost over your brothers,
Bennett."
"This won't end here."
"The Commission will hear of this defiance."
"Let them,"
I said.
"Tell them the Hales are done taking orders from men who hide behind old sins."
Dominic got back into the SUV,
his movements slow and deliberate.
"Enjoy your guest,"
he called out as the window rolled up.
"While she still has a pulse."
The vehicle sped away,
leaving a cloud of exhaust in the mist.
I felt the adrenaline begin to recede,
leaving me cold.
I turned to Clara.
She was shaking,
her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"Are you insane?"
I asked,
the anger bubbling up.
"You could have been killed!"
"I've been dead for twenty years,
Bennett!"
she fired back.
"Ever since I watched my mother die in that hallway!"
"I’m not going to hide in a basement while you fight my battles."
I looked at her,
and for the first time,
I didn't see a victim.
I saw a survivor.
I saw someone who had more courage in her little finger than the men I dealt with every day.
"They'll come back,"
I said,
my voice softening.
"I know,"
she replied.
"But this time,
I won't be under the floorboards."
We stood there for a long moment,
the silence of the night returning.
Then,
from inside the house,
a bell rang.
It was the bell from my mother’s bedside.
We both turned and ran.
We found her sitting up in bed,
her face ghostly white,
gasping for air.
The monitors were beeping a frantic,
steady rhythm.
"Mother!"
I cried,
rushing to her side.
She grabbed my lapel,
pulling me close with a strength I didn't know she had left.
"Don't...
don't let them..."
she wheezed.
"I won't,"
I promised.
"I won't let them touch her."
She looked past me to Clara,
who was already grabbing the oxygen mask.
"Forgive us,"
my mother whispered,
a single tear sliding down her temple.
"Forgive..."
Then,
the long,
unending drone of the heart monitor filled the room.
The world stopped.
May you like
My mother was gone.
And the only person who truly knew how to mourn her was the daughter of the family we had destroyed.
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