Chapter 17 - The Ambush in the Park

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Dominic opened the folder. As his eyes scanned the printed spreadsheets, offshore routing numbers, and the ultimate beneficiary documents bearing his signature, his fake confidence shattered instantly.
He lunged across the table.
Before Dominic could even reach his weapon, Marco slammed a heavy hand down on the underboss's neck, pinning his face violently against the mahogany wood. The other capos immediately drew their guns, pointing them directly at Dominic, realizing the depth of his betrayal.
“Seven million dollars,” Luca said quietly, standing up and walking over to his former friend. “You stole from my family while I was burying my sister.”
“Luca, please,” Dominic choked out, blood pooling at the edge of his mouth. “It was a mistake! I can pay it back!”
Luca didn't yell. He simply nodded to Marco. “Take him to the warehouse. I’ll deal with him tonight.”
As they dragged Dominic out of the room, Luca turned to the remaining capos. “The leak is plugged. Thanks to my wife.”
The men looked at Norah with a newfound, terrifying respect. She wasn't just a pretty face in a velvet dress; she was the architect of an underboss's downfall.
But cornered rats always have a backup plan.
That afternoon, while Luca was securing the perimeter with Marco, Norah was reading a book to Leo in the heavily fortified sunroom.
Suddenly, the heavy glass window shattered inward in a violent explosion of glass.
Norah didn't think. She threw herself entirely over Leo, shielding his small body with her own as glass rained down on them.
Gunfire erupted outside the gates. Dominic had loyalists in the ranks, and knowing their boss was caught, they had launched a desperate, suicidal assault on the estate to create a distraction.
“Stay down, Leo!” Norah screamed over the deafening sound of automatic weapons.
A man in a black mask kicked through the remaining shards of the window, stepping into the sunroom with a shotgun. He raised the barrel, pointing it directly at Norah’s back as she covered the crying boy.
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“Say goodbye, Mrs. Castellano,” the gunman sneered.
Before he could pull the trigger, three suppressed shots hit him perfectly in the chest.