Chapter 8 - The Shadow of Rizzo
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The confession hung in the air, heavy and electric, but the reality of their world refused to let them breathe.
The next morning, the penthouse security monitors flared red. A massive motorcade of armored black vehicles pulled up to the front of the Leone tower.
Don Rizzo had arrived.
He demanded a sit-down. Dante did not refuse, but he commanded Nadia to remain in the secure upper levels.
She stood on the balcony overlooking the grand office, hidden behind tinted glass, watching as the aging, terrifying boss of the Rizzo family stormed into Dante’s sanctuary.
“You broke a blood oath, Dante!” Don Rizzo roared, slamming his silver-tipped cane against the floor. “You humiliated my daughter for a peasant!”
Dante sat behind his desk, completely unbothered. “I honored the oldest law of my family, Rizzo. The dress chooses the bride. Your daughter did not fit the silk.”
“To hell with your ghost stories!” Rizzo spat. “You owe me half this city! If you do not hand that girl over to me by midnight, the streets will run red. My men will slaughter your capos in their beds.”
Dante stood up slowly. He leaned his palms flat against the desk, his presence expanding to fill the massive room.
“If a single drop of Leone blood is spilled,” Dante promised, his voice vibrating with lethal intent, “I will not just go to war, Don Rizzo. I will erase your name from history. The girl is my bride. She is untouchable.”
Rizzo glared at him, his face purple with rage. “Then prepare to bury her, Dante.”
May you like
The old don turned and marched out of the office.
Nadia pressed her hand against the cold glass of the balcony. The war wasn't a threat anymore. It was a promise.
