Chapter 16 - The Betrayal of the Syndicate
The cathedral descended into chaos. Muzzle flashes illuminated the stained-glass windows as a fierce firefight broke out between Dominic’s elite guards and Lydia’s mercenary force.
Dominic moved like a phantom. Firing with terrifying accuracy, he dropped two hitmen who tried to flank us from the choir loft, his body shielding me every step of the way as we moved toward the side sanctuary exit.
"Frank!" Dominic barked into his lapel radio. "Get the armored transport to the courtyard! Get Clara out of here!"
"Dominic, no!" I yelled over the deafening roar of gunfire. "I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to!" Dominic looked at me, his dark eyes intense, blood splattered across his cheek. "She wants the micro-drive! If she gets her hands on you, everything we fought for is gone!"
Before I could reply, a sudden, heavy metallic sound echoed from the heavy double doors leading to the courtyard.
CLICK.
The doors didn't open. They were being locked from the outside.
Dominic’s radio crackled with static, and a voice came through—not Frank’s, but the cold, elderly voice of Don Vincenzo, Dominic’s most trusted senior lieutenant.
"I'm sorry, Dominic," Vincenzo’s voice sounded through the radio, devoid of emotion. "The Commission has decided. You brought too much heat to Chicago with this girl and your dead wife. Moretti's associates offered us a seventy percent split of the shipping routes if we let Lydia clean up the mess."
My blood turned to ice.
Vincenzo had betrayed him. The entire Chicago Syndicate had turned their back on Dominic Vale. We weren't just fighting Lydia—we were trapped inside a kill box controlled by the entire mafia underworld.
"Vincenzo," Dominic said softly into the radio, his voice dropping into a tone so icy it sent shivers down my spine. "I gave you your first territory thirty years ago."
"And you should have retired ten years ago, Dominic," Vincenzo replied coldly. "Goodbye, old friend."
The radio went dead.
From the balcony above, Lydia laughed hysterically, her voice echoing over the heavy gunfire. "You see, Dominic?! You built an empire of snakes! And now they're eating you alive!"
Dominic stood in the center of the cross aisle, surrounded by burning pews, shattered glass, and dead hitmen. His ammunition was running low. The exits were sealed.
He looked down at me, taking my hand tightly in his.
"Clara," he whispered. "Do you still trust me?"
May you like
"With my life," I answered without a second of hesitation.
"Good," Dominic smirked, a dangerous, beautiful smile appearing on his face. "Then let's burn this whole place down."
