Chapter 2 - VENOM IN THE VEINSThe Thirty-Second MiracleThe chapel turned into a Mexican standoff in a fraction of a second. Ten men drew weapons. Half belonged to Marco’s loyal faction; half were old-guard enforcers who still answered to the bloodline of Lori.
Veto didn't care about the guns. He placed his massive paws on the casket lock and pulled with his jaw, his teeth tearing into the gold-plated latch.
"Put the guns down!" screamed Old Man Vincent, the oldest caporegime in the family, stepping between the factions. "If there is even a one-in-a-million chance Prattasio breathes, and we bury him... God will damn every soul in this room. Unseal the box!"
Marco’s jaw clenched. "This is madness—"
"Unseal it!" Vincent roared.
Two veteran soldiers rushed forward with crowbars taken from the hearse outside. They jammed the steel edges into the seam of the mahogany casket. Marco stepped back slowly, his eyes darting toward the side exit of the chapel.
CREAK.
The wood splintered. The vacuum seal broke with a sharp hiss of escaping air.
The moment the lid was pried open, Veto leaped onto the edge of the coffin. He didn't attack. He pushed his wet snout directly against Prattasio’s cold cheek and let out a deep, trembling exhale.
Prattasio’s eyes, wide and glassy, didn't move. But as Veto’s warm tongue rasped across his cheek, a massive, violent shudder ripped through Prattasio’s chest.
"HE’S BREATHE-ING!" Elena shrieked, dropping to her knees.
A ragged, choking sound tore from Prattasio’s throat as his lungs expanded, drawing in fresh air for the first time in hours. His pale skin began to flush red as oxygen flooded his dying cells. His fingers twitched, locking instantly into the thick fur of Veto’s neck.
The dog pressed his weight against his master’s chest, barking in rhythmic bursts—almost as if forcing Prattasio’s heart to match his own steady rhythm.
"Dr. Vance!" Vincent yelled, turning around. "Where is the doctor?!"
"He's running!" a soldier yelled from the back.
Dr. Vance, the high-priced syndicate physician who had signed the death certificate two hours ago, was sprinting toward the heavy oak doors of the chapel.
He never made it.
Veto launched himself from the coffin like a black missile. He flew across ten feet of marble floor, hitting Dr. Vance in the small of his back. The doctor went down with a sickening crash, his medical bag bursting open. Veto pinned the trembling man to the floor, his massive jaws hovering an inch from Vance’s jugular vein.
"Don't kill him!" Prattasio’s voice sounded like grinding stones, barely a whisper, yet it silenced the entire chapel.
May you like
Every man froze. They turned back to the coffin. Prattasio Lori was sitting up, supported by his sister’s trembling arms. His dark eyes, filled with absolute death and cold vengeance, locked onto Marco.
"Bring... the doctor... to me," Prattasio rasped.
