Chapter 7 - The Final Chess Piece
Dante walked back up the grand staircase, his hands clean, his breathing steady, though a small scratch on his forearm was bleeding slowly through his shirt cuff. He pushed open the door to the master suite.
Sophia was sitting up on the sofa, rubbing her eyes, clutching her yellow blanket. Lena was kneeling beside her, sobbing quietly with relief. When Dante walked in, Lena looked up, seeing the blood on his arm, and her breath caught.
"Is it... are they gone?" Lena whispered.
"They're handled," Dante said, his voice softening as he looked at Sophia. He walked over and knelt down beside the little girl. Sophia looked at his arm, her small brow furrowing with concern.
"You got a boo-boo, Mr. Dante," she said softly, reaching out with a tiny finger to touch the scratch.
Dante looked down at her small, innocent hand resting against his scarred arm. For the first time in his life, the weight of his violent world didn't feel like a shield; it felt like a cage he was finally ready to tear down. "It's nothing, Sophia. Go back to sleep."
"Only if you stay," she mumbled, yawning deeply.
Dante looked up at Lena, who nodded slowly through her tears. Dante sat down on the edge of the sofa, leaning his back against the armrest. Within minutes, Sophia drifted back to sleep, her head resting against Dante's knee, her yellow blanket draped over both of them.
Morning came with blazing sunlight, washing away the remnants of the storm. Viktor knocked on the door at seven AM, stepping into the suite with a grim smile and a sleek, encrypted laptop.
"We traced the command signal of the strike team right back to Julian Vance's penthouse," Viktor reported, handing Dante the laptop. "And boss... we didn't just trace it. We downloaded his entire financial ledger and communications network. Every shell company, every bribe, every illegal shipping route he owns. He’s completely exposed."
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Dante looked at the screen, then down at Sophia, who was still sleeping peacefully against his knee. He handed the laptop back to Viktor.
"Send the files to federal authorities, the international syndicate board, and every major news outlet in the country," Dante instructed coldly. "And send a personal message to Julian Vance. Tell him Dante Rickai is coming for a visit."
