Chapter 10 - THE NEW EMPEROR OF THE SHADOWSThree months later, the New York underworld had completely restructured itself.
With Sarah locked away in a federal supermax facility with no chance of parole, and the corrupted procurement officers exposed and stripped of their badges, the syndicate underwent a massive purge. The old ways of reckless greed and casual cruelty were systematically dismantled.
Capos who couldn't prove their loyalty were retired. Territories that brought unnecessary civilian collateral damage were abandoned.
People whispered that the mafia boss had gone soft. They whispered that a man who spent his afternoons walking a giant Mastiff through Central Park and personally funding college funds for orphaned children in Queens was no longer fit to run the families.
They were wrong.
I sat behind the massive mahogany desk in my penthouse office overlooking the sprawling skyline of Manhattan. The evening sun cast a long, golden glow across the polished wood.
My phone buzzed on the desk.
I picked it up and glanced at the screen. A secure report from our financial overseer: All regional portfolios balanced. Zero police interference. Port authorities fully secured.
I tossed the phone aside and leaned back in my leather chair.
Across the room, lying comfortably on a plush, oversized Persian rug by the fireplace, Bruno raised his massive head. He let out a long, contented yawn, blinked his amber eyes lazily, and laid his chin back down on his paws.
In this life, men lie. Empires crumble. Blood relatives betray you for a piece of the pie.
May you like
But a dog?
A dog always knows the truth. And as long as Bruno was by my side, the empire was safe, the ghosts were laid to rest, and the shadows belonged entirely to us.
