The Sins Of The Father

Chapter 9

The paralyzing shock of seeing the armored vehicle parked in the industrial dirt hit Dante harder than a physical blow to the chest. He pressed his back against the wet brick wall while his mind struggled to process the reality of his former lover sitting outside a filthy extortion hub. Elena belonged in the high society towers of the city and her presence in this rotten district meant the corruption of Victor Carmine had infected her soul.

He aborted his plan to breach the side entrance because engaging her personal security detail would force him to shed blood he wanted to protect. Dante moved through the shadows toward a rusted drainage pipe clinging to the side of the towering brick structure. He tested the metal with his weight and began to scale the sheer wall with muscles forged in the unforgiving prison yard.

The freezing rain pounded against his back and made the climb dangerous but his absolute desperation pushed him upward toward the roof. He reached the top ledge and hauled his massive frame over the concrete lip while he gasped for the cold air. Dante navigated the slick tar paper to reach the expansive glass skylight positioned over the center of the meat packing plant floor.

He pried the rusted hinges of the ventilation window open and slipped through the narrow gap with practiced silence. Dante lowered himself onto the thick steel rafters suspended high above the concrete floor of the main warehouse. He laid flat against the cold metal beam and peered through the darkness to observe the scene unfolding below him.

The harsh fluorescent lights illuminated a makeshift office area carved out between towering stacks of frozen cargo crates. Elena stood in the center of the room wearing a sharp tailored suit that looked like armor against the grime of the facility. The local racket boss cowered behind a metal desk while he sweated under the intense scrutiny of the underworld queen.

"The numbers on this ledger do not match the street cash you promised to deliver to the estate tonight," Elena stated with a voice devoid of all warmth. She tossed a thick leather binder onto the desk and let it land with a loud smack that made the boss flinch in fear. "You are short by ten thousand and my husband does not tolerate thieves operating within his supply chain."

Dante listened to the cold cadence of her voice and felt a deep ache radiate through his shattered jaw. He remembered the soft woman who used to despise the violent business of the syndicate and begged him to leave the life behind. Ten years of surviving Victor had hardened her into a ruthless enforcer who wielded fear just as well as any man with a g*n.

"The police increased their patrols in the slum districts and it became impossible to collect the full amount on time," the racket boss pleaded with a trembling voice. He held his hands up in a defensive gesture while her armed guards stepped closer to the desk to block his escape. "Give me three days and I swear on my life I will bring the rest of the money to the mansion."

Elena stepped closer to the terrified man and placed her hands flat on the metal surface of his desk. She leaned forward and stared into his eyes with a terrifying emptiness that made Dante shiver in the rafters. "You do not have three days to balance this book because Victor demands absolute perfection from the people who eat from his table," she warned.

The sheer authority radiating from her posture proved she was no longer a victim trapped in a cage of circumstances. She had adapted to the venomous environment to protect her son and ensure her own survival among the monsters. Dante realized the woman he loved had become just as dangerous as the man he swore to destroy.

"If you steal from my family again I will send men to strip the flesh from your bones and leave you in the river," Elena continued without raising her voice. "I will return tomorrow night and you will have the missing money or you will pay the debt with your own blood." She turned away from the trembling man and signaled her security detail to prepare for their departure from the facility.

Her heels clicked against the concrete floor with a rhythmic precision that echoed through the massive warehouse space. Dante watched her walk toward the reinforced steel doors while a chaotic storm of emotions raged inside his chest. He wanted to drop down from the rafters and rip the guards apart just to look into her eyes and tell her he was home.

The instinct to protect her fought a brutal war against the strategic necessity of remaining a ghost until the time was right. If he revealed himself now Victor would use the child as leverage and ensure Dante died a second time. He held his breath and forced his muscles to remain still while the guards opened the heavy exit doors for their queen.

The cold night air rushed into the facility for a brief second before the steel slammed shut and sealed the tomb. The echoing thud of the locks engaging signaled the departure of the only light left in his broken world. The racket boss let out a massive sigh of relief and collapsed into his leather desk chair while he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The man believed he had survived the wrath of the Carmine empire and lived to see another sunrise. He pushed the leather binder away and stood up to walk toward a small liquor cabinet resting against the brick wall. Dante uncoiled his massive frame from the steel rafter and dropped down into the shadows of the warehouse floor in absolute silence.

His boots absorbed the impact of the fall with the grace of a predator closing in on oblivious prey. He stood in the gloom and allowed the darkness to mask his resurrection from the dead. The racket boss grabbed a crystal glass and began to pour a generous measure of amber liquid to calm his shattered nerves.

He let the bottle clink against the rim of the glass while he muttered curses aimed at the woman who had just threatened his life. Dante walked across the concrete floor and picked up a heavy steel wrench resting on a nearby workstation. The heavy tool felt perfect in his scarred hand and provided the weight he needed to extract the necessary information.

Dante moved toward the exit and engaged the deadbolt on the reinforced doors with a loud metallic snap that echoed through the room. The racket boss froze with the drink in his hand and turned around to face the ghost standing in his sanctuary.