The Sins Of The Father

Chapter 10

"You died in the prison riots five years ago," the racket boss whispered while the crystal glass slipped from his trembling fingers and shattered against the concrete floor. The amber liquor mixed with the dirt as the terrified man stared at the scarred face of the ghost standing before him in the shadows.

"The grave could not hold me while Victor Carmine still breathes the air in my city," Dante replied with a voice made of pure gravel and venomous malice. He tightened his grip on the heavy steel wrench and closed the distance between them with slow and deliberate steps that echoed in the quiet room.

The boss stumbled backward and crashed into the metal desk while he searched for a weapon in a state of absolute panic and desperation. He reached for a pistol hidden under the scattered papers but his hands shook with too much fear to find the grip before the enforcer reached him.

Dante swung the steel wrench with devastating force and shattered the desk in half before the corrupt thief could draw the g*n from its hiding place. The massive impact sent the boss crashing to the ground with a scream of pain that echoed through the cavernous warehouse space.

"Victor stole my throne and he corrupted the woman I love with his twisted lies and false promises," Dante growled as he stood over the broken man. "Tonight I start taking back everything he took from me and I will not stop until his entire empire burns to ash."

The racket boss tried to crawl away toward the exit doors but Dante brought his heavy boot down on the ankle of the thief and shattered the bone. The man howled in agony and begged for a mercy that Dante no longer possessed in his hardened soul after ten years in a cage.

Every single plea for forgiveness reminded Dante of the decade he spent rotting in isolation while these parasites feasted on his stolen legacy. He delivered another crushing blow to the ribs of the boss and watched the breath leave the lungs of his sworn enemy.

Dante stepped away from the bleeding man and grabbed the leather ledger Elena had inspected with cold detachment just moments before. He tossed the book of lies onto a massive pile of unwashed street currency resting on a wooden shipping pallet in the center of the room.

The paper money represented the lifeblood of the Carmine operation and the perpetual suffering of the innocent people trapped in the slums under his rule. Dante picked up a can of lighter fluid from a nearby workstation and poured the toxic chemicals over the mountain of stolen cash.

He struck a match against the brick wall and watched the flame dance in the gloom before tossing it onto the soaked pile of paper. The cash erupted into a brilliant column of fire that illuminated the warehouse and destroyed the financial foundation of the street operations forever.

"Tell Victor the ghost has returned to collect his dues and demand a reckoning for his sins," Dante instructed while the heat of the fire warmed his scarred face. He grabbed the bleeding boss by the collar and dragged him toward a heavy industrial vice bolted to a steel workbench near the loading dock.

Dante reached into his pocket and produced a pristine silver coin that he had kept hidden since his days as the supreme enforcer of the underworld. He placed the silver piece between the iron jaws of the vice and turned the crank with relentless strength fueled by a decade of rage.

The metal groaned and warped under the massive pressure until the coin flattened into an unrecognizable shape of crushed silver. Dante released the vice and picked up the ruined piece of metal that served as his old calling card and a promise of absolute destruction.

He walked back to the racket boss and dropped the crushed coin right onto the center of his bleeding chest to deliver the final message. The terrified man stared at the silver marker and understood the declaration of war it represented for the entire Carmine syndicate and everyone who served it.

Dante turned away from the c*****e and walked toward the reinforced exit doors while the roaring flames consumed the criminal enterprise behind him. He heard the faint wail of police sirens cutting through the storm outside and knew the local authorities were responding to the massive blaze.

The smoke alarms blared through the building and added to the chaotic symphony of destruction he had unleashed upon his foes in the dead of night. Dante stepped out into the freezing storm and let the rain wash the scent of smoke and blood from his heavy jacket as he embraced the cold.

A profound sense of victory swelled inside his chest because he had struck the first devastating blow against the man who ruined his life and stole his son. He merged into the shadows of the alleyway and prepared to vanish into the slums before the patrol cars arrived to secure the burning scene.

The silence of the dark streets offered a brief moment of peace after the violent chaos of the warehouse assault had drained his adrenaline. He visualized the face of the son he had yet to meet and let that powerful image fuel his exhausted muscles for the long journey back to the bunker.

A harsh vibration in his pocket shattered the quiet moment and forced Dante to halt his retreat in the damp darkness of the forgotten streets. He pulled the new untraceable burner phone from his coat and stared at the glowing screen with a deep sense of dread pooling in his stomach.

Kwame had promised the device was secure against all surveillance but an unknown caller identification flashed across the digital display in the dark alley. Dante accepted the call and held the speaker to his ear while the police sirens grew louder in the distance and bathed the brick walls in flashing red light.

"I know what you just did," a disguised voice whispered through the encrypted connection with chilling certainty. The mysterious connection severed before Dante could demand an answer from the stranger hiding in the shadows of his broken city.