SEVEN BULLETS WERE STILL LODGED INSIDE MY BODY WHEN NEW YORK’S MOST FEARED CRIME BOSS SLIPPED A GOLD RING ONTO MY SWOLLEN FINGER WHILE I LAY UNCONSCIOUS IN SURGERY—BUT WHY HAD DOMINIC ROSSI DECIDED TO MARRY A WAITRESS HE BARELY KNEW? / Chapter 13 / 20

Chapter 13 - The Counter-StrikeThe next morning, the Rossi syndicate struck back with devastating efficiency.

Dominic didn't rely on random street violence or messy drive-bys. He used what he did best: absolute economic and legal annihilation, backed by raw underworld leverage.

By noon, federal prosecutors—prompted by encrypted financial dossiers anonymously delivered by Rossi operatives—raided three of Victor Costa’s primary shell companies, freezing millions in laundered narcotics capital. At the same time, Dominic’s regional capos cut off Costa’s supply lines across the New Jersey ports.

I sat in Dominic’s private home office, watching the financial news reports flash across the wall-mounted monitors. Costa’s criminal empire was crumbling in real-time, starved of cash and exposed to federal indictment.

The heavy oak door swung open, and Isabella walked in, leaning on her cane. She stopped beside my desk and smiled warmly.

“You’re quiet today, child,” Isabella noted, pouring herself a cup of black coffee.

“I’m just realizing how terrifying your son really is,” I admitted honestly, glancing at the stack of asset seizure documents on the desk.

Isabella laughed softly. “Dominic is a glacier, Elena. People only see the tip above the water, but underneath, he carries the weight of an entire empire. And the day you stepped in front of that gun... you became part of that weight.” She reached out, patting my hand gently. “He loves you, you know. In his own broken, possessive way. A man like Dominic does not give his ring to ghosts.”

I froze, her words echoing in my mind long after she hobbled out of the room. He loves you.

Before I could process the terrifying implications of that thought, the secure intercom on the desk chimed.

Enzo’s voice crackled through the speaker: “Boss. We just intercepted an encrypted radio transmission from Costa’s personal detail. He’s abandoning his penthouse. He’s running for the private airfield in Yonkers.”