Chapter 13 - The Enemy Was Already Inside
Vittorio’s confession changed everything.
Not legally.
The federal investigation already had stronger evidence.
But emotionally.
Dominic had spent five months remembering the safe-room attack as one more violent consequence of the life he had chosen.
Now he understood it had been betrayal.
Family had opened the door.
Family had ordered men toward a house where Lily slept.
Family had nearly killed Norah before their unborn daughter even existed.
Dominic stood alone beside the hotel window.
Norah entered quietly.
“You haven’t slept.”
“Neither have you.”
“I slept two hours.”
“Impressive.”
She stood beside him.
“Are you blaming yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Stop.”
He laughed bitterly.
“That simple?”
“No. But start there.”
Dominic looked at her.
“He attacked my house because I was trying to change the organization.”
“That means you were already moving in the right direction.”
“It means I underestimated him.”
“Probably.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
“I was expecting comfort.”
“You hired the wrong nanny.”
Despite himself, he smiled.
Norah continued.
“You don’t need someone telling you none of this is your responsibility.”
“No?”
“You built part of the world we’re trapped in.”
Dominic looked away.
“But that doesn’t mean you have to keep building it.”
He absorbed the words.
“I’ve spent years believing power protects people.”
“Sometimes it does.”
“And sometimes it puts targets on them.”
“Yes.”
“Useful conversation.”
“You asked for honesty.”
He looked at her.
“I didn’t.”
“You keep me around anyway.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“For more reasons than honesty.”
Norah’s breath caught.
The space between them changed.
Then Lily burst into the room wearing hotel slippers.
“I’m hungry.”
The moment vanished.
Dominic closed his eyes.
Norah laughed.
“Perfect timing.”
“Always,” Dominic said.
At breakfast, Mateo arrived carrying a folder.
“We found a property Vittorio uses under another name.”
“Where?”
“Outside Albany.”
Dominic stood.
Norah immediately said, “No.”
He looked at her.
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You made the face.”
“What face?”
“The I’m-about-to-do-something-stupid face.”
Mateo coughed to hide a laugh.
Dominic glared.
“What’s at the property?”
Mateo opened the folder.
“Records. Vehicles. Possibly Vittorio.”
“Federal agents?”
“On their way.”
Dominic sat again.
Norah looked surprised.
“You’re not going?”
“No.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m evolving.”
Hours later, agents searched the property.
Vittorio was gone.
But the documents left behind revealed a final layer.
Vittorio had not acted alone.
Several legitimate Russo companies were being used to move illegal funds without Dominic’s knowledge.
That meant Dominic’s attempt to clean the organization had been sabotaged from within.
More importantly, the records showed payments to politicians, attorneys, and private security firms.
Vittorio had built a replacement empire inside Dominic’s.
One payment stood out.
A transfer scheduled for the following evening.
Destination listed only as HARBOUR.
Thomas recognized the code when Dominic showed him.
“It’s not a place.”
“What is it?”
“A person.”
“Who?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Someone from Vittorio’s old network named Samuel Harbour.”
Dominic knew the name.
“Former federal contractor.”
“Yes.”
“What does he do now?”
“Extracts people.”
Norah’s stomach tightened.
“Extracts?”
“Moves them across borders. New identities. No records.”
Dominic understood.
“Vittorio is planning to disappear.”
Mateo nodded.
“We find Harbour, we find Vittorio.”
They located Harbour through financial surveillance.
A private airfield.
Departure scheduled for midnight.
Federal agents prepared to intercept.
This time Dominic did not insist on joining.
Norah saw how difficult the decision was.
“You made the right choice.”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Yes, we do.”
“If he escapes—”
“Then you keep trying without becoming him.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You’re very demanding.”
“I’m carrying your child. I’ve earned it.”
At eleven fifty-eight, Mateo’s phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then smiled.
“They have him.”
Dominic stared.
“Vittorio?”
“Yes.”
Norah exhaled.
For the first time in weeks, the room felt lighter.
Vittorio had been arrested attempting to board a private aircraft.
He had no opportunity to run.
No opportunity to negotiate with Dominic.
No private confrontation.
No war.
Only handcuffs and evidence.
Dominic sat slowly.
“It’s done.”
Mateo shook his head.
“The arrest is done.”
Dominic understood.
Trials would follow.
Investigations.
Financial restructuring.
Retaliation from people losing power.
But the man who had directly targeted his family was gone.
Norah placed a hand on his shoulder.
“What now?”
Dominic looked at Lily asleep on the couch.
Then at Norah’s stomach.
“Now I keep my promise.”
“What promise?”
“To choose a direction.”
Over the next month, Dominic cooperated with investigators through his legal team.
Illegal businesses were shut down.
Several companies were sold.
Employees connected to Vittorio were dismissed.
The legitimate businesses remained.
It cost Dominic enormous amounts of money.
More importantly, it cost him influence.
Men who once returned his calls immediately stopped answering.
Dominic discovered something unexpected.
He did not miss them.
By Norah’s twenty-fifth week, the estate had become quieter.
No emergency meetings after midnight.
Fewer armed men.
Lily played outside again.
Thomas remained nearby, slowly rebuilding a relationship with his daughter.
Peace did not arrive all at once.
It came in pieces.
Then one morning, Norah found a letter beneath her bedroom door.
No envelope.
No signature.
Only three typed lines.
Vittorio wasn’t the only one.
Russo will never be clean.
Leave before your daughter pays for his name.
Norah stared at the message.
The old fear returned immediately.
She did not tell Dominic.
May you like
And that decision would nearly destroy everything they had begun rebuilding.
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