A feared crime lord spent days trying to get his traumatized daughter to eat, until an exhausted waitress made her speak a single word. / Chapter 88 / 120

Chapter 88 - Shadows at Berth 44

The moment of peace was shattered by the deep, resonant blast of a ship’s horn echoing across the slips of the Hudson.

Dante’s head snapped up instantly. The tender launch that was supposed to carry Moreau and the hostages had just docked at Berth 44, right outside the warehouse’s water-facing sliding doors.

Through the frosted windowpanes of the slipway door, the glare of tactical searchlights swept across the corrugated metal. Heavy boots pounded against the wooden pilings of the dock.

"Moreau!" a harsh voice barked from outside in Italian—the sharp, nasal dialect of Western Sicily. "The freighter is unmooring! Bring the package out now, or we leave you to the Americans!"

Dante stood up smoothly, the tenderness vanishing, replaced once more by the lethal commander of the Five Boroughs. He reached down and scooped Sofia into his left arm, holding her firmly against his chest, while his right hand helped Maya to her feet.

"Can you run?" Dante asked Maya quietly.

Maya wiped the blood from her lip, her jaw set like flint. "I can run."

"My car is parked three hundred yards north, hidden behind the grain silos," Dante said, handing her a spare 9mm pistol from his inner coat pocket. "Take Sofia. The key fob is in the visor. Start the engine, lock the doors, and do not open them for anyone except me."

"Dante, no," Maya pleaded, gripping his arm with surprising strength. "There are too many of them. Look at the lights—that's not a launch crew, that's an assault team!"

Through the glass, the silhouettes of at least a dozen heavily armed men could be seen deploying along the pier, fanning out in an aggressive tactical envelopment. They were not mere mercenaries; their uniforms bore the distinct black-and-gold shoulder tabs of the Corvo family's private vanguard—the inner guard of the Palermo Tribunal.

"They came to verify the kill," Dante said, his voice flat and deadly. "If they see you run, they will cut this entire pier down with heavy fire. I will draw them toward the crane staging area. When you hear the first grenade, you move."

Sofia reached out, grabbing Dante’s lapel with her small fist. Her knuckles were white. She shook her head fiercely, her dark eyes pleading.

Dante looked down at his daughter, his expression softening for a heartbeat. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I gave you my word at Bellanote, Sofia. I will never leave you again. Now go with Maya. Trust me."

He gently unclasped her fingers and placed her hand into Maya’s.

Maya looked into Dante’s eyes, seeing the ancient, unyielding fire of a warrior who was prepared to burn the entire world to ash to keep them safe. She nodded once, a solemn, sacred pact passing between them without words.

"Be careful," Maya whispered.