Chapter 11 - The Fall of the Empire
Victor emerged from the warehouse into the pouring rain, holding a damp satchel containing encrypted flash drives recovered from the warehouse office.
“Federal authorities just raided Vargas’s compound across state lines,” Victor reported, flashing a satellite phone. “We fed them the financial trail Mark left behind. By sunrise, every asset Hector owns will be frozen, and every associate he has will be in federal custody.”
Vargas slumped against the boxcar wheel, his eyes hollow with defeat. “You turned me over to the Feds? A man of your reputation?”
“I’m not the man I was seven years ago,” Dante said, stepping back and wiping rain from his face. “I have a daughter to raise. I don’t need your dirty money, and I don’t need another ghost on my conscience.”
Sirens wailed in the distance, blue and red lights flashing through the heavy storm clouds. Dante handed Victor his soaked jacket.
“Victor, handle the handoff. Make sure the prosecutors understand that Elena Vance has full immunity as a state witness.”
Victor raised an eyebrow with a subtle smirk. “Elena Vance, boss?”
“You heard me,” Dante smiled faintly.
May you like
Dante walked back toward his truck, bandaging his bleeding forearm with a clean roll of gauze from the vehicle’s medkit. The storm was finally beginning to pass, the dark clouds parting to reveal the faint glow of dawn over the Atlantic.
For the first time in his life, Dante Vance wasn’t driving back to an empty penthouse or a gang war. He was driving home to a family that was truly his.
