Chapter 6 - The Lion's Den
By three o'clock that afternoon, the temporary sanctuary of the clinic turned into a war room.
Elena was resting comfortably, her mind recovering rapidly now that the neuro-suppressants had been flushed from her system by Rossi's treatment. The girls were downstairs in the clinic's private playroom under the watchful eyes of Evelyn, Dante's trusted housekeeper whom he had brought in to manage their care.
In the private conference room on the fourth floor, Dante stood at the head of a long steel table. Surrounding him were twelve of his highest-ranking lieutenants, all dressed in black suits, their faces grim.
A large tactical map of Boston was spread across the table, marked with red pins highlighting properties owned by the Vane syndicate.
Arthur Vance, Dante's chief legal strategist, cleared his throat. "Dante, if we launch a direct assault on Matteo Vane's compound in South Boston, the police will get involved. The media is already asking questions about why you canceled your dinner meeting yesterday."
Dante didn't look at the map. He was holding a small, silver ring—the very ring he had retrieved from Elena's old apartment earlier that morning.
"Let them ask questions," Dante said coldly. "Matteo Vane spent seven years tormenting my wife. He made her live in a freezing slum. He forced my daughters to sell paintings on Newbury Street just to buy medicine."
He looked up, his dark eyes burning with an ancient, murderous fury that made even his veteran lieutenants shift uncomfortably in their seats.
"I am not going to arrest Matteo Vane," Dante declared softly. "I am going to erase him."
"Boss," Nico spoke up, entering the room with a encrypted phone held to his ear. "We just intercepted a transmission from Vane's headquarters. He knows."
Dante's eyes snapped to Nico. "What does he know?"
"Thomas Vane—the former state trooper—saw the medical transport unit leave the slum yesterday," Nico reported, his face turning pale. "They recognized Dr. Rossi's private ambulance. Matteo Vane realizes that you have Elena, and he knows we have the triplets."
Dante stood up slowly, his tall frame looming over the table. "Where is Matteo now?"
"He's fortified his primary club in the Seaport district—The Black Pearl," Nico answered. "He's called in thirty armed men from New York. He knows a storm is coming, Dante. He's preparing to hit us first."
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Dante reached into his suit jacket, pulled out his custom sleek black sidearm, and checked the magazine with a sharp, heavy click.
"He's too late," Dante said. "Nico, Lorenzo—with me. The rest of you, lock down this building. If anyone non-Russo approaches this clinic, put them in the ground."
