Chapter 6 - The Infiltration
Frank Rossi's execution sent shockwaves through the New York underworld. The remaining Brooklyn capos quickly submitted to Dominic's rule, consolidating the Romano family's absolute dominance over the region. But the vacuum left by Rossi's fall created desperation among his remaining loyalists—chief among them, Vincenzo, the brutal underboss to whom Meline had originally been betrothed before her medical diagnosis was revealed.
Vincenzo felt publicly humiliated by the entire affair. He had been denied a bride, his reputation had been tarnished by Rossi's disgrace, and he viewed Dominic Romano's sudden marriage to Meline as a personal insult. Driven by revenge and a desire to seize control of the Brooklyn territory, Vincenzo aligned himself with Arban Hoxha's Albanian remnants.
They knew they could not defeat Dominic in an open street war. Instead, they targeted his only vulnerability: the Oyster Bay estate.
It was a dark Friday evening, three weeks after Frank Rossi's death. Dominic was stuck downtown handling a massive customs audit at the central shipping terminal, leaving the estate guarded by his standard secondary security detail of twelve heavily armed men.
Inside the house, Meline was in the kitchen preparing hot chocolate for the children. For the first time in two years, all four children were sitting together in the family room without fighting. Even Luca had lowered his defenses, grudgingly allowing Meline to help him with his ancient history homework while Bianca colored pictures at his feet.
Suddenly, the lights throughout the massive estate flickered and plunged into total darkness.
The heavy roar of emergency generators failed to kick in—the main power grid had been physically cut, and the back-up systems had been sabotaged from the outside.
A second later, the sharp, rapid chatter of automatic gunfire echoed from the front security gates, followed by the muffled thuds of suppressed weapons near the perimeter fence.
"Security breach! Main doors!" a guard screamed through his radio in the hallway outside the kitchen, followed immediately by the sound of heavy boots slamming against the floor and the violent shattering of bulletproof glass near the side entrance.
Panic erupted instantly in the family room. Sophia began to scream in terror, while Matteo froze in place, his face pale as death.
Meline reacted with lightning speed. She grabbed Sophia and Bianca, pulling them toward her chest. "Luca! Matteo! With me now!"
Luca’s eyes were wide with terror, but he stood up instantly. "Is it bad men?"
"Listen to me very carefully," Meline said, her voice low, lethal, and completely steady as she guided them out of the kitchen into the dark service hallway. "We are going to the panic room in the basement. Luca, grab Matteo's hand. Do not let go, no matter what you hear. Do you understand me?"
"I'm not scared!" Luca claimed, his voice trembling violently despite his bravado.
"It's okay to be scared," Meline whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Just be brave for three minutes. Move!"
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They sprinted down the narrow staff stairs toward the reinforced concrete basement. But as they reached the bottom landing, the heavy steel door at the end of the corridor opened.
Vincenzo stepped out of the darkness, holding a silenced pistol, flanked by three heavily armed Albanian mercenaries carrying submachine guns.
