Chapter 8 - THE DENOUEMENT AT HIGHLAND PARK
Victor didn't flinch. He didn't step back. He stood in the center of his ruined foyer, looking up at the man he had called a brother for fifteen years.
"You put a bomb in my home," Victor said, his voice eerily calm. "Where my son sleeps."
"Your son was supposed to die months ago!" Dante screamed, his thumb hovering directly over the red button on the detonator. "You should have let Meline finish it! It would have been cleaner!"
"You forgot one thing, Dante," Victor said slowly, raising his Glock and aiming it directly at Dante’s heart.
"What's that?" Dante taunted. "You shoot me, my thumb drops on the switch! We both die!"
"You forgot that I built this house," Victor said.
Victor fired—not at Dante, but at the heavy brass chandelier winch mounted on the wall directly above Dante’s head.
BANG!
The heavy steel cable snapped with a sound like a cracking whip. The massive two-hundred-pound crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling swung downward like a wrecking ball, slamming directly into the second-floor balcony railing right where Dante was standing.
The structural impact crushed Dante against the wall, shattering his arm and sending the detonator flying out of his hand. It clattered down the staircase, bouncing harmlessly across the marble floor to Victor’s feet.
Dante slumped against the wall, coughing blood, his legs broken under the weight of the fallen crystal.
Victor walked slowly up the stairs. He picked up the detonator, disarmed the safety switch, and slipped it into his pocket. He stopped above Dante, looking down at the broken man.
"You were my brother," Victor said quietly.
"Do it," Dante choked out, looking up with defiance. "Put a bullet in me."
"No," Victor said, stepping over him. "Death is too easy for you, Dante. You're going to live. You're going to sit in a federal supermax facility, and you're going to watch from a cell while my son takes everything that was ever yours."
At that moment, Frank Rossi and six tactical officers burst through the shattered front doors, weapons raised.
"Boss!" Rossi shouted. "The estate is secure! Federal agents and our medical team are outside!"
"Take him," Victor ordered, gesturing toward Dante. "And get Meline out of her room. Hand them both directly to Federal Prosecutor Vance. Give him the toxicology reports from Leo's room and the security feeds. I want Senator Hart, Meline, and Dante exposed on every news channel in the country by morning."
"Understood, Don Victor," Rossi said, signaling his men to haul Dante away.
Victor walked out the front doors into the pouring rain. The flashing red and blue lights of emergency vehicles illuminated the dark estate.
Standing near the armored transport vehicle was Norah Hayes, holding Leo wrapped in a warm thermal blanket.
Victor walked over, his heavy steps slowing as he approached them. He stood before the nurse who had risked her life, her reputation, and her safety to save a child she barely knew.
"Norah," Victor said softly.
Norah looked up at him, wet hair clinging to her cheeks, green eyes tired but bright. "Is it over?"
"It's over," Victor said. He looked down at Leo, who reached out his small arms.
Victor bent down and lifted his son into his arms, pulling him close against his chest. Leo wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, burying his face into Victor’s shoulder.
"Dad," Leo whispered, his voice clearer now. "She saved me."
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Victor closed his eyes, holding his son tighter than he ever had in his life. He looked over Leo's shoulder at Norah.
"I know," Victor said, his voice rough with emotion. "She saved both of us."
