Chapter 5 - War on the Docks
By 3:00 AM, the Moretti estate had been converted into an active military command center.
Floodlights illuminated the perimeter lawns. Over two hundred armed enforcers loyal to the Moretti family stood guard along the iron fences. Tactical armored vehicles blocked the main driveway.
In the private medical wing of the mansion, a trusted private doctor finished suturing Sophia’s hand.
Sophia sat on the medical bed, wearing a soft silk robe, watching Emma sleep peacefully in a crib that had been hastily brought up from the storage quarters.
Aleandro walked into the room. He had changed into a dark tactical turtleneck and heavy leather holster containing two pistols.
"How is her hand?" Aleandro asked the doctor.
"Eight stitches, Don Aleandro," the doctor replied respectfully. "No nerve damage. She will recover fully in two weeks."
The doctor bowed and exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Sophia looked up at Aleandro, her eyes tired and heavy. "Where are you going?"
"Carmine Romano is currently hiding at his shipping container facility at Pier 42," Aleandro stated plainly. "He knows Vance failed. He knows I know the truth. He is preparing to flee the country on a Liberian freighter at dawn."
"Aleandro, don't go," Sophia pleaded softly, standing up from the bed. "Let the police handle it! Vance left behind enough evidence to arrest Carmine for murder and conspiracy!"
Aleandro let out a short, cold laugh. "The police? The Chief of Police sits on Carmine’s payroll. Half the judges in this state were invited guests at my engagement party tonight. The law does not exist in my world, Sophia. Only strength."
He walked over to the crib, reaching down with a long finger to gently touch Emma’s tiny cheek. The contrast between his scarred, lethal hands and her soft, innocent skin was striking.
"She danced tonight," Aleandro murmured, a faint, rare smile touching his lips. "She had no shoes, no practice, and no fear. She danced right in front of three hundred monsters, and she defeated every single one of them."
"She gets her stubbornness from you," Sophia said softly, stepping closer to him.
Aleandro looked at Sophia. The sharp, guarded wall he had built around his emotions for a decade seemed to fracture.
"When you vanished four years ago," Aleandro confessed quietly, "I thought you had betrayed me. I thought you had taken money from my enemies to steal my private files. I built a heart of ice because I believed the only woman I ever trusted had abandoned me."
Sophia’s eyes filled with tears. "I didn't steal anything, Aleandro. The night after we were together, your father’s old consigliere came to my apartment. He showed me photos of women and children murdered in syndicate rivalries. He told me that if I stayed with you, any child I bore would become a target for every rifle in New York."
Aleandro’s jaw tightened with deep regret. "He was wrong. Living without me didn't protect you—it only left you defenseless when the monsters came."
He reached out, taking her uninjured hand into his.
"I am ending the Romano family tonight," Aleandro said, his voice dropping into iron finality. "When the sun rises, there will be no more threats. No more hiding in servant quarters. No more worn shoes."
"Promise me you'll come back," Sophia demanded, her fingers tightening around his. "Emma needs her father."
May you like
Aleandro raised her hand to his lips, kissing her bruised knuckles gently.
"I will come back," he promised. "I have a million-dollar debt to pay my daughter."
