Chapter 9 - Cleaning the Blood
By midnight, the sprawling grounds of the Romano estate were swarming with Allessandro’s most highly trusted, loyal men.
The bloody, ruined bodies were quietly and efficiently removed, wrapped tightly in heavy industrial canvas, and driven far away to be permanently buried in the deep woods.
The thousands of pieces of shattered glass were meticulously swept up, and the dark bloodstains were rigorously and chemically scrubbed from the priceless Persian rugs.
To the rest of the oblivious world sleeping outside the gates, absolutely nothing horrific had happened on Federal Hill that night.
Allessandro sat completely alone in the dark on the back stone terrace, smoking a rare, incredibly expensive cigar in the biting, cool autumn air.
He watched the thick gray smoke curl slowly up toward the bright, indifferent stars, his exhausted mind rapidly running through the traumatic events of the day.
He had permanently lost the beautiful woman he had foolishly planned to marry.
He had violently lost his right-hand man and his oldest confidant to the poison of greed.
He had almost lost his own life and his entire criminal empire over a simple, mundane piece of breakfast toast.
His newly promoted second-in-command, a quiet, intensely sharp-eyed, and fiercely loyal man named Luca, stepped respectfully onto the terrace.
"The entire house is completely clean and secure, Boss," Luca reported in a low, respectful tone.
"The Moretti syndicate up in Boston is currently panicking and tearing themselves apart."
"Without Tony to lead them, they are completely disorganized, terrified, and incredibly weak."
Allessandro took a slow, deeply satisfying drag from his glowing cigar, letting the smoke fill his lungs.
"Send a heavily armed emissary directly to Boston tomorrow morning," Allessandro instructed, his eyes narrowing in the darkness.
"Tell the surviving Moretti captains that the city of Providence is closed to them permanently, forever."
"Tell them if they even dare to cross the state line, we will burn their entire pathetic operation to the ground with them inside it."
Luca nodded sharply, his face showing total, unwavering agreement with the brutal decree.
"Understood completely, Boss."
Luca hesitated for a brief moment, shifting his weight before speaking again.
"What exactly should we do about the maid and her little daughter?" Luca asked carefully, not wanting to overstep his bounds.
"Should we keep them permanently hidden at the upstate safe house for their own ongoing protection?"
Allessandro looked out over the dark, sprawling trees lining the edge of his massive property.
He vividly thought of the tiny, fragile little girl holding tight to her ragged cloth doll.
She had stood in his grand dining room, absolutely terrified but incredibly brave, looking the devil straight in the eye to tell him the truth.
Emma had showed infinitely more genuine loyalty in a single, whispered sentence than Carlo had shown him in fifteen years of shared blood and money.
"No," Allessandro said softly, finally making a decision that would change the trajectory of his legacy.
"Send a car tomorrow to bring them both back here immediately."
"They absolutely belong in this house."
Luca bowed slightly from the waist and turned quickly to leave the boss to his thoughts.
Allessandro firmly crushed the cherry of his cigar into a heavy crystal ashtray until the embers died.
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The massive, terrifying empire had survived a massive, internal earthquake that was meant to completely destroy it.
It was now time to meticulously rebuild his fractured world, and he finally knew exactly where to start.
