Chapter 8 - AN UNWELCOME GHOST
Three months after Gabriel’s proposal, the estate was transformed for an intimate autumn wedding. Flowers filled the grand courtyard, and close friends and key loyal allies gathered to celebrate the union of Gabriel Moretti and Emma Brooks.
Lily walked down the aisle as the flower girl, holding her sister Sophia’s hand, walking completely unassisted on her own two feet. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience.
That night, as the wedding reception winded down and guests departed, Gabriel and Emma sat together on the master bedroom balcony, wrapped in a warm blanket, drinking champagne under the starry New York sky.
"I never imagined my life could look like this," Emma murmured, resting her head against Gabriel’s solid chest. "I spent so many years running, being afraid of shadows."
"The shadows are gone, my love," Gabriel said, kissing the top of her head. "I promise you, as long as I draw breath, no one will ever make you feel unsafe again."
However, deep in the dark underbelly of the city, shadows were not so easily erased.
In a high-security federal prison on the outskirts of the state, Don Carmine Falcone—the elderly, ruthless patriarch of the Falcone family—sat in his cell. Though his empire was destroyed and his nephew Frankie was serving a life sentence, Carmine’s eyes burned with an undying, vengeful hatred.
A crooked prison guard stepped up to the bars, sliding a small, encrypted burner phone through the slot.
Carmine answered the call.
"Is it done?" Carmine growled into the receiver.
A cold, unfamiliar voice spoke from the other end. "The tracking device has been successfully placed on the secondary transport vehicle. The package from Europe has arrived in the harbor."
Carmine sneered, a terrifying smile spreading across his aged face. "Gabriel Moretti thinks he won. He thinks he can turn his guns into plowshares and play happy family with Thomas Brooks's daughter."
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"What are your orders, Don Carmine?" the voice asked.
Carmine’s eyes narrowed into slitted daggers. "Gabriel destroyed my bloodline. I want his destroyed in return. Wait until they leave for their honeymoon. Then execute Protocol Black."
