Chapter 7 - The Inheritance of Stone
By noon, the Meridian Queen glided into a private slip in Newport, Rhode Island, surrounded by the grey hulls of federal cutter ships and police cruisers. The wealthy guests, still pale and shaken from the night's undisclosed "mechanical emergency," were escorted down the gangplank under a veil of strict nondisclosure agreements enforced by both federal agents and Moretti’s private security.
Dante walked off the vessel last.
He held Lily’s hand in his right palm. Her small fingers were warm, steady, and entirely unafraid. Behind them walked Eleanor, flanked by Marco and two trusted operatives carrying their modest luggage.
Waiting at the end of the pier was a row of sleek, black armored sedans and a silver-haired district attorney whose career Dante had quietly protected three years prior.
"Dante," the DA murmured, stepping forward with a leather folder. "The federal magistrate signed off on the containment order. Victor Shaw is waking up in a secure military medical ward in Brooklyn. He won't be talking to anyone outside your direct authorization."
"Keep him there," Dante said coldly, opening the car door for Lily and Eleanor. "I want a full ledger of every offshore account linked to Celeste’s terminal before the week is out."
"Done," the DA replied, slipping the folder into Dante’s hand.
As Dante slid into the leather interior of the middle sedan, Lily curled up against the window, clutching her notebook close to her chest. The New York skyline loomed on the northern horizon, grey and jagged against the midday sun, but for the first time in over a decade, Dante didn't see a battlefield.
May you like
He saw a blank canvas.
The car’s engine purred to life, pulling away from the pier and heading south toward the city that had once feared his name—and would now learn how a broken empire rebuilds itself from the ground up.
