Chapter 6 - The War of the Families
Bringing Nina home completed the broken circle of the Vance family, but it also triggered an all-out mob war in Chicago.
Raymond Marcone, furious over the destruction of St. Brigid’s and the loss of his lucrative blackmail operation, launched a desperate, bloody offensive against the Vance Syndicate.
For two weeks, the city was rocked by drive-by shootings, arson attacks on Vance-owned warehouses, and high-stakes corporate sabotage.
Inside the heavily fortified Vance estate, Cora and Nina were kept under twenty-four-hour security. But unlike their traumatic past, they were surrounded by warmth, tutors, medical care, and the unconditional love of a father who spent every moment he wasn't at war reading to them, sharing stories of their mother, and watching them laugh.
One evening, Leo sat in his study reviewing financial reports when a soft knock sounded at the door.
Cora and Nina walked in, dressed in matching pajamas, carrying a silver tray with two mugs of cocoa. Orso trotted in behind them, resting his massive chin on Leo’s knee.
"Papa," Nina said, sitting on the edge of his massive mahogany desk. "You look tired."
Leo smiled, setting down his pen and pulling both girls into his arms. "I'm fine, my sweet. Just finishing some work."
"You're fighting the bad men, aren't you?" Cora asked softly, looking at the tactical maps laid out on the desk.
Leo fell silent for a moment. He had spent his entire life in the violent, unforgiving shadows of the mob. But looking into the pure, innocent eyes of his daughters, he realized he could no longer live this way. He didn't want them to inherit a blood-stained throne.
"I'm going to end it, Corinna," Leo said quietly. "All of it."
"How?" Cora asked.
"By doing something Marcone never expected," Leo said, a cold, brilliant light flashing in his eyes. "I'm going to turn over every piece of Marcone's financial evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Silas, standing by the door, gasped. "Boss... if you give the feds Marcone’s ledgers, they'll investigate our syndicate too! You could face prison time!"
"No," Leo said calmly, reaching into his safe and pulling out a thick, black leather binder stamped with the Seal of the United States Department of Justice. "Three years ago, I entered into a conditional immunity agreement with the State Attorney General. I agreed to dismantle the Vance Syndicate and liquidate our assets into legitimate public trusts in exchange for full amnesty... provided I brought down Marcone's entire network."
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Silas stared at him in awe. "You were planning your exit all along?"
"I was waiting for a reason to leave," Leo murmured, looking at Cora and Nina. "And now I have two."
