Chapter 14 - SHADOW OF THE PAST
By midnight, the estate was converted into a fortress. Tactical guards posted at every entrance, floodlights illuminating the forest perimeter, and state police cruisers patrolling the outer highway.
In the basement safe room, Ethan was fast asleep on a plush couch, clutching his stuffed bear, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing above him. Grace sat beside him, stroking his hair softly.
Dante walked in, removing his shoulder holster and setting his weapon on a steel table. He sat beside Grace, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"He's so small, Dante," Grace whispered, tears finally slipping down her cheeks. "He doesn't deserve this. None of those children at the academy deserve to be pawns in a mob war."
"They won't be," Dante vowed, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "I spent fifteen years building a reputation as a monster so men like Julian would fear my name. I thought I could leave that monster behind."
"You did leave him behind," Grace said, turning to him fiercely. "You became the man Ethan looks up to. If you become a monster again to stop Julian, he wins. He destroys the man I married."
Dante looked at his hands—hands that had once signed death warrants and commanded armies of shooters. "Grace, if I use the law, it takes months. Julian won't wait months. He strikes in forty-eight hours."
"Then we don't use just the law," Grace said, her eyes shining with sudden, brilliant intelligence. "And we don't use just your guns either. We trap him."
Dante stared at her, intrigued. "Go on."
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"Julian thinks you're either a soft, reformed civilian or an angry tyrant ready to burn down the city," Grace explained, leaning in close. "He expects you to attack his warehouses or call the FBI. He doesn't expect us to offer him exactly what he wants—on a silver platter that explodes in his face."
Dante’s lips curved into a slow, lethal smile. "Tell me your plan, my love."
