Chapter 5 - The Fall of the Ashfords
By 6:00 AM, the rising sun cast a pale gray light over the ruined grounds of the Marchetti estate.
The battle was over. The mercenaries had been wiped out or captured, and Arthur Ashford was kneeling on the muddy grass near the ruined front gates, his hands bound behind his back with plastic zip-ties, his face bruised and covered in soot.
Dante stood behind him, holding a heavy pistol pointed at the base of his skull.
Enzo walked down the grand front steps of his mansion. He had changed into a clean black shirt and dark trousers, his leather boots crunching over the shattered glass littered across the driveway.
Beside him, wrapped in a thick wool blanket, walked Adeline. Enzo refused to let her out of his sight, his hand firmly resting on the small of her back as they approached the defeated mob boss.
Arthur raised his head, spitting blood onto the grass. "Enzo... you think you've won? The Commission will never let you execute a family Don in cold blood! You'll be an outcast!"
Enzo pulled a satellite phone from his pocket and tossed it onto the grass in front of Arthur.
"Answer it, Arthur," Enzo said smoothly. "It's the Chairman of the Commission in New York."
Arthur stared at the phone, his fingers shaking as Dante cut his zip-ties. He picked up the receiver and pressed it to his ear. "Hello? Don Carmine... please, you have to order Enzo to stand down—"
"Arthur," an old, gravelly voice rasped from the speaker, clear enough for everyone to hear. "You tried to poison a Marchetti with cyanide at a public gathering. You brought Detroit mercenaries into Chicago without Commission approval. You are a disgrace to our tradition."
"Don Carmine, please!" Arthur begged, dropping to his knees in the mud.
"Your assets are hereby stripped and awarded to the Marchetti family," the Chairman declared coldly. "Your daughter will spend the rest of her life in an offshore prison facility. And as for you, Arthur... the Commission considers you a dead man walking. Goodbye."
The line went dead.
Arthur dropped the phone, his face gray, his eyes hollow with absolute despair. Everything he had built, everything his family had owned for three generations, was gone in a single night.
"Please, Enzo," Arthur whimpered, bowing his head until his forehead touched the muddy ground. "Mercy... I'll leave the country... I'll go to South America... you'll never see me again!"
Enzo looked down at the pathetic man who had tried to murder him and terrorize his household. He felt no anger left—only a profound, cold disgust.
"Dante," Enzo said flatly.
"Sir?"
"Put him on a cargo ship to Siberia. Strip him of every penny. If he ever steps foot on North American soil again... end him."
"With pleasure, Boss," Dante grinned, dragging Arthur to his feet and hauling him toward an armored transport truck.
Enzo turned back to Adeline, who was watching the scene in quiet awe.
The morning light hit her face, illuminating the softness of her features, the gentle strength in her eyes. The terror of the night was gone, replaced by the crisp, fresh air of a new day.
Enzo reached out, taking her hand into his.
"It's over, Adeline," he said softly. "The Ashfords are gone. The house will be rebuilt. You never have to be afraid again."
Adeline looked down at their joined hands, feeling the strength and warmth of his fingers wrapped around hers.
"And what happens to me now, Mr. Marchetti?" she asked quietly, her heart beating fast in her chest. "I'm... I suppose I'm not a very good maid anymore. I broke the ficus, and your jacket is ruined."
Enzo let out a low, rich laugh that echoed across the quiet courtyard—a sound so rare and genuine that even the remaining guards turned around in shock.
He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him in the open light of dawn.
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"You are done being a maid, Adeline," Enzo whispered, his eyes locking onto her lips. "From this day on... you are the only woman who holds power in this house."
Before she could process his words, Enzo leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a deep, fiery kiss that claimed her heart forever.
