THE SHADOW OVER THE MAFIA HEIR

Victor Castiglione looked like an aristocrat carved from ice. His silver-streaked hair was styled impeccably, and a long tailored overcoat hung over his broad shoulders. In his gloved hands, he held an engraved silver cane that concealed a razor-sharp rapier.

""Dante,"" Victor drawled, stepping onto the wooden planks with sickening arrogance. ""Always playing the tragic hero. Did you really think sending my runaway whore and my bastard child down a drainage pipe would save them?""

Dante stood alone on the dock, an assault rifle held casually in his hands, his gaze completely devoid of fear. ""She was never yours, Victor. And that little girl was smart enough to destroy your pathetic hit before it even began.""

Victor’s face twisted into an ugly, venomous sneer. ""That child has Castiglione blood. She belongs to the syndicate. She will sit at my right hand, or she will be buried in the family crypt. There is no other option.""

""She wears my name now,"" Dante said coldly. ""And you will never touch her.""

Victor gestured with his cane. ""Kill him. Leave the head for the docks.""

The six mercenaries raised their automatic rifles, but Dante had already anticipated the move. He didn't fire at the men; he fired a continuous burst into the overhead hydraulic lines supporting the boat dock's ceiling. Pressurized hydraulic fluid sprayed into the air like a fine mist, instantly igniting against the sparking electrical boxes.

A wall of roaring fire erupted between Dante and Victor's men. Screams of burning mercenaries echoed through the cavern as Dante moved through the smoke like a vengeful ghost, firing with lethal, pinpoint precision. Two men dropped instantly, clean shots through their center mass.

Victor retreated toward the tunnel entrance, cursing violently. ""Blow the canal! Collapse the tunnel on that boat!""

Two remaining mercenaries rushed toward the heavy demolition console. Dante discarded his empty rifle, drew his combat knife, and tackled the nearest guard over the dock railing, plunging both of them into the freezing, dark waters of the subterranean canal.