Chapter 1 - The Silence After the Storm
The air inside Sal’s Diner tasted of copper, spent gunpowder, and cold rain blowing through the shattered bay window. Outside, the Brooklyn streetlights flickered against the wet asphalt, casting long, bruised shadows across the tiled floor.
Dominic Valentine knelt beside the counter, his massive frame trembling in a way his worst enemies had never witnessed. His twin children, Gia and Nico, were clutching his jacket so tightly their small knuckles had turned stark white.
“They’re safe, Lily. They’re untouched,” Dominic choked out, his voice thick with a raw, terrifying grief. He reached down, pressing his broad palm against Lily Chen’s left shoulder to stem the thick, dark blood soaking rapidly through her white apron. “Look at me, Lily. Stay with me.”
Lily’s eyelids fluttered, her breathing shallow and ragged. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but as her gaze drifted to the two children staring down at her with wide, terrified eyes, a weak, fleeting smile touched her pale lips.
“Good...” she whispered, her voice barely audible above the hum of the diner's ruined neon sign. “Good boys and girls... don't get hurt.”
Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed entirely against the floor.
“Victor!” Dominic roared, the sound echoing off the grease-stained walls like thunder.
His right-hand man, Victor, was already kneeling beside them, his face pale under the fluorescent lights. Victor pressed two fingers against Lily’s neck.
“Pulse is weak, boss. We don't have an ambulance. The city lines are jammed because of the weather,” Victor reported quickly, his eyes darting to the ruined front door.
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Dominic didn't hesitate. He scooped Lily up into his arms as easily as if she weighed nothing at all, his dark eyes burning with an intense, unholy fury. He handed Gia and Nico over to Victor.
“Get the kids to the armored safehouse in Bay Ridge. Use the private underground garage,” Dominic ordered, his voice dropping into a deadly register. “And call Dr. Vance. Tell him to meet me at the St. Jude Private Clinic in fifteen minutes. If Lily Chen dies tonight, I will burn half of Brooklyn to the ground to find out who sent those animals.”
