Chapter 5 - COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The cleanup took hours. By dawn, the bodies were disposed of in the incinerator beneath the city, and the blood was scrubbed from the marble floors of my estate. The smell of bleach hung heavily in the air, a stark contrast to the scent of the freshly brewed coffee I carried into the medical wing.
Hannah was sitting upright, her knees pulled to her chest, her eyes dark and hollow. When I entered, she stiffened, bracing herself for bad news.
"They're safe," I said immediately, setting the coffee on her bedside table. "Sophie is asleep in my quarters. The twins are fine. No one got into the safe room."
A ragged sob escaped her lips, and she covered her face with her hands. "Thank God. Thank God."
I pulled up a chair and sat down, resting my elbows on my knees. "The men who attacked us were let in by one of my own lieutenants. Marcus has eyes inside my house. I'm purging my ranks today, but until I am one hundred percent certain this place is secure, you and the children are not leaving my sight."
Hannah lowered her hands, looking at me with a mixture of fear and awe. "Why are you doing this, Andrew? You're a powerful man. You could just hand us over to him and wash your hands of this mess. Why risk your life—your empire—for a sick woman and three kids you met last week?"
I stared at the steam rising from the coffee cup. It was a fair question. The logical, ruthless mafia boss I had built my reputation on would have cut his losses. But that man had died the moment Sophie tugged on my sleeve in the grocery store.
"Because," I said, my voice dangerously soft, "eight years ago, I stood over an empty casket and wept for a man who betrayed me. I became a monster to avenge him. I slaughtered rival families, I built an empire of blood, all in his name. He didn't just trick you, Hannah. He manipulated me into doing his dirty work while he built his own strength in the shadows."
I looked into her eyes, seeing the reflection of my own broken soul. "This isn't just about protecting you. This is about destroying him. You and the children are mine to protect now. Anyone who tries to take you will be put in the ground. Permanently."
For the first time since she arrived, a faint glimmer of trust sparked in Hannah's eyes. She reached out, her trembling fingers gently brushing against the back of my bruised hand. The contact sent a jolt of electricity up my arm, a feeling I hadn't experienced in a lifetime.
"Okay," she whispered. "We do this your way."
Over the next week, the estate became a fortress of paranoia and violence. I ordered the execution of three more men within my ranks who were found to have ties to Jenkins. I spared no one. The underworld of Milwaukee held its breath as my wrath swept through the city streets.
But amidst the blood and the paranoia, there was a strange, haunting beauty growing inside my home. I found myself spending hours in the safe room, playing board games with Sophie. I learned how to properly hold baby Mason without feeling like I was going to break him. I watched Hannah regain her strength, her laughter echoing down the cold hallways of my mansion, breathing life into a place that had only known death.
One evening, as I was showing Sophie how to play the piano in the grand hall, Hannah leaned against the doorway, watching us with a soft smile. She looked beautiful. The harsh lines of stress had faded from her face, replaced by a radiant warmth.
May you like
I stopped playing and met her gaze. In that quiet moment, with the snow falling softly outside the windows, I realized a terrifying truth. I didn't just want to protect them to spite Marcus.
I wanted to protect them because they had become my family. And that made me more dangerous than ever before.
