The Empire of Lies

The blinding white light erupted in the courtyard, completely destroying the night vision of Camille and her two guards.

“Agh!” Camille shrieked, dropping her pistol and clutching her eyes.

The two guards stumbled backward, firing blindly into the air.

Inside the warehouse, Antonio pulled the trigger on his shotgun. The deafening blast echoed through the metal canyon as the guard on the right catwalk was blown backward over the railing, crashing onto the concrete floor.

Dominic sprinted out from the warehouse into the blinding smoke of the courtyard. He didn't hesitate. He raised his suppressed Glock and fired twice. Pfft. Pfft. Both of the blinded guards dropped to the pavement, dead before they realized what hit them.

The flashbang faded, leaving ringing ears and thick white smoke drifting across the floodlights.

Camille fell to her knees, blinking furiously, trying to regain her vision. She reached desperately across the concrete for her dropped pistol.

A black heel stepped firmly onto her wrist.

Camille gasped in pain and looked up. Sarah stood over her, unharmed, her eyes cold and merciless. Sarah reached down, picked up Camille’s pistol, and expertly checked the chamber.

“You’re fired, Camille,” Sarah said coldly.

Dominic rushed out of the warehouse, holding his daughter tightly against his side. Isabella was weeping, her face buried in her father’s shoulder. For the first time in twenty-two years, Antonio Caruso walked out into the light, limping heavily but standing tall.

Camille looked up at the three generations of the Caruso family standing before her. Her coup had failed utterly.

“You think this is over?” Camille spat, glaring at Dominic. “My family knows I’m here. If I don't check in, they will burn Boston to the ground. They will hunt you, your father, and that bastard girl to the ends of the earth.”

Dominic walked toward her. His face was devoid of the love he had once feigned for her.

“Your family isn't going to do anything, Camille,” Dominic said softly.

Sarah opened her laptop again. “During the five minutes you were holding me at gunpoint, I executed the transfer codes. I liquidated the Moretti family’s offshore accounts. I used the backdoors you so graciously left on my network over the last seven years. Your family’s entire treasury was just anonymously donated to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the GPS coordinates of your top three heroin processing facilities.”

Camille’s face drained of color. “No... you couldn't have.”

“Your family is bankrupt, Camille,” Robert said, stepping out of the shadows. “And by tomorrow morning, your uncles will be in federal custody. The Moretti family is dead.”

Camille slumped against the concrete, utterly broken. The grand, decades-long scheme to infiltrate and destroy the Carusos had been undone in a single night.

Dominic looked at Robert. “Clean this up. Take her to the police. Give them the evidence of her extortion.” He didn't want his daughter's first memory of him to be murder.

Antonio placed a heavy, calloused hand on Dominic’s shoulder. Father and son looked at each other. Words weren't necessary anymore. The ghosts were laid to rest.

Dominic turned back to Isabella, smoothing her hair. “It’s over. You’re safe now. I’m taking you home.”

As the distant sound of Miami police sirens began to wail in the night, Dominic turned to his assistant. She was already wiping down the briefcase and checking her phone.

“Sarah,” Dominic said, his voice thick with gratitude. “I don't even know how to begin to thank you.”

Sarah adjusted her glasses, looking up from her screen.

“You can start by approving my expense report for the ruined blazer, Mr. Caruso,” she said smoothly. “And I’ve cleared your schedule for the next two weeks. You have a lot of lost time to make up for with your father and daughter.”

Dominic couldn't help but smile. “Understood, Sarah. Anything else?”