THE WAITRESS, THE WINE, AND THE MAFIA BOSS'S LOST SON

The betrayal hung in the air like thick smoke.

Salvatore Caruso, the man who had built the empire, was holding his own son at gunpoint.

Dominic didn't flinch. The poison had weakened his body, but his eyes were sharp, filled with a terrifying clarity.

"You?" Dominic asked softly. "You ordered the hit on me tonight?"

Salvatore’s hands trembled, the heavy revolver shaking in his grip. "Anthony came to me a week ago. He showed me the ledgers. You were going legitimate, Dominic. You were going to sell the docks, shut down the offshore accounts, and turn the family into a real estate holding company. You were going to destroy everything I built!"

"So you agreed to let him poison me at my engagement dinner?" Dominic sneered.

"Anthony said it would look like a heart attack!" Salvatore pleaded, looking around at the shattered glass and bleeding men. "This... the guns, the waitresses... this wasn't the plan!"

"Anthony lied to you, you old fool," Victoria laughed harshly from the wall. "He didn't just want Dominic dead. He wanted the whole Caruso line wiped out. And once Dominic was gone, he was going to kill you, too."

Salvatore looked at the unconscious Anthony on the floor, then at the tactical team aiming rifles at him. He finally realized he had been played.

"Put the gun down, old man," the security guard repeated, stepping forward. "Anthony promised us double to clean this up before the cops breach the front doors."

"No," a young voice said.

Nicholas stepped in front of his father, shielding Dominic with his own body.

"Nicholas, move!" Dominic yelled, trying to pull his son back.

"I spent fifteen years away from you, Dad," Nicholas said, not taking his eyes off the guard. "I'm not letting them take you again."

The guard sneered. "Cute. Shoot them both."

I didn't have time to think.

I reached into my apron pocket and pulled out the one thing I hadn't shown anyone.

The thick envelope of cash I had swiped from the kitchen counter right after I confronted the guard.

I threw it as hard as I could into the center of the dining room.

The heavy envelope hit a shattered chandelier and burst open. Thousands of dollars in hundred-dollar bills rained down over the tactical team.

For three crucial seconds, the mercenaries hesitated, their eyes drawn to the falling money.

It was all the time Salvatore needed.

The old man didn't shoot Dominic. He spun around and fired three shots into the tactical team, taking down the corrupt guard instantly.

Chaos erupted. Gunfire deafened the room again.

"Get down!" I screamed, pulling Grace beneath a heavy overturned banquet table.

Dominic grabbed Nicholas and dove behind the marble bar. Salvatore provided covering fire, taking a bullet to the shoulder before collapsing behind a pillar.

Within thirty seconds, Dominic's loyal men had overwhelmed the distracted mercenaries. The remaining gunmen threw down their weapons as police sirens finally grew deafeningly loud outside the barricaded doors.

Silence fell over the room once more, broken only by the groans of the wounded.

I crawled out from under the table, holding Grace tightly. We were unhurt.

Dominic stood up from behind the bar. He walked over to his father, who was bleeding heavily from his shoulder.

Salvatore looked up at his son. "I'm sorry, Dominic. I never wanted you dead. I just wanted the empire safe."

"The empire is dead, old man," Dominic said coldly. He kicked Salvatore’s gun away.

Then Dominic walked over to where Anthony Romano was finally groaning and waking up from the blow I’d dealt him with the ice bucket.

Dominic dragged Anthony to his knees by his hair.

"You killed my wife," Dominic whispered, pressing a gun to Anthony’s temple. "You stole my son. And you manipulated my father into trying to kill me."

"Do it," Anthony spat, blood dripping from his nose. "Kill me. But it won't change the truth, Dominic. You know why I took the boy? Because Elena asked me to."

Dominic froze. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Anthony coughed. He reached into his ruined shirt and pulled out a heavy gold pocket watch on a broken chain. The metal was blackened and charred.

"Do you recognize this, Dominic?" Anthony wheezed.

Dominic stared at the watch. He dropped his gun.

"That was Elena's," Dominic breathed. "She was wearing it the night her car burned."

"Yes," Anthony said, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "And look what she engraved on the back."

Dominic snatched the watch from Anthony’s hand. He turned it over and rubbed the soot away with his thumb.

I watched the blood drain completely from Dominic’s face.

He looked at Anthony, then at Victoria, and finally at his son, Nicholas.

"This... this isn't possible," Dominic whispered, his hands shaking so violently the watch nearly fell.

"What does it say, Mr. Caruso?" I asked, stepping forward.

Dominic looked at me, his gray eyes wide with a horror I couldn't comprehend.

"It says," Dominic choked out, "'To my beloved Anthony. Thank you for protecting our son.'"