{"id":67,"date":"2026-10-09T08:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/?p=67"},"modified":"2026-10-09T08:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:07:14","slug":"sir-my-sister-is-crying-in-the-alley-the-mafia-boss-followed-him-and-was-stunned-by-what-he-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/?p=67","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSir, My Sister Is Crying in the Alley\u2026\u201d \u2014 The Mafia Boss Followed Him and Was Stunned by What He Found"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cSir, My Sister Is Crying in the Alley\u2026\u201d \u2014 The Mafia Boss Followed Him and Was Stunned by What He Foun<\/h1>\n
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Chapter 1<\/h2>\n
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\u201cSir, My Sister Is Crying in the Alley\u2026\u201d \u2014 The Mafia Boss Followed Him and Was Stunned by What He Found<\/p>\n

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Rain came down in sheets, washing the grime of the city into the gutters, but it couldn\u2019t wash the blood from Dominic\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

He was done with the night. Done with the noise.<\/p>\n

Then a boy no older than 10 tugged at his expensive cashmere coat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, my sister is crying in the alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic should have kept walking.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

He stood beneath the awning outside the club, breathing in the damp, metallic air of the city. Rain slicked the sidewalks and reflected the neon signs behind him. The meeting inside had gone badly. Two men were bleeding on a velvet sofa, and Dominic was exhausted.<\/p>\n

Tonight, he didn\u2019t feel like the head of the Rossi family.<\/p>\n

He simply felt heavy.<\/p>\n

He lit a cigarette. The brief flare of the match lit up the hard lines of his face.<\/p>\n

His bodyguard, Paulie, stood three paces behind him, an immovable wall of muscle wrapped in cheap polyester.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet the car,\u201d Dominic murmured.<\/p>\n

Before Paulie could reach for his radio, something tugged at Dominic\u2019s coat.<\/p>\n

Paulie reacted immediately, one large hand moving toward the perceived threat.<\/p>\n

Dominic raised a finger.<\/p>\n

Paulie stopped.<\/p>\n

Dominic looked down.<\/p>\n

A boy stood beside him.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t have been older than 10. His sneakers were soaked and peeling at the soles. A thin windbreaker offered almost no protection from the November cold. He was shivering so hard his teeth clicked together.<\/p>\n

But his eyes stayed fixed on Dominic.<\/p>\n

They were wide and frantic, without any of the fear or respect people normally showed the head of the Rossi family.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir,\u201d the boy gasped. \u201cMy sister is crying in the alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic stared at him while ash lengthened at the end of his cigarette.<\/p>\n

Normally, he\u2019d have handed a kid like this $50 and kept walking.<\/p>\n

The city was full of desperate children and crying women. A man couldn\u2019t save all of them. Trying only meant letting them drag him into the same darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall a cop, kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic turned toward the street.<\/p>\n

The boy didn\u2019t let go of his coat.<\/p>\n

Instead, his grip tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cops won\u2019t come down there. The man \u2014 he has a knife. He says she owes him. Please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic stopped.<\/p>\n

He looked at the small hand gripping his pristine coat.<\/p>\n

Then he looked across the street.<\/p>\n

The alley was a narrow strip of darkness between a shuttered adult shop and a decaying apartment building.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know exactly why he started walking.<\/p>\n

Maybe the adrenaline from the meeting was still moving through him.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was the boy\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait by the car, Paulie,\u201d Dominic ordered, flicking the cigarette into a puddle.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoss, it\u2019s not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic crossed the street.<\/p>\n

The boy hurried after him, almost running to keep pace with Dominic\u2019s long strides.<\/p>\n

Inside the alley, the sounds of the city faded until there was only water dripping from rusted fire escapes.<\/p>\n

Then Dominic heard a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you I need until Friday. I get paid on Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice was tight with panic but carried an unmistakable edge of anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour old man said that 3 weeks ago, Chloe,\u201d a man replied. \u201cVarga\u2019s out of patience. You\u2019re coming with me, and we\u2019re going to figure out how you\u2019re going to work this off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic rounded a dumpster.<\/p>\n

A young woman stood with her back against a wet brick wall. Her clothes were soaked, her brown hair plastered against her cheeks. She breathed fast, both hands clenched into fists.<\/p>\n

A man in a cheap leather jacket stood in front of her.<\/p>\n

A switchblade gleamed in his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic didn\u2019t raise his voice.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n

The man turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet lost, buddy. Private business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic kept walking toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou drop Varga\u2019s name out in the open like that, you make him sound cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man squinted into the darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he cheap?\u201d<\/p>\n

Streetlight finally lit up Dominic\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s posture changed.<\/p>\n

He saw the expression, the tailored suit, the total absence of fear.<\/p>\n

He stepped back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho the hell are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic said nothing.<\/p>\n

He kept walking until he was within reach.<\/p>\n

The man lifted his knife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said stay back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic moved.<\/p>\n

His left hand closed around the man\u2019s wrist.<\/p>\n

He squeezed.<\/p>\n

Bone ground against bone.<\/p>\n

The man screamed, his fingers opening on their own.<\/p>\n

The switchblade hit the pavement.<\/p>\n

Dominic drove his other fist into the man\u2019s stomach beneath the ribs.<\/p>\n

The air left him.<\/p>\n

As he folded forward, Dominic drove a knee into his face.<\/p>\n

Cartilage cracked.<\/p>\n

The man collapsed among the garbage bags.<\/p>\n

Unconscious.<\/p>\n

Dominic calmly straightened his cuffs.<\/p>\n

Then he looked at the woman.<\/p>\n

Chloe stared back at him.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t look relieved.<\/p>\n

She looked as though one predator had just been replaced by another.<\/p>\n

The boy ran past Dominic and wrapped his arms around her waist.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe dropped to her knees and held him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you okay? I told you to run home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found him,\u201d Sam said, pointing at Dominic. \u201cHe beat the bad guy up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe looked up.<\/p>\n

Her eyes were sharp, intelligent, exhausted. A bruise was beginning to form along her jaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pulled Sam closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any money to give you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic let out a short, cynical breath that almost passed for a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want your money.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at the unconscious man.<\/p>\n

Varga\u2019s people were getting sloppy, collecting pennies in the rain.<\/p>\n

Dominic turned to go.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d done enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped.<\/p>\n

Chloe helped Sam to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll come back. They know where we live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic looked over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have the kind of power to put someone like that down without blinking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe swallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease. I just need somewhere safe for my brother tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic studied her.<\/p>\n

The desperation in her voice dredged up memories he\u2019d spent most of his life trying to bury.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy car\u2019s out front,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t make me wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diner sat near the warehouse district, an old neon-lit place serving burnt coffee to customers nobody asked questions about.<\/p>\n

Dominic sat in a vinyl booth with black coffee in front of him.<\/p>\n

Across the table, Sam was demolishing a stack of pancakes under a flood of artificial syrup.<\/p>\n

Chloe sat beside him.<\/p>\n

Her tea had gone cold.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t touched the food Dominic ordered.<\/p>\n

Instead, she watched him.<\/p>\n

\u201cEat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an obvious lie.<\/p>\n

Her stomach had already growled twice.<\/p>\n

Dominic finally looked at her.<\/p>\n

Under the fluorescent lights, she looked even more exhausted than she had in the alley. Dark circles marked the skin under her eyes. Her clothes were cheap but clean and carefully mended.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t eat, you pass out. You pass out, I leave you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n

She picked up her fork and forced herself to eat.<\/p>\n

Dominic leaned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cVarga. Why does a man who runs half the illegal gambling in this city care about you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe put down her fork.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot me. My father.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wrapped both hands around the tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a problem. Cards, dogs. If it had numbers on it, he bet on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic noticed the past tense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe died last month. Liver gave out.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was almost no grief in her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurns out death doesn\u2019t erase a ledger. They came to my apartment a week after the funeral. Said he owed $40,000. Said I inherited the debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t inherit debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell that to the man you left bleeding in the garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment, Dominic almost smiled.<\/p>\n

There was anger in her.<\/p>\n

He respected it.<\/p>\n

\u201c$40,000 is pocket change for Varga,\u201d he said. \u201cBut he\u2019s a man of principle. He\u2019ll squeeze you just to prove he can. How were you planning to pay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have two jobs. I was going to negotiate a payment plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA payment plan with a loan shark?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe\u2019s face reddened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d pay interest for the rest of your life and never touch the principal. You\u2019re an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice hardened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a 10-year-old brother to keep out of foster care. I don\u2019t have the luxury of being smart. I just have to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam stopped eating.<\/p>\n

Dominic looked at him.<\/p>\n

Then back at Chloe.<\/p>\n

He could walk away.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d bought them food. He\u2019d saved her from the knife.<\/p>\n

They owed each other nothing.<\/p>\n

But Dominic knew Varga.<\/p>\n

By the next night, Chloe would probably be dragged into a warehouse or forced into one of Varga\u2019s clubs to work off the debt.<\/p>\n

Sam would be left alone.<\/p>\n

Cold.<\/p>\n

Angry.<\/p>\n

Exactly where Dominic himself had once been.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll buy the debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe stared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll pay Varga the $40,000. Clear the ledger. He won\u2019t bother you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suspicion immediately replaced surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? You don\u2019t even know me. What do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou owe me instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic leaned forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t do charity. You owe me $40,000. My interest rate is zero, and my terms are simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat terms?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou work for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe stayed silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI run a restaurant downtown. Laura. High-end. Legitimate. You handle the books, manage the floor, do whatever needs doing. Part of your paycheck goes toward the debt every week until we\u2019re clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a safe apartment in one of my buildings. The kid goes to a real school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe stared at him.<\/p>\n

The tailored suit.<\/p>\n

The bodyguards outside.<\/p>\n

The black SUV.<\/p>\n

The quiet violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in the mob.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m offering you a job. You can say no. Walk out that door and negotiate your payment plan with Varga\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe looked at Sam.<\/p>\n

He was scraping syrup from his plate, unaware that his sister was deciding the course of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I do this, you leave him out of it completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when the debt is paid, I walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe closed her eyes.<\/p>\n

There was no real choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic slid a napkin and a silver pen across the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cWrite down your address. My men will move your things tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Chloe wrote, her hand trembled.<\/p>\n

Dominic watched her.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d purchased a debt.<\/p>\n

Looking at her, he was starting to suspect he\u2019d also purchased a complication he couldn\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n

Three months later, Laura had become Chloe\u2019s prison.<\/p>\n

The restaurant was a carefully designed world of brass, dark mahogany and soft lighting. Politicians, celebrities and quietly powerful people fought for reservations.<\/p>\n

To the public, it was one of the city\u2019s finest Italian restaurants.<\/p>\n

To Dominic, it was also a legitimate front through which money could be cleaned.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Chloe learned the rhythm of Laura in her second week \u2014 the hush before the dinner rush, the way the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 straightened his tie whenever a black car pulled up outside.<\/p>\n

She learned other things too.<\/p>\n

The reservation book had a second set of names, written in pencil, erased after the guest left.<\/p>\n

The wine cellar had a locked door behind the racks that no sommelier ever opened.<\/p>\n

Cash moved through the office in canvas bags that never matched the till.<\/p>\n

She said nothing.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d made a deal, and she intended to honor it, but she watched everything with the careful eyes of a woman doing the math on her own survival.<\/p>\n

Dominic came in most nights around nine, always at the corner booth, always with the same glass of Barolo he barely touched.<\/p>\n

He rarely spoke to her.<\/p>\n

He watched her instead \u2014 how she calmed a screaming chef, how she smoothed over a senator\u2019s complaint about a cold appetizer, how she counted the register twice before locking it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re good at this,\u201d he said one night, when the last table had cleared.<\/p>\n

Chloe didn\u2019t look up from the ledger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m good at surviving. There\u2019s a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there?\u201d<\/p>\n

She closed the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurvival means you do whatever keeps you alive. This\u2014\u201d she gestured at the dining room, at him, \u201c\u2014feels like something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic\u2019s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re free to leave anytime. Walk out, find Varga, tell him you\u2019d rather take your chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen say what you meant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe hesitated.<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s laughter drifted from the kitchen, where one of the line cooks was teaching him card tricks between orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI meant,\u201d she said quietly, \u201cthat you didn\u2019t have to do any of this. The debt. The apartment. His school. You could\u2019ve walked past that alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic\u2019s eyes moved to the kitchen doorway, to the boy\u2019s small silhouette.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause nobody stopped for me,\u201d he finally said. \u201cNot when I needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe studied him \u2014 really studied him, past the suit and the reputation.<\/p>\n

For a moment he looked less like a man people feared and more like someone still carrying a debt of his own, one that had nothing to do with money.<\/p>\n

Then his phone buzzed.<\/p>\n

He glanced at the screen, and whatever softness had crept into his face vanished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLock up when you\u2019re done. Paulie\u2019s outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was gone before she could ask again.<\/p>\n

Three nights later, Sam came home from school with a black eye.<\/p>\n

Chloe knelt in front of him in their new apartment, gently tilting his chin to inspect the bruise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho did this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome kid said my sister works for gangsters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe\u2019s stomach dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it true?\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t answer fast enough.<\/p>\n

Sam pulled away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him he was wrong. But he wasn\u2019t wrong, was he.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what grown-ups say when the answer is yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe pressed her palms against her eyes.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t cried since the alley, hadn\u2019t let herself, but exhaustion and guilt were finally catching up to her.<\/p>\n

The knock at the door came an hour later.<\/p>\n

She expected Dominic.<\/p>\n

She was wrong.<\/p>\n

Two men stood in the hallway, neither of them wearing Rossi colors.<\/p>\n

The taller one smiled without warmth.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Varga sends his regards,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd a message.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe\u2019s blood went cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe debt\u2019s been paid. Dominic bought it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDominic bought a piece of paper,\u201d the man said. \u201cMr. Varga doesn\u2019t think paper settles what your father really owed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe stepped back, one hand reaching instinctively for Sam, who\u2019d appeared in the hallway behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo back to your room,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cChloe\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The taller man\u2019s eyes slid past her, toward the boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCute kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe\u2019s whole body went rigid.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here to hurt anyone,\u201d he said, holding up both hands. \u201cJust a friendly reminder. Mr. Varga doesn\u2019t like being told his money\u2019s someone else\u2019s business now. He wants a sit-down. With Dominic. Tomorrow night. The old shipping yard on Fell Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would he tell me this?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s smile widened.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re going to be the one to deliver it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached into his coat.<\/p>\n

Chloe flinched.<\/p>\n

He only produced a folded slip of paper, which he pressed into her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cMidnight. Tell him to come alone. Tell him if he doesn\u2019t\u2014\u201d his gaze flicked once more toward the hallway where Sam had disappeared, \u201c\u2014we\u2019ll come find the boy instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The door shut behind them.<\/p>\n

Chloe stood frozen in the hallway, the paper trembling in her grip, Sam\u2019s frightened face peering out from his bedroom doorway.<\/p>\n

She had thought buying the debt meant they were safe.<\/p>\n

She had been wrong.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Chloe didn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n

She sat at the kitchen table until dawn, the folded slip of paper flattened in front of her, Sam\u2019s bedroom door cracked open so she could hear him breathing.<\/p>\n

At six, she called Dominic.<\/p>\n

He answered on the first ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVarga\u2019s men came to my apartment last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence on the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cChloe. Are you hurt? Is Sam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fine. They didn\u2019t touch us. They left a message.\u201d<\/p>\n

She read him the note, her voice flat and controlled, the way she\u2019d learned to speak when panic threatened to take over.<\/p>\n

\u201cMidnight. Fell Street shipyard. Alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic said nothing for a long moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey threatened him,\u201d Chloe added. \u201cSam. They said if you didn\u2019t come, they\u2019d find him instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t touch that boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Varga,\u201d Dominic said. \u201cHe postures. He sends messages. He doesn\u2019t move against children unless he\u2019s desperate, and desperate men make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s supposed to comfort me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe closed her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t go alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDominic.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the first time she\u2019d said his name without an edge of contempt in it.<\/p>\n

He noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll handle it,\u201d he said, softer than before. \u201cKeep Sam home from school today. Paulie will watch the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hung up before she could argue further.<\/p>\n

At the Rossi compound that afternoon, Dominic found his underboss, Frank Lucchesi, waiting in his office, arms crossed, expression thunderous.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bought a stranger\u2019s debt,\u201d Frank said without preamble. \u201cForty grand, out of pocket, for a woman you picked up off the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch your tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll watch it once you explain why Varga\u2019s crawling all over our territory sending threats to a woman who works your restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not just an employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly my point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic poured himself a drink he didn\u2019t intend to finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think I don\u2019t know what this looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019re distracted. I think a girl and her kid brother have gotten under your skin, and Varga smells weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCareful, Frank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank held up both hands, backing off but not retreating entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not your enemy, Dominic. I\u2019m the man who\u2019s supposed to keep this family standing when you\u2019re too busy playing hero in back alleys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen do your job. Get me four men at Fell Street tonight. Out of sight. Varga wants me alone \u2014 he\u2019ll get me visible. What\u2019s behind me isn\u2019t his business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank studied him for a long beat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about the money anymore, is it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

That was answer enough.<\/p>\n

Midnight came wrapped in fog off the water, the shipyard silent except for the groan of old cranes shifting in the wind.<\/p>\n

Dominic walked in alone, hands loose at his sides, coat collar turned up against the cold.<\/p>\n

Varga was already waiting, flanked by four men, standing in a pool of sodium light beside a rusted shipping container.<\/p>\n

He was smaller than Dominic expected \u2014 narrow-shouldered, silver-haired, a man who looked more like an accountant than someone who ran half the city\u2019s illegal gambling.<\/p>\n

\u201cDominic Rossi,\u201d Varga said, spreading his arms. \u201cIn the flesh. I confess, I didn\u2019t expect you to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made it sound urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA debt was owed to me. You interfered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI paid it. In full. Cash, same night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou paid a number,\u201d Varga said. \u201cNumbers were never the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Varga smiled, slow and unpleasant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk the girl what her father really owed me. Ask her what he took.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gambled. He lost. That\u2019s the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what she told you?\u201d Varga tilted his head. \u201cInteresting. I wonder what else she left out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dominic\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t bring me here to talk in riddles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Varga agreed. \u201cI brought you here to give you a choice. Walk away from the girl, and this ends quietly. Keep protecting her, and you\u2019ll find out exactly what her father cost me \u2014 and what it\u2019s going to cost you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind Dominic, in the shadows between two containers, a shape shifted.<\/p>\n

Then another.<\/p>\n

Varga\u2019s men were no longer four.<\/p>\n

They were eight.<\/p>\n

Dominic\u2019s hand moved slowly toward his coat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said alone,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI came alone. You didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Varga\u2019s smile didn\u2019t waver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never said I\u2019d keep my word.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSir, My Sister Is Crying in the Alley\u2026\u201d \u2014 The Mafia Boss Followed Him and Was Stunned by What He Foun Chapter 1 \u201cSir, My Sister Is Crying in the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}