Page 72 of Vows Made in Silence

I stare at the ceiling, replaying it all in my head. Every move I made since stepping off that plane. Every warning I ignored. Every name I trusted.

Now it’s all down to me.

The final play.

I can feel it pressing on my chest like a loaded gun. Not just vengeance. Not even justice.

Legacy.

My father's sins end with me. Not with another grave. Not with another lie. But with truth.

Tomorrow, I take back the Moretti Family and Empire.

And when it’s done, they won’t just fear the name Moretti.

They’ll understand it.

Because it ends with me.

And I never leave a game unfinished.

21

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Blood Crown

New York is colder than I remember.

The wind cuts sharper, the buildings taller, the shadows longer. But I walk through it all like a man who already knows the end of the story. The safety deposit box is buried beneath layers of old names and older debts—just like the city itself.

Buried so deep, only power and my word can breathe life into it. No one even thinks about touching it unless I give the order.

That’s the thing about secrets in this world—they only stay buried when they belong to the man with the biggest shovel.

And that’s me now.

Turk flanks me, silent as always. In this time of war, he's more than muscle—he's my consigliere. Trusted. Calculated. He’s been with me since the beginning. He's the kind of man who doesn’t flinch at violence, who speaks only when it matters, and who’d rather die than let anyone hurt the family.

His loyalty isn’t loud. It’s lethal. And in a world where betrayal hides in every smile, Turk’s silence speaks volumes.

We say nothing as we’re escorted down into the private vault. No handshakes. No small talk. Just metal and silence and the weight of everything I’ve fought to uncover.

I unlock the box.

Inside is a single leather ledger, aged and bound with my father’s initials burned into the spine. And tucked inside the front cover—Tommaso’s signet ring.

My throat tightens.

I take the book and the ring, tucking them into my coat. I don’t read it here. I don’t have to. I already know what’s inside:

The final proof.

Every name that sold out this family. Every Bratva deal. Every dirty councilman. Every dime that bled its way through the West Coast.

The ledger will end them.

Because this isn’t about revenge anymore.