Chapter 7 - THE CLEAN SWEEP
Forty-eight hours later.
The private hangar at Teterboro Airport was cold, brightly lit by industrial halogen lamps, and smelled of jet fuel and rain.
A sleek Gulfstream G650 sat on the tarmac, its turbine engines whining softly as it prepared for departure.
Dominic Vale stood near the boarding stairs, wearing a plain charcoal coat, his hands tucked into his pockets. Beside him stood Victor, holding a thick leather briefcase containing the dissolved corporate deeds of the Vale Syndicate.
A black luxury SUV pulled into the hangar, its high beams cutting through the gloom.
The doors opened, and Daniel stepped out, wearing a clean suit, his face washed, his hair neatly combed back. The white scar on his left cheek was still prominent, but the wild, predatory fury in his eyes had been replaced by a quiet, calculating stillness.
Mara stepped out of the passenger side, carrying her familiar canvas bag over her shoulder.
Daniel walked up to Dominic, stopping three feet away.
“The Moretti family accepted the settlement terms,” Daniel reported, his voice smooth and professional. “They took thirty percent of the dock leases in exchange for a complete cease-fire. The federal prosecutor’s office received an anonymous package this morning containing Marcus’s offshore tax records. Your family name will be completely cleared of the syndicate charges by Friday.”
“Our family name,” Dominic corrected softly.
Daniel looked down, a faint, rare smile touching the corner of his lips. “Our family name.”
Dominic looked past Daniel at Mara, who was standing near the boarding stairs, watching the two brothers with a quiet, satisfied warmth in her eyes.
“Where will you go?” Dominic asked Daniel.
“Zurich first,” Daniel said, touching the gold patriarch ring he now wore on his right hand. “There’s a small house near Lake Geneva that our mother bought under her maiden name before Marcus took her away. I want to see it.”
“It’s yours,” Dominic said. “The deed was transferred to your name this morning.”
Daniel looked at his twin brother for a long, silent moment. The twenty-seven years of pain, isolation, and hatred seemed to melt away into the cold airport air, leaving behind a quiet bond that no amount of violence could ever break again.
Daniel reached out his hand. “Thank you, Dominic.”
Dominic looked at his brother’s hand, then stepped forward, pulling Daniel into a brief, powerful embrace, slamming his hand against Daniel’s back twice.
“Don't be a stranger, Daniel,” Dominic murmured against his shoulder. “I spent thirty years without a brother. I don't want to spend the next thirty without one either.”
Daniel let out a low laugh, stepping back and nodding firmly. “I’ll call you when I reach Switzerland.”
Daniel turned and walked up the boarding stairs into the Gulfstream, leaving Dominic and Mara standing together on the wet concrete floor of the hangar.
The plane’s heavy door pulled shut with a metallic seal, and within five minutes, the jet taxied out onto the runway, its lights disappearing into the low clouds above the city.
Dominic turned his head toward Mara.
May you like
She stood with her canvas bag held in front of her, her gray maid’s uniform replaced by a simple, elegant dark wool coat and a blue scarf.
“And you, Miss Ellis?” Dominic asked, his voice dropping into a gentle, personal tone he had never used with anyone before. “Where does the housekeeper who saved my life go now?”
