Chapter 7 - The Vanguard's Ultimatum
The main parlor was bathed in shadows as the storm raged outside, pounding rain against the floor-to-ceiling windows. Director Sterling sat in my favorite leather armchair, an elderly man with silver hair, sharp cobalt eyes, and an expensive bespoke suit that reeked of untouchable power. Two massive bodyguards stood behind him like marble statues.
I walked into the room, my boots clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. I didn't sit down. I stood across from him, my hands resting casually in my pockets, though every muscle in my body was coiled like a spring.
"Director Sterling," I said coldly. "You trespass in my home without an invitation. In my world, men who do that leave in body bags."
Sterling took a slow sip of the scotch he had poured himself from my private decanter. He looked up at me with cold, paternal disappointment.
"Dante, my boy," Sterling sighed, setting the glass down. "We built you. We gave you the keys to this city. And now you're risking everything because of a street-level woman and a bastard child?"
In a blur of motion, I crossed the room, grabbed Sterling by the lapels of his expensive suit, and hauled him out of the chair, slamming him against the wall with enough force to rattle the crystal chandelier overhead. His bodyguards reached for their weapons, but Nash and four of my men had their barrels pressed against the guards' temples before their hands even cleared their holsters.
"Never call my daughter a bastard again," I snarled, my face inches from Sterling's. "And never speak of Tessa that way in my house."
Sterling didn't flinch. Even pinned to the wall, a twisted smile played on his lips.
"You can kill me, Dante," Sterling wheezed calmly. "But the council will not stop. If you keep them here, the Vanguard will declare open season on your entire household. Every assassin from here to Tokyo will be gunning for your little girl. Give her up. Send them away, and you keep your throne."
I stared into his eyes, reading the absolute, unyielding coldness of the criminal syndicate I had sworn to rule. I realized then that as long as I sat on the throne of the underworld, my family would never truly be safe from the monsters who populated it.
I released Sterling sharply, letting him stumble back into his chair and adjust his tie with trembling fingers.
"Tell the council this," I said, my voice echoing through the silent room like a death sentence. "Dante Voss is stepping down. I am liquidating my assets, cutting ties with the syndicates, and walking away from the underworld as of midnight tonight."
Sterling's eyes widened in genuine shock. "You're giving it all up? For a woman and a child?"
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"I'm giving up the crown," I replied smoothly, pulling a gold signet ring off my finger and tossing it onto the coffee table in front of him. "And if any member of the Vanguard ever comes within a hundred miles of my family again, the Ghost won't just haunt you—I will wipe every last one of you off the face of the earth. Now get out of my house."
Sterling stared at the ring for a long moment, then stood up, smoothing his jacket. He turned and walked out of the room without another word, his bodyguards trailing closely behind.
