Chapter 7 - The Price of an Heir
Mina arrived at the abandoned Costello warehouse at 11:58 p.m.
Alone.
At least, that was what Marino believed.
A tiny transmitter was sewn inside her coat.
Alfred hated the plan.
He hated every second of it.
But for once, he respected Mina enough not to confuse protection with control.
Marino stood beneath a hanging industrial light.
Daniel was tied to a chair.
“You look like your brother,” Marino said.
Mina kept walking.
“And you look older than your security footage.”
Marino laughed.
“Owen had a mouth too.”
“You killed him.”
“He became inconvenient.”
Mina's stomach twisted.
She forced herself not to react.
“Daniel first.”
“The drive.”
She held it up.
Marino smiled.
“Throw it.”
“No.”
His expression changed.
“You don't negotiate well for someone carrying the future of the Costello family.”
Mina stared at him.
“You don't understand Alfred at all.”
“I raised him.”
“No. You trained him.”
Marino's smile disappeared.
“You taught him fear was respect. You taught him secrecy was strength. You taught him that everyone he loved was a liability.”
She stepped closer.
“And then you made the mistake of giving him something worth changing for.”
Marino pulled a gun.
Daniel shouted.
Mina froze.
“Where is Alfred?”
“Not here.”
“Lie.”
“I left him.”
Marino studied her.
Then laughed.
“No woman leaves a Costello voluntarily.”
“I did.”
The amusement vanished.
That truth offended him more than any insult.
He pointed the gun toward her abdomen.
Mina's breath stopped.
“Give me the drive.”
She tossed it.
Marino caught it.
Behind him, Daniel worked desperately against his restraints.
Marino inserted the drive into a laptop.
Nothing.
He tried again.
“Password.”
Mina said nothing.
“Password!”
“No.”
He raised the weapon.
A red laser appeared on his chest.
Marino froze.
Alfred's voice came from the darkness.
“Lower the gun.”
Marino smiled slowly.
“I knew you'd come.”
Alfred stepped into the light.
No jacket.
No visible weapon.
“You wanted me.”
“I wanted the empire.”
“You can have it.”
Mina stared at him.
Marino did too.
“What?”
Alfred continued walking.
“Accounts. Warehouses. Companies. Take them.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Alfred looked at Mina.
“Because none of it is worth them.”
Her eyes burned.
Marino laughed.
“You've become pathetic.”
“Maybe.”
Alfred stopped ten feet away.
“But you're still pointing a gun at a pregnant woman because you're afraid of a flash drive.”
Marino's face twisted.
Then Daniel kicked the laptop table.
The light went out.
Chaos.
Mina dropped.
A gun fired.
Alfred lunged.
Men rushed from the darkness.
Another shot.
Then another.
When the emergency lights came on, Marino was on the ground.
Alfred stood over him.
His gun was pointed at his uncle's chest.
Marino laughed through blood.
“Do it.”
Alfred's finger tightened.
“Alfred.”
Mina's voice.
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
“If you kill him now, our child grows up hearing you solved everything the same way he did.”
Marino spat blood.
“She made you weak.”
Alfred slowly lowered the gun.
“No.”
Police sirens grew outside.
“She made me free.”
Marino's face changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Federal agents stormed the warehouse.
Owen's evidence had been transmitted hours earlier.
Daniel had contacted investigators before the meeting.
Marino was arrested.
So were six men tied to the laundering operation.
Mina thought it was over.
Then Alfred suddenly stumbled.
She saw the blood.
“Alfred?”
He looked down.
A dark stain spread across his side.
One of the shots had hit him.
Mina screamed his name.
He collapsed into her arms.
His hand found her stomach.
“Baby okay?”
“Don't talk.”
“Mina.”
“Stop talking!”
His eyes struggled to remain open.
“I need you to know something.”
“No. You're going to tell me later.”
“I love you.”
Her face crumpled.
“You idiot.”
His mouth moved into the faintest smile.
“That's not exactly—”
His eyes closed.
“Alfred?”
No response.
“Alfred!”
Paramedics rushed forward.
As they pulled him from her arms, Mina looked down.
Blood covered both her hands.
And for the first time since discovering she was pregnant, she realized the truth she had been too frightened to admit.
She didn't want a life away from Alfred.
May you like
She wanted a different life with him.
But she might have realized it too late.
