Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE MAFIA BOSS FELL
"Dominic!"
Penelope's scream filled the command vehicle.
The radio crackled.
Lorenzo's voice sounded strained.
"Medical team to the main entrance. Now!"
Penelope reached for the door.
An investigator stopped her.
"Miss Russo, the building isn't secure."
"He's hurt!"
"We're getting him out."
Inside the theater, Dominic lay beside the stage.
Blood stained the sleeve of his charcoal jacket.
Anthony had fired once before Lorenzo tackled him.
The bullet struck Dominic's upper arm.
He was conscious.
Barely.
"Where's Penelope?" he whispered.
Lorenzo pressed a clean cloth against the wound.
"She's safe."
Dominic closed his eyes.
"Keep her that way."
Minutes later, emergency personnel entered.
Anthony was arrested.
Frank, Isabella, and Vanessa were led outside under police protection.
Penelope rushed toward her father.
"Dad!"
Frank wrapped his arms around her.
"My girl."
She held him tightly.
Then she saw Isabella.
For a moment, neither woman moved.
Penelope had imagined this reunion since childhood.
Her mother looked older.
Exhausted.
But her eyes were exactly as Penelope remembered.
"Mom?"
Isabella began crying.
"My beautiful girl."
They fell into each other's arms.
Twenty-six years of questions seemed to dissolve into that embrace.
Then Penelope remembered Dominic.
"Where is he?"
Lorenzo appeared beside the ambulance.
"He's alive."
Penelope ran toward him.
Dominic lay on a stretcher.
His eyes opened when he heard her voice.
"You're ruining that beautiful dress," he murmured.
She looked down.
Red silk.
Dust.
Tears.
She laughed through her crying.
"You're an idiot."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Probably."
"Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I'll try."
She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
For one brief moment, the chaos disappeared.
Then Dominic whispered something.
"Penelope, there's another document."
She frowned.
"What document?"
"The one Anthony was trying to destroy."
"What does it say?"
Dominic struggled to keep his eyes open.
"My father didn't create the trust alone."
Penelope leaned closer.
"Who helped him?"
Dominic looked at her.
"Your mother."
Penelope turned toward Isabella.
She was standing beside the ambulance.
Her expression had changed.
May you like
Dominic whispered one final sentence before the paramedics closed the doors.
"Ask Isabella why she never told you that she owned half the Vitiello empire."
