Chapter 184: Like we do in the mafia

Chapter 184: Like we do in the mafia
GANG WAR ENDS IN BLOODSHED AT THE SHIPYARDS

Authorities discovered the body of fugitive Gabriel "Gabo" Valente early this morning, alongside a dozen of his associates. Police sources indicate the massacre appears to be the result of a violent internal power struggle within the fracturing Valente crime syndicate. The sheer brutality of the scene suggests a message was sent, though officials are tight-lipped about potential suspects. While rumors swirl regarding Kieran Karakatsanis—the former don recently released from prison—reassuming control of the family's legitimate and illegitimate assets, the District Attorney has issued no statement, citing a lack of evidence linking him to the scene.



It was 2:00 AM. The wind howled around the glass spire of the penthouse overlooking the city.

Kieran didn't use a key. He stepped inside, the door closing silently behind him. He pulled a pair of black latex gloves from his pocket and snapped them on, the sound sharp in the quiet foyer.

He drew his gun, holding it loose at his side, and walked into the living room.

The apartment smelled of stale air, expensive perfume, and decay. The only light came from the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, skeletal shadows across the room.

"I knew you would come."

The voice was slurred, coming from the sunken velvet sofa facing the view.

Kieran walked around the furniture. Allegra Valente was sprawled across the cushions, a ghost in a silk dressing gown. The coffee table in front of her was a altar to self-destruction: three empty wine bottles, a spilled prescription canister, and a glass half-full of amber liquid.

She looked terrible. Her skin was gray, her eyes sunken and glassy, her hair matted. She looked up at him, and a strange, twisted smile spread across her lips.

"My angel of death," she whispered, raising her glass in a wobbly toast.

Kieran sat down on the ottoman opposite her. He placed the gun on his knee, his expression unreadable.

"Everything was supposed to be different," Allegra mumbled, staring past him at the city lights. "You were supposed to save me, Kieran. That was the deal."

"I tried," Kieran said, his voice void of emotion. "But I could never save you from yourself, Allegra."

"No," she shook her head, her eyes filling with sudden tears. "Your love would have saved me. If you had just looked at me… The way you look at her. It would have been enough." She laughed, a bitter, jagged sound. "But you never had it in you. Not for me. Even when you married me… At least you were honest about it…"

Kieran watched her, feeling a flicker of something that wasn't quite pity, but wasn't hate either. She was a ruin. A monument to a fallen empire.

"Where is your son?" Kieran asked.

Allegra’s face crumbled. The glass shook in her hand, splashing whiskey onto her robe.

"They took him," she choked out. "The doctors. After Uncle Gabo died… They said I was unstable. They put me in a facility. A mental health clinic. A fucking madhouse."

She took a swig of the drink, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I had a breakdown. That’s what they called it. I knew I was safer in there, with the padded walls and the nice nurses. But honestly…" She gestured to the window. "I wouldn't like to die in such an ugly place. At least the view here is pretty."

Kieran looked at the pills. He looked at the gun on his knee. He had come here to tie up a loose end, to ensure Allegra never became a liability again. But looking at her now, he realized the threat was already neutralized. She was already dead; she just hadn't stopped breathing yet.

"Alright," Kieran said, leaning forward.

Allegra blinked, trying to focus on him. "Alright?"

"Do you want to make a deal?" Kieran asked.

"A deal?" She giggled.

"You go back to the mental hospital," Kieran said calmly. "You check yourself back in. And as long as you stay there, as long as you remain silent and hidden… I won't kill you."

Allegra stared at him. The laughter died in her throat. She crawled off the sofa, moving on her hands and knees until she was close to his feet, looking up at him with wild, offended eyes.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no."

"It's a better offer than you deserve," Kieran said.

"You don't get to deny me my death now!" she hissed, grabbing the lapel of his jacket with weak fingers. "I am Marco Valente's daughter! I was born in the mafia, I lived for the mafia… and I will die like we do in the mafia!"

She pulled back, her chest heaving, her eyes burning with a sudden, lucid hatred.

"And before I go," she spat, "I will pray. I will pray that my son grows up and learns who his mother was. I pray he hunts you down for what you did to me, Kieran. Why couldn't you love me? Gabriel was supposed to be your son! We were supposed to be a family!"

Kieran stood up, brushing her hand off his jacket. He looked down at her with cold indifference.

"You're sick, Allegra," he said. "I won't give you the death you crave. I won't make you a martyr. But I will make sure you never get out of that hospital again. You'll live a long, quiet life where you can no longer hurt anyone. Not even yourself."

Allegra began to laugh. It started as a giggle and rose to a shriek.

"That's the closest to 'I love you' you ever said to me!" she cried out.

Allegra reached under the sofa cushion.

"Goodbye, my dear husband."

Kieran turned, but he didn't raise his weapon.

Allegra pulled a small, pearl-handled revolver from beneath the velvet. She didn't aim it at him. She jammed the barrel under her own chin.

Her eyes locked onto his, wide and triumphant.

BANG.

The sound was small in the large room.

Allegra slumped backward against the sofa, the gun slipping from her fingers. The silence rushed back in, heavy and absolute.

Kieran stood there for a moment, watching the blood pool on the expensive rug.

He checked her pulse—a formality. Then he holstered his gun, peeled off the latex gloves, and dropped them into his pocket.

He walked out of the apartment, leaving the door unlocked for the maid to find her in the morning.