Chapter 10 - Bloodline of Brooklyn
The sun was high in the sky when we finally walked down the wide front steps of Vale Manor.
The reporters swarmed against the broken iron gates, cameras flashing furiously as our convoy of black SUVs prepared to depart. Microphones were thrust through the railings, journalists screaming over one another to get a statement from the reclusive heiress who had just brought down one of New York's oldest dynasties.
*"Mrs. Vale! Mrs. Vale! Is it true you're filing for immediate divorce?"*
*"Did your husband really assault you over a designer dress?"*
*"What will happen to the shipping empire?"*
I stopped at the bottom step.
Marco offered me his arm, but I gently shook my head. I stood tall, my shoulders back, my chin lifted against the bright afternoon light. The black coat Luca had draped over my shoulders fluttered in the autumn wind.
Luca, Matteo, Dante, Leo, and Marco formed a protective semi-circle behind me—five titans of industry, shadows, and force, bowing to no one, standing guard over their sister.
I looked directly into the nearest television camera lens.
"My name is not Vale," I said, my voice carrying clearly through the crisp air, picked up by every boom mic and broadcast live to millions of screens. "My name is Anna Moretti. The Vale family made the mistake of believing that mercy is weakness, and that silence means surrender."
I took a slow, steady breath, feeling the strength of my father’s blood coursing through my veins.
"Vale Global Logistics is dissolved. Its assets are being restructured to repay every dockworker, contractor, and victim of Adrian Vale's greed. And to anyone who believes they can use cruelty to maintain their power: remember that empires built on violence always crumble from within."
I turned my back on the cameras, on the reporters, and on the ruins of the manor behind me.
Matteo opened the door of the center SUV. I climbed inside, settling into the soft leather seats. My brothers followed, closing the doors with heavy, synchronized thuds that shut out the noise of the world outside.
As the convoy pulled away, passing the splintered gates and leaving the shattered remnants of the Vale legacy behind in the dust, Luca looked across at me.
"Where do you want to go, Anna?" he asked softly.
May you like
I leaned my head back against the headrest, looking out at the distant skyline of Brooklyn rising across the river—strong, unyielding, and forever home.
"Take me home, Luca," I whispered, closing my eyes with a smile. "Take me back to Brooklyn."
