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On October 12, at 11:56 in the evening, Corrado Alphonse Moretti died
There had been a strong lurching in his stoushed from the bullet wounds in his chest Pain swept fro hihts and sounds distorted, as reality twisted and the world around hi
No bright lights No gentle voices No angelic presence Only blackness He heard nothing, he saw nothing, and he felt nothing After everything Corrado had done in his life, he had expected hellfire and brimstone
He was a bit disappointed, to say the least
A few ht, Corrado was violently shocked back to life His heart beat once again as oxygen saturated his body, but his newfound peace was instantly destroyed: Thehim from the darkness of afterlife, he was transported to a tiet
It was a decade earlier but only a few feet away froy hospital room he now lay in, soiled with blood, sweat, and bitter tears The roo--heartbreak and misery, the harsh stench of imminent death thick in the air
Corrado stood quietly in the doorway that warm October day, his eyes fixed inside the sterile rooe, but he seee hospital bed Tubes and wires ran fro hih to drown out the strangled voice in the corner
Vincent DeMarco sat near his son, rocking and franticallyto hiitated and deranged al, his hair a dirty mess and his shirt soiled with blood Vincent’s wife’s blood, to be preciseblood that had been spilled less than twenty-four hours before
The sight of it sickened Corrado It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Maura’s blood, but it would certainly be the last She was dead and never co to accept the truth
"She’s can’t be gone" The words caught in his throat "This is my fault"
Corrado wanted to tell hi absurd, but it would be a waste of breath He couldn’t comfort him No words would take his pain away And, truthfully, Corrado couldn’t iuish his brother-in-law felt He didn’t fear death, didn’t fear jail or eternal da Celia He’d vowed to honor her, to cherish her, to protect her
It was no wonder Vincent was so quick to take the blame He had failed at that--he had failed to protect Maura
"It’s one, and it’s lanced back at his nephew Carmine had been found near death behind Tarullo’s Pizzeria They didn’t knohat had happened yet, but one thing was clear: whoever ambushed them intended for the boy to die, too
That fact made Corrado feel even sicker He had never been particularly fond of children, with their needy ways and grubby little hands, but one thing he treasured was innocence He envied it He hadhis years with La Cosa Nostra, but he prided hi anyone he felt didn’t deserve his wrath
And staring at his nephew, so helpless and vulnerable, Corrado couldn’t iine ould possess sos even the wickedest ofa kid in cold blood was one of those things
Things were different now, though As , and he wondered what that ht years old, he had been thrown headfirst into the lifestyle When he woke up--if he did--his world wouldn’t be the same Whether Carmine liked it or not, he couldn’t escape the life Not after this He was now a part of it, and Corrado kneould spend the rest of his life trying to make sense of the chaos
Hatred brewed in Corrado’s gut, hot liketo the babble of a devastatedrevenge on the people who had hurt theanization demand it--an eye for an eye--but so did his weary heart
Corrado’s heart, a decade later rew stronger every passing day He would survive the shoot-out in the Chicago warehouse The Kevlar Killer would live to see another day
On Dece comatose for six weeks, Corrado Alphonse Moretti opened his eyes
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The black Mazda RX-8 sped along the worn gravel road, twisting and turning as it penetrated deeper into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains Haven clutched the passenger seat as the car haphazardly weaved through the dense forest
"Are we lost?" she asked hesitantly as she stared at her boyfriend Car with the radio Sunglasses shielded his eyes fro any attention to the road
"No"
Haven glanced out the windshield, squinting fros looked the sa them How could he know? "Are you sure?"
"Positive"
She shook her head Stubborn "Where are we going?"
"You’ll see"
She started to grow frustrated when he jerked the wheel to the left, nearly skidding off the narrow road Her seatbelt locked in place, tightly confining her in the seat, as she inhaled sharply Before she could let out the scream that bubbled up in her chest, Carine, turning to her with a satisfied smile "See, not lost"