Chapter 284: Father Is Asking Questions

Dimitri read the message twice.

So his father was already picking up on the disturbance. That was faster than Dimitri had expected, but not surprising. Antonio had spent forty years building an empire. He’d developed instincts for when power was shifting. For when something significant was happening in his territory.

He texted back: "Tell him nothing yet. Say you’re investigating reports of unusual activity. Buy me time. I’ll handle father directly when I’m ready."

The response came back quickly: "Understood. How much longer are you staying on the island?"

Dimitri looked at the question and thought about what came next.

They’d come to the island for fourteen days. They’d only been here for six. But the timeline had shifted. The calculus had changed. Staying here longer would just give Dante time to plan a second operation, and Dimitri didn’t intend to give his enemies opportunities.

He texted: "Three more days. Then back to New York. Need to consolidate operations there before making moves in Italy."

"Three days," Enzo texted back. "Works. I’ll manage things here."

Dimitri set down his phone and turned back to Marco.

"We’re leaving in three days," he said. "I want everything wrapped up by then. Every piece of evidence gone. Every trace of what happened eliminated. I want it clean enough that if anyone investigates, they find nothing."

"You’ve got it," Marco said. "I’ll have the island cleared by tomorrow night. By the time we leave, it’ll look like nothing ever happened."

"What is Dante doing now?" Dimitri asked.

"That’s more complicated," Marco said, leaning back in his chair. "Right now, he’s in defensive mode. He’s lost men. He’s lost face. He’s probably already thinking about his next move. But here’s the thing, losing seven of his best soldiers is a serious blow to his operation. It’s not going to cripple him, but it’s going to slow him down."

"How long?" Dimitri asked.

"Week, maybe two before he can mount another significant operation," Marco said. "And that’s if he decides to escalate. He might also decide that you’re too much of a threat and back off for a while. Let you think you’ve won."

"But he won’t back off," Dimitri said. It wasn’t a question.

"No," Marco agreed. "He won’t. Because this just became personal. You killed seven of his men. That’s not something he can let stand. But he’ll take time to plan something bigger. Something more careful. Something that has a better chance of succeeding."

Dimitri understood. This was how wars worked in their world. You moved. Your opponent countered. You escalated. The cycle continued until one side was destroyed.

The difference now was that Dante understood exactly what he was dealing with. He’d sent professional soldiers, and Dimitri had eliminated them without significant difficulty. That meant Dante would have to think bigger. Would have to bring more resources. Would have to be willing to escalate in ways that would draw attention from other families.

Which was exactly the kind of opening Dimitri needed.

"What about the Russos?" Dimitri asked. "How are they reacting?"

"Mixed," Marco said. "Lorenzo Russo is staying neutral for now. But Isabella...there are reports that she’s been asking questions. That she wants to know what happened."

Dimitri thought about Isabella. About the woman who’d been engaged to him once, before everything had gotten complicated. Before Dante had decided she was his.

"She’ll figure it out eventually," Dimitri said.

His phone buzzed again. This time it was a call coming through—encrypted, secure.

It was Antonio.

Dimitri looked at the phone for a moment, considering whether to answer. But running from his father would only make things worse. Better to face this head-on.

He answered.

"Father," he said simply.

"Dimitri." Antonio’s voice came through the line, calm but with an undertone of something harder. "I’m hearing interesting reports out of Rome. Reports about activity on your island. Reports about men disappearing. Men working for Dante Romano."

"There was an assassination attempt," Dimitri said, keeping his voice level. "Seven men came to kill me. I eliminated them."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"You killed seven of Dante’s men," Antonio finally said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes," Dimitri confirmed. "They came to my location with the intention of eliminating me. I had no choice."

"You always have a choice," Antonio said. "You could have called for assistance. You could have done any number of things."

"I could have," Dimitri agreed. "But I didn’t. I’m done treating my enemies with the kind of deference that suggests I’m afraid of them. Dante sent his best men, and I killed them. Now the entire underworld knows what happens when you come after me."

"And what happens next?" Antonio asked, his voice hard now. "When Dante retaliates? When this escalates into something larger?"

"Then I handle it," Dimitri said simply. "The same way I handled this."

"You’re causing a war," Antonio said. "You understand that?"

"I’m defending myself," Dimitri corrected. "Dante declared war when he sent those men. I just made sure he understands that coming after me has consequences."

Another silence on the line. Dimitri could imagine his father sitting in his office in Rome, processing this information, understanding that his son had just made a significant power move without consulting him.

"Where are you?" Antonio finally asked.

"Safe," Dimitri said. "I’ll return to New York in three days and handle operations from there."

"And Isabella?" Antonio asked, the question seeming to come out of nowhere.

"What about her?" Dimitri asked.

"She’s involved with Dante," Antonio said. "The Russos are aware of that. Your elimination of his men will have consequences for them as well."

Dimitri hadn’t thought about that. But his father was right. Isabella was sleeping with Dante, And he still do not know where her father stands about the whole thing, The Russos were connected to both Dante and the Valentino family now. This action would create ripples.

"That’s not my responsibility," Dimitri said finally.

"Everything in this world is your responsibility," Antonio said coldly. "That’s what being a Valentino means. You make a move, you own the consequences. You understand me?"