Dead Men Hold The Crown

hedral. Rain fell sharp and cold, hissing against the cobblestones like the whispers of ghosts.

ed kings

ss. Not a flicker of grief showed on his face. No tremble in his jaw. The mourners watched him closely, s

rds droned in t

dn't hea

's captains, lieutenants, and old allies. Most were quiet. Som

n't know wh

ped from the top of the casket and landed in the mud. Mar

the first sh

o

. His body hit the ground with a wet th

rellas flew. Gunfire burst from the

the marble altar as bullets shredded through the

firefight. Welc

rom under his coat, and scanned the chaos. Two shoo

just a hit. This

Not even

l tower, silhouetted against the rain. He took a b

ll without

do

as already fleeing

s wasn't a job for rage. This was war, an

ed, six men lay dead. Two wer

till lay i

oned off, the police bought off, and th

blood-stained church, stari

ed from behind. "You should

. "Postponing won

"This was meant

, eyes cold and unre

n the family on ice and logic, Marco.

" Marco said, wa

Have you considered

ped in the

nts me dead," he said. "Or wo

thout anot

the city buzze

ari, a disgraced captain exiled years ago. But in the Valieri mansion, behind lo

er's old

book. It w

ons. Codes. Cros

cled in

in the margins like a wh

ters with his pen. "

father's old cons

co asked. "A code?

e. "That's dead histor

my fat

enc

did during the B&S years. But it wasn't just violence. It was... purif

n his chair. "Someo

nt that histo

ow at the rain-slick city

te vault beneath the mansion. Dust filled the air. The

on the over

decades ago. Men with cold eyes and sharper suits. His father a

ad

ee men. A younger Salvatore. A nameless partner. And a

eyes n

ckground-it wasn't Velrano. It looked like

eath the photo,

h silence. It e

rizing every detail. The photo. The

nd him: "You're not re

wn-but no one was t

ybe g

. The Valieri empire stood on the edge of c

t just abo

truth that could burn the

ad alrea

Silence year

e, they had