The Mafia's Undoing-Chapter 177: Countdown

We raced to Marvin Industries with sirens blaring and traffic parting.

Katherine was beside me, and Bella was on the phone, being hysterical.

"We’re coming," Katherine kept on saying. "Hold on. We’re almost there."

The building was in chaos.

There was smoke pouring from the top three floors, and emergency responders were everywhere.

There were fire trucks, ambulances, Police, the FBI, and the disaster response teams all lined up.

The damage was extensive. The windows were blown out, and serious structural damage was visible.

"Fifteen confirmed dead," an FBI agent reported. "Thirty injured. Numbers may climb."

Fifteen people were now dead because of my family name.

I found Bella outside behind police tape. She was covered in dust and visibly shaking.

Katherine ran to her and hugged her. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I was late. The traffic accident was on the bridge, and I should have been there. My office-" her voice was beginning to break. "David was inside. His office is on the executive floor, and I can’t find him."

"We’ll find him," I promised. "We’ll check every hospital."

It was hours of searching, calling every hospital we knew, and checking patient lists.

We tried Manhattan Presbyterian, Lenox Hill, Mount Sinai, and NYU Langone.

Finally, we checked in on Mount Sinai. He was in the ICU there.

"David Hampton. He’s in critical condition from burns, smoke inhalation, and induced coma."

Bella collapsed in relief. "He’s alive. He’s alive."

But barely, the doctor’s prognosis was grim.

"Forty percent of his body has severe burns, and the smoke inhalation damaged his lungs. We’re doing everything we can, but-"

"But what?" Bella demanded.

"The next 48 hours are critical. If he survives that, his chances improve. But Ms. Marvin, you should prepare yourself."

At the ICU, David was on a ventilator and had bandages covering most of his body.

The machines were beeping, the monitors showing vitals. He was barely alive.

Bella was at his bedside, holding his hand carefully and crying.

"This is my fault. This is my company and my family. David’s here because of me."

"This is Dante’s fault," Katherine said firmly. "Only Dante’s."

But Bella was not listening. She was already lost in guilt, grief, and horror.

Dante’s message was clear but vague. Give me what I want.

"What does he want?" Katherine asked. We’re back at the secure location, planning.

"Marvin Industries. Money, Power, Revenge... all of it, I guess."

The FBI was analyzing the message, with Timothy coordinating. "We need clarification. We can’t negotiate without knowing specific demands."

The second message arrived while we were talking.

You have 47 hours. I’ll contact you with specifics soon. Meanwhile, enjoy wondering who dies next. -D

Katherine read it, her face suddenly going pale. "He’s playing with us. This is a game to him."

"No. It’s a calculated, brutal revenge. This is Edward’s son, a Marvin blood."

The FBI manhunt began in full swing.

Timothy was coordinating international operations. The CIA, Interpol, and Europol.

"Dante’s in New York. We’re certain of that, but finding him is a different problem."

"He has resources. He could be in safe houses and has connections from decades of criminal operations."

"We’re tracking financial transactions, his communications from known associates. But Tony, forty-seven hours isn’t much time."

"Then work faster. My daughter’s life depends on it."

Rose and Katherine moved to a new, secure location, initially undisclosed even to me until now.

Katherine paced the small safehouse room, fists clenched. She turned sharply. "I’m not hiding while Bella suffers and while David’s dying!"

"You’re protecting our daughter. That’s not hiding, it’s being a mother."

"Fifteen people died, Tony! Bella’s boyfriend is in a coma, and I’m supposed to just sit in a safe house?"

"You’re supposed to stay alive. For Rose and for me. Please, Katherine."

She finally agreed, but I could see the toll, the guilt, and her helplessness.

Marvin Industries’ aftermath was devastating.

The media coverage was everywhere on national news: Terrorist attack on Marvin Industries headquarters.

The stock prices were plummeting, our investors were panicking, and some clients were withdrawing their funds.

The business was in crisis, and the company was hemorrhaging value by the hour.

Bella was trying to manage from the hospital, but emotionally, she was destroyed and could barely function.

I stepped in. "I’ll handle the business. You focus on David."

"I’m COO. This is my responsibility-"

"You’re my sister, and you’re in crisis. This is the time for me to step in, you know that. Please."

She finally agreed, already exhausted and feeling broken.

Luca and I reviewed everything known about Dante Marvin.

He was born in 1984 in Milan and raised by Edward and Gabriella Conti. He had an elite Swiss education and a criminal empire built over 20 years through patience, strategy, and brutality.

He ran operations in twelve countries with revenue in the billions and legitimate fronts everywhere.

"He’s been planning this for years," Luca observed. "Maybe decades."

"Since my grandfather cast out Edward?"

"Earlier, probably since childhood. I guess he was raised on stories of betrayal, exile, and a lost birthright."

"Family grudges run deep."

"Marvin family grudges run deeper."

Thomas contacted me again via an encrypted, untraceable message.

"Dante wants the Marvin empire - the businesses, the power, and the legacy. He believes it’s his birthright. You have to give it to him. It’s the only way to save your family. -T"

I stared at the message, becoming furious, and responded. "Give him Marvin Industries? Everything we built?"

"Everything I built was on blood and crime," Thomas’s follow-up reads. "Yes. It’s the only way. Pay the price of my father’s sins, my sins, and save your daughter."

Katherine was reading over my shoulder. "Can we trust him? Thomas?"

"I don’t know, but he might be right. Dante wants what he thinks he’s owed."

At the hospital, we went back to check on Bella and David.

At the ICU, David was still on a ventilator. No change yet, he’s stable but in a critical condition.

Bella hadn’t left his side. She hadn’t slept and had barely eaten.

Katherine arrived earlier, supportive, and was there.

"He’ll fight," Katherine said. "He’s strong."

"Fifteen people died, Katherine." Bella’s voice was now sounding hollow and empty. "Dante wanted to send a message because I’m a Marvin. This is because our family is cursed."

"This isn’t your fault."

"Isn’t it? I’m the COO of Marvin Industries, and I go by Marvin now. This is exactly my fault."

I had a brief visit to Rose. She was in a secure location with maximum security measures in place.

She was playing, laughing, and oblivious to the chaos surrounding her.

Katherine was with her, looking tired but being present as her mom.

"How much longer?" Katherine asked when she saw me. "How much longer do we fight this?"

"Until Dante’s stopped. However long it takes." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only answer I have right now, Kat."

We had twenty-four hours remaining.

Dante’s specific demand arrived in an email; it was detailed and precise.

Transfer complete ownership of Marvin Industries to an offshore account. The details are provided below. Liquidate all Marvin family assets - real estate, investments, and trusts. Transfer funds to the designated accounts and sign over everything. You have 24 hours. Fail, and the next target is your wife, your daughter, and then everyone you’ve ever loved. This is the price of my father’s exile. This is what you owe. -D

They wanted a complete transfer of everything. We are talking about billions of dollars and generations of wealth.

All to be gone.

We had a family meeting via video conference with everyone present.

Bella, Katherine, Susan, Elliot, Luca, and Timothy.

"Do we pay?" Bella asked, her voice shaking. "Do we give him everything?"

"Marvin Industries is worth billions," Katherine noted. "Combined with all family assets? It’s worth more... much more."

"But if we pay, he wins and gets everything."

I’m thinking and calculating. "What if we don’t pay?"

"Based on what he said, people die. Starting with Katherine, Rose, and then everyone we love."

"And if we do pay? Does he really stop, or does he keep demanding more?"

Everywhere was silent because we all knew the answer.

Paying won’t stop him. Nothing will stop him except being stopped.

"We pay," I decided. "But we set a trap. Transfer assets while the FBI tracks the money and leads them directly to Dante."

Timothy objected. "He’ll expect that. He’s too smart for basic tracking."

"Then we make it believable. We make real transfers with real money following real compliance. The FBI follows discrete channels. and we catch him when he tries to access funds."

"And if it doesn’t work?"

"Then we gave up everything for nothing, but at least Katherine and Rose live. That’s worth any price."

Katherine began to object. "I don’t want you to give up everything for me-"

"It’s not for you, it’s for Rose. And Katherine, I’d give up a thousand empires for her and yourself, gladly."

"Tony-"

"My decision is made. We pay, we set the trap, and we end this."

Asset transfers began with our lawyers working overnight. The documents were being signed, and accounts were being transferred.

Billions of dollars were moving, the FBI was tracking every transaction in every account, and for every transfer.

Dante should access the funds within hours, and the arrest should be imminent.

We waited, tense, hopeful, and desperate.

Bella’s phone rang, a call from the hospital.

It was David’s doctor who was the ICU attending.

Her face crumbled as she listened.

"No. No no no-"

She dropped the phone, screaming and collapsing.

Katherine caught her. "What... What happened?"

"David-" Bella couldn’t breathe and struggled to speak. "He’s gone. They couldn’t - the injuries were - he’s gone."

David’s dead.

Because of Dante. This was the Marvin legacy all over again, all connected to me.

Katherine realized it first.

"The money. It was never about the money. He wanted suffering, revenge, and blood."

I realized it, too. "It was a distraction. The transfers... he wanted us focused on money while he-"

Susan’s phone rang from an unknown number.

She answered it, screamed, then dropped it.

"Someone’s in the house at the secure location! They’re inside with Rose-"

The feed cuts out to dead air.

The secure location has been compromised, and Rose was in danger.

Katherine was already running, and I was behind her.

We were racing to save our daughter.

While Dante’s 48 hours end.

The real attack now begins.