Chapter 2 - The Empty Kennel
Back at the Thorne estate, the morning mist had burned off, leaving the massive stone courtyards glaringly bright under the midday sun. Dante Thorne stood alone in the main kennel yard. The concrete was clean, freshly hosed down, but the heavy scent of disinfectant couldn't mask the lingering emptiness.
Nero’s enclosure was vacant. The massive steel-mesh gate stood wide open.
Tony stepped up beside his boss, keeping a respectful distance. Tony had been Dante's shadow for over a decade, handling the logistics of the syndicate with ruthless efficiency, but even he looked uneasy today.
"The veterinary team says the drug dose was carefully calculated," Tony reported quietly, keeping his eyes on the empty doghouse in the corner. "Just enough to paralyze his respiratory system temporarily, but not enough to kill him outright unless he was left unattended for another hour. Someone wanted him incapacitated, Boss. Not dead."
Dante didn't turn around. His hands were thrust deep into the pockets of his dark wool overcoat, his jaw set so tight a muscle twitched near his temple. "And the staff logs?"
"Tampered with," Tony admitted without hesitation. "The electronic keycard system recorded Cora Walsh entering the north gate at 5:15. But our internal diagnostic check shows a minor packet override on the server rack in the basement. Someone spoofed her credentials."
Dante finally turned his head, his dark eyes narrowing with a terrifying intensity. "Who?"
"We're running the IP traces on the server room now, but whoever did it knew our architecture inside and out," Tony said. "It wasn't an outsider. It had to come from someone inside the inner circle—someone who knew Cora had the early shift and knew exactly how to frame her."
Dante walked slowly toward Nero’s enclosure. He crouched down, placing a large, leather-gloved hand against the cold concrete floor where the dog usually slept. Memories flashed through his mind—the night Nero had taken a bullet meant for him during the dock warehouse ambush; the way the massive animal had stayed by his side through every betrayal, every war, every sleepless night. Nero wasn't just a guard dog; he was the only living creature Dante trusted completely.
And someone had tried to take him away.
"Get the car," Dante said, his voice dropping into a register that made Tony's blood run cold.
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"Boss, where are we going?"
"To the precinct," Dante stood up, his coat swirling around his ankles like a shadow. "If someone thinks they can use my house to settle a score, and use an innocent girl as a scapegoat to do it, they're going to learn what happens when you wake a sleeping beast."
