I stood at the edge of a rundown casino, my breath forming a mist in the cold air. The only sound was the distant noise of traffic, a huge contrast to the sound my heartbeat was making..

My target, a low level thug of the De-santi Family, was inside, surrounded by his hoodlums. This was the moment I was waiting for, after an apex of months of planning. Tonight, justice must be served, no matter the cost.

I checked my weapon, feeling it was heavyweight on my hips. The metal was cold, but I felt fire in my veins. I was a woman on a mission, a force surely to be reckoned with. With a command, my team were ready to move at the strike of my hand signal.

As I moved closer to the Casino, my heart was beating faster than the clocks could tick. I could hear the irritating voices and disgusting laughter echoing in the night. I had never held my gun tighter.

With a fast motion, I jammed the door open, with my gun cocked and ready. The scene before me was chaotic and extremely noisy. Despite the chaos, I stayed locked him on my target.

"Police! You are all under arrest," my voice cut through the noise and was immediately greeted with silence.

The thugs hesitated as they were still in shock of my entry. That was the only opening I needed.

In the blur of the moment, I gave a shot of warning, it echoed like thunder in the enclosed space. The place became a frenzy of movement and was thrown into disorder.

I immediately aimed for my target's leg, but the shot was taken by one of his goons, as he used him as a shield.

He immediately took off, running through a certain exit that was not accounted for in our plan.

"Guys, take care of the rest," I said as I ran after my target.

I was getting close to him, not until I noticed a man from the shadows with a spider tattoo on his arm, emerging from the shadows behind him.

As quick as lightning, all I heard was a gunshot and my hands filled with blood. I was shot. I staggered backwards, the world spinning around me.

Before I regained a bit of consciousness, the two men were already gone. I bit my lips and clenched my fist as I laid on the ground wallowing in my failure. I knew one thing for certain, that it was far from over.

"Come in,.... Come in, Elena, are you okay?" I heard from my Walkie Tokie as I blacked out.

I woke up at the hospital, the smell of antiseptic affecting my senses. My vision was blurred at first, but when my eyes were cleared, I saw my captain, Detective Joe, with his ever serious face, standing at the foot of my bed. I noticed tears on my hands, and it was from my intern, Christopher, who I was supposed to supervise. And then, there was my father, Joseph moretti, standing at the other side of my bed, etched with concern.

"Mr Joseph, please may I have a minute with your daughter," Detective Joe said, with a straight look on his face.

"Thank you," I told my intern as he left the room with my dad.

"I will relieve you of all your mafia cases. It's too much for you to control. "

"I decline sir, this is nothing more than a scar compared to what I have faced over the years," I protested, sitting up despite the pain that I felt in my arm.

"Elena, this is not a request, this is a order. You will be relieved of it all, and will be handing over the case to the intelligence team first thing tomorrow morning," He raised his voice as he left the room angrily.

I didn't have enough strength to retaliate. I just laid back on my bed and accepted reality.

After being discharged, I rode home in silence with my father. The atmosphere was anything but friendly. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. As we entered the house, my father turned to me, his expression grave.

"Elena, I need you to promise me that you won't get involved in any mafia case again" he began, his voice strained.

I felt a surge of anger. " But you've been involved in the Bianchi case, releasing stories and all. Why can't I be involved? You've always told me to go after what is right, so what makes this one any different?" I dashed out of his sight in anger and went straight to my room.

Later that night, as I laid on my bed, the sound of rain tapping against my window, filled my room. I couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that hung over me.

I began to hear mumbling and noise from the living room. Unable to sleep, I got up and wandered into the living room. I saw my dad with a smile of accomplishment on his face as he packed some documents from his table into his bag in haste.

"At last. I will be back soon, dear," he said as he walked out of the house. I could not grasp the situation fully so I sat down and was worried. After about 30 minutes, I noticed a paper on the floor, one that my father must have dropped earlier. It was about the Bianchi family, showing some activities that he had been looking into.

My senses spiked and I knew danger was looming. I tried calling but couldn't get through.

My heart pounding, I immediately rushed out of the house in my pyjamas, the rain soaking me to the bone. I ran for what felt like hours, my mind racing. Finally, I reached a secluded spot, and I could sight a body laying on the ground from afar, only to find my father lying on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Dad!" I cried out, rushing to his side. 

 "Dad, talk to me, talk to me please." 

 I raised his body to my lap with tears rolling down my eyes.

My father looked up at me, his voice barely a whisper, "Elena, stay away from them. Don't... don't approach them."

Tears streaming down my face as I watched my father take his last breath. As I watched, my hand filled with blood and his body on me. I slowly began to smile with tears still rolling from my face. I grinned my teeth and clenched my fist.

"I won't rest until I bring them to justice, Dad. I promise," I vowed.

"Well, all I needed was a valid reason", I smirked with tears still rolling down my eyes.