SrCuervo
patreon
163
🕑 Added 2025-03-16 08:09:07 +0000 UTCWind in the Smoke
Chapter 163 - More Graves on the Horizon
"This valley has forgotten who the Duttons are..." In the main hall of the ranch mansion, John was trying to find a way to take down those who had attacked them.
He knew he had many enemies—more than he cared to count. But no one, absolutely no one, had ever broken through the security barrier they had in place.
Dante was sitting not far from where the family was gathered when, suddenly, his cell phone rang. He looked at Susie and said in a polite tone, "I'll take this call; it must be urgent."
When Dante left the room, his absence was noticed by those who paid attention to details. Now that the family had grown, the problems they faced had to be handled with even more care.
"Zz… Everything is set, we have a way to bring him down."
"Good, do it."
"Zz… Yes, boss."
Dante hung up the call and heard footsteps behind him. Catching a glimpse of his father, he said, "If I hadn't done what I did, our family would be buried somewhere on this ranch right now."
"I'm not questioning the methods, son." John, who had an idea of what his son had become, didn’t mind that Dante was independent.
All his life, he had tried to follow his father's advice, and now that it was his turn, his only fear was making mistakes when it came to his children.
John looked at his son, who had become a far better man than he had at that age, and asked, "What do you think we do on this ranch?"
"Preserve a legacy?"
"Come on, be more specific. What else?"
Dante turned to his father and said, "We preserve a way of life that is slowly disappearing. We make sure this tradition is protected. Our ancestors made countless sacrifices to keep this land in our family, so I believe we protect that sacrifice and make it worthwhile."
"And what methods do we use to achieve that?"
"We're bad men, Dad. We always have been. If things can't be solved peacefully, a bullet to the head will take care of it. Haven't you been doing it that way since I was a kid?" Dante didn't hide anything; this time, he wouldn't shy away from his father.
"It seems you've understood well, and I want to apologize for not paying enough attention to you. What you've done so far to protect the family wasn’t your responsibility—it was mine." John lowered his head, feeling he had burdened his smartest son too much, forcing him to make sacrifices at a young age.
"I love this family, Dad. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe."
"I know, Dante. I know."
Dante smiled slightly, stepped closer to his father, and said, "My men are taking care of all our enemies. Now I’m heading to the last batch of filth, but first, I have something to do—something I should have done days ago."
Before John could say a word, several trucks pulled up outside the main cabin. Kayce, dressed in tactical gear, approached with an assault rifle. "The men are ready. If we want to do this tonight, we need to move fast."
John’s eyes locked onto Kayce, who met his gaze and gave a slight nod, silently assuring his father that his loyalty remained with the family.
"Of course... blood is thicker than water."
"We'll handle it," Dante said, but before he could turn away, John spoke.
"I'm coming with you."
"Dad, we have everything under control."
"As long as I’m alive, I won’t let my sons stain their hands with blood."
"Not this time, Dad. We’ll handle it."
Lee appeared, wearing the same uniform as Kayce.
Dante couldn't shake off his brother’s determination. Since they were set on coming, he had no choice but to accept it without making a fuss.
"Lee..."
"Dad, leave this to your sons."
Beth, noticing that all her brothers had left the cabin, went to find her father. That’s when she saw the black trucks.
John, feeling a lump in his throat, lowered his head and said, "Come back early. I don’t want to stay up late."
"Understood."
Beth watched her brothers leave, then approached John and hugged him. "They’ll take care of it, Dad."
"Of course they will. They’re my sons."
"And Jamie?"
John, who had just asked himself the same question, looked toward the trucks and saw Jamie stepping out of one so his brothers could get in.
"That idiot doesn’t even know how to use a gun."
"But he has initiative."
Jamie, unsure why he had decided to go with his brothers on this massacre, looked toward his father before getting into the truck.
"Nervous?" John asked as he took some painkillers.
"Not when my brothers are around."
"That’s charming, Jamie," Lee said, adjusting his vest and closing his eyes to focus.
…
Unknown Ranch, Late at Night
"Do you have no answers at all?" a man shouted over the phone, furious at the lack of satisfactory news after giving the green light to attack the Dutton family.
"Garrett, I lost half of my men in the attack. You never mentioned that the targets had mercenaries with them."
"What did you just say?" Garrett asked, visibly agitated, but at that moment, numerous gunshots rang out from outside his ranch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Leave no one alive."
From a distance, Dante's murderous gaze was locked onto the mercenaries stationed outside the ranch of his brother Jamie's biological father.
If someone wanted to kill him, he would retaliate with full force.
His brother had interfered before, stopping him from acting.
But now?
He never imagined things would escalate like this.
"Are you sure we won't have any problems?" Jamie asked, watching as two of his brothers fired from a distance.
Kayce was the most skilled—after all, he was a lethal sniper with real combat experience overseas.
"No problem. You wanted a glimpse into my world, didn't you? Well, now you're seeing a small part of what I do."
"Looks like they're all dead, at least outside."
Dante nodded at his brother’s words, grabbed the radio, and ordered, "Zz… Bravo Team, move in. The rest, hold your positions."
"Zz… Understood."
At Dante’s command, a tactical team of soldiers approached from all directions in off-road trucks equipped with machine guns.
Meanwhile, from a distance, snipers kept a close watch on the silent cabin.
"We’re going in too," Dante said, the only one who fully understood what was happening.
"Zz… Two survivors. Should we take them out?" a voice asked over the radio, sounding indifferent.
"I’ll handle it," Dante said coldly, piquing his brothers’ curiosity.
Lee, the first to become familiar with this side of his brother, asked, "Who are these people?"
"Well, first, I want to tell you a story—one that involves you, Jamie…" Dante’s gaze focused on his confused brother.
"Me?"
"What the hell is going on?"
Everyone turned to Dante, who, after a long pause, finally spoke.
"As you all know, I’ve secretly protected the family. That inevitably led me to uncover secrets that no one but our father knows."
Kayce glanced at Jamie and muttered, "Don't tell me…"
"Jamie, you need to be strong, brother. Biologically… you’re not our brother." Dante revealed the truth because he believed Jamie deserved to know.
"What the hell?" Lee looked at Dante, confused. What did this have to do with their current situation?
"That actually makes sense…" Jamie felt nothing but emptiness in his chest.
"Whatever it is, it wasn’t your responsibility, Dante," Kayce said, slightly puzzled.
"When I started investigating, I uncovered a rather tragic story… Jamie, your real mother was the illegitimate daughter of John Dutton’s father—his only sister. When your real mother was murdered by her husband, he took you in as his own son."
"Wait…"
Dante turned toward the door, where two men were being dragged inside, and said, "Garrett Randall, the man who killed your father after being released from prison, hired a group of mercenaries to attack our family."
Jamie’s eyes burned with rage as he looked at the frail man tossed to the ground like garbage.
"Is that true?" Jamie demanded.
"Yes, brother…"
Comments
Jesus Cardenas
I did some research on the forums and this is what I found. It makes sense, given that John only adopted Jamie and never Rip, so what differentiates them is their blood, after all.
Nato J
Sweet Revenge, Jamie is a Dutton after all, from his mother side, that is a Surprise.
