Set between 1985 and 1999, Empire of Ashes follows the brutal and transformative journey of the Vitali crime family in the aftermath of their collapse. As Joseph Vitali Jr. sits behind bars on RICO charges, his eldest son, Joseph III, returns to New York with idealistic dreams of restoring the family name with integrity. But his vision is cut short when he is assassinated in a car bombing; a devastating blow that leaves the underworld certain the Vitalis are finished for good.They are wrong.Joseph's younger brother, Robert Vitali, just twenty years old, reluctantly steps into the shadows. Driven by loyalty, grief, and the understanding that no one with their name is ever safe, Robert begins to rebuild from the street level with a tight, fiercely loyal crew. With the reluctant blessing of his uncle Sam, Robert takes over rackets, earns respect, and forges powerful alliances, including a strategic and emotional bond with Donna Spinelli, daughter of Don Spinelli of a rising rival family.As the city's old order collapses in a storm of blood, betrayal, and shifting loyalties, Robert and his crew fight through wars against the Paladino and DeLuca outfits, surviving assassination attempts, family betrayals, and internal tests of loyalty. By the mid-1990s, with Donnie Spinelli now head of his family, the two allies lead a campaign that reshapes the Commission and re-establishes the Vitalis as one of the Five Families.But victory comes at a cost.Robert loses his sister, exiles his own blood, and must reckon with the ghosts of his brother, father, and the city they fought to reclaim. As the millennium approaches, he no longer runs or hides, he rules. Yet in a rapidly changing world, he knows the battles of tomorrow will look nothing like those of yesterday.The Blood That Remains is a story of family, power, loyalty, and the legacy carved by those willing to bleed for it.