Chapter 9 - THE DEADLY REVELATIONThe broadcast suite was a high-tech command center. Monitors covered the entire front wall, broadcasting live feeds of the mansion’s perimeter, the ballroom, and the surrounding estate grounds.
On the main central monitor, the live feed of the family council was still running.
Elena Duca stood at the podium in the grand ballroom, addressing the capos with chilling eloquence.
“My brother’s legacy was built on violence and instability,” Elena’s voice echoed through the suite’s high-end audio speakers. “To survive in the modern world, the Duca syndicate must evolve. Under my leadership, we will forge new alliances and leave the bloodshed behind.”
Old man Salvatore nodded slowly. “Words are easy, Elena. Show us the ledger. Show us the assets are secure.”
Elena smiled—a cold, calculating expression of pure triumph. “Of course, Salvatore. Let me pull up the master financial records right now.”
Inside the broadcast suite, my hands were shaking as I pulled the secure satellite uplink drive from my pocket.
Lorenzo’s voice crackled softly through the tactical earpiece I had slipped into my ear.
“Clara. Are you in?”
“I’m in,” I whispered back, rushing over to the main broadcast console. “She’s about to display the financial records to the entire council.”
“Good,” Lorenzo’s voice was dark and steady. “Plug the drive into the master routing port on the lower console. Override their feed with Project Janus.”
I dropped to my knees beneath the massive desk, spotting the blinking blue routing port. I jammed the drive home.
“Now hit the manual broadcast override key on the left side of the board,” Lorenzo instructed.
I slammed my palm down onto the flashing red override button.
Up on the massive wall monitors in the grand ballroom—and across every television screen in the estate—the sanitized financial spreadsheet Elena had prepared suddenly vanished.
Replaced by a high-definition video file.
It was the audio recording from the surveillance vault beneath the potting shed.
Elena’s crystal-clear, elegant voice echoed off the marble walls of the grand ballroom, shocking the entire assembly into absolute, dead silence:
“Once Lorenzo is dead, the family becomes mine.”
Down in the ballroom, Elena’s face drained of all color. Her mouth dropped open, her pristine composure shattering into a million jagged pieces in a single second.
And then, the second file loaded on screen.
Signed contracts, bank routing numbers, and encrypted communications logs proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Elena had been systematically selling out the Duca syndicate to their deadliest rival, the Moretti family, for over a year.
Old man Salvatore slammed his heavy cane against the marble floor, his face turning purple with rage.
“Treachery!” Salvatore roared, pointing a trembling finger straight at Elena. “You sold us out to Moretti!”
Up in the broadcast suite, I let out a long, shaky breath.
May you like
We had her.
Then the heavy steel doors behind me suddenly exploded inward with a deafening crash.
