Chapter 7 - The Final GambitThe barrel of Vivian’s gun was fixed squarely on the center of Alessandro’s chest. The ballroom had fallen into a tomb-like silence; not a single violin played, and three hundred guests held their breath, paralyzed by the sheer terror of the unfolding execution.
"Go ahead, Vivian," Alessandro said calmly, his grip on Luca’s throat not loosening by a single millimeter. "Pull the trigger. But before you do, you might want to ask yourself why your communications with the New Jersey syndicates are currently being projected onto the massive security screens in the estate’s main briefing room."
Vivian froze. Her finger tightened slightly on the trigger, but her eyes flicked toward the ceiling cameras. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?"
From the overhead speakers, the crisp, unmistakable audio of Vivian and Luca’s encrypted phone calls began to broadcast across the mansion’s sound system. Their voices—plotting the assassination, dividing the Moretti shipping ports, and mocking Alessandro’s blindness—echoed clearly off the high marble ceilings.
The color completely drained from Vivian’s face. The gun in her hand began to tremble. Her carefully constructed empire of lies was crumbling into dust in real time.
"You absolute fool," Vivian whispered, tears of rage spilling down her cheeks. "They will never stop coming for you. Even if you kill us tonight, the northern families will tear this city apart brick by brick."
"Let them try," Alessandro replied coldly.
May you like
With a sharp, brutal twist of his arm, Alessandro threw Luca across the marble floor, where he landed in a heap at the feet of the tactical guards. Simultaneously, two elite officers moved in behind Vivian, wrenching the pearl-handled revolver from her grip and forcing her down onto her knees.
The coup had failed before it even drew its first drop of real blood.
