Chapter 8 - The Strategy Meeting
The next morning, the grand mahogany conference room of the Morty estate looked less like a home and more like a military war room. Digital tactical maps, shipping manifests, and financial ledgers covered the massive table.
Julian sat at the head, surrounded by his top capos and security chiefs—hardened men who looked at Sarah with thinly veiled skepticism as she stood beside Julian with a digital tablet in hand.
"Mr. Morty, bringing a civilian into syndicate operations is unprecedented," Marcus, the chief of security, protested respectfully. "Ms. Bennett is a nanny, not a tactician."
Before Julian could answer, Sarah stepped forward, tapping her tablet. The main screen flickered to life, projecting a complex financial flow chart linking Marcus Salvator’s front companies to three major shipping terminals in downtown Chicago.
"Marcus Salvator isn't attacking us because he wants territory," Sarah stated clearly, her voice echoing through the silent room. "He’s attacking us because he's broke. His primary laundering accounts were frozen by federal regulators last week. He’s desperate for liquidity, which means he’s relying on physical cash shipments moving through Terminal 4 tonight."
The capos stared at the screen, then at Sarah, their expressions shifting from skepticism to absolute shock.
"How... how did you find this?" a senior capo muttered.
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"By looking at the cleaning schedules," Sarah replied calmly. "Salvator’s accountant uses the same commercial cleaning service I used to work for. I recognize the invoice patterns. He’s moving three million dollars in untraceable bearer bonds out of Terminal 4 at midnight."
Julian looked at Sarah, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face. "Never underestimate a mother who knows how to scrub away the dirt." He turned to his men. "You heard her. Lock down Terminal 4 by 11:30 PM. Leave nothing behind."
