Chapter 13 - THE CONSORTIUM’S SHADOWTitle: Unmasking the Ghost Syndicate: The Truth Behind the Attack
By sunrise, the Dantis estate looked like a military crime scene. Federal marshals, bribed local authorities, and private clean-up crews moved through the property clearing debris, but the atmosphere inside the third-floor study was suffocatingly heavy.
Daisy sat at the massive mahogany desk, her fingers flying across a secure laptop, analyzing the encrypted communications recovered from the dead mercenary’s tactical comm-unit. Aleandro stood behind her, one hand resting protectively on the back of her chair while Salvatore briefed them on the perimeter sweep.
"The Consortium isn't a family like the Morettis or the Gambinos," Salvatore explained, dropping a thick manila folder onto the desk. "They're a board of international corporate executives, corrupt politicians, and high-level intelligence officers who operate above the traditional mob families. They control shipping lanes across three continents."
"And why would an international shadow syndicate care about a veterinary assistant from Queens?" Daisy asked, looking up, her brow furrowed in deep concentration.
"Because of what you found in Moretti’s safehouse," Aleandro answered quietly. "When you audited Moretti’s offshore accounts three months ago, you didn't just expose a local syndicate. You accidentally exposed a primary money-laundering channel used by the Consortium to finance illegal arms trafficking across the Atlantic. You're holding the ledger that tracks half their global operations."
Daisy stared at the screen, biting her lower lip. "So... they don't just want to get back at you. They want the drives back, and they want me permanently silenced."
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Aleandro leaned down, his dark eyes locking onto hers with absolute, unyielding devotion. "They will have to step over every body in this city before they ever lay a hand on you."
"We aren't going to wait for them to attack us again," Daisy said suddenly, a fierce, brilliant spark lighting up her hazel eyes. She spun her laptop around, revealing a complex digital map of a private island off the coast of Maine. "If the Consortium wants their ledgers back, we're going to hand them over—on our terms."
