Chapter 9 - Judgment at MidnightRocco grabbed Marco by the expensive Italian silk lapel of his jacket and slammed him hard against the marble pillar, pressing the cold steel barrel of his revolver directly under his chin.
“Please... Uncle, don't let them kill me!” Marco sobbed, tears streaming down his face as he looked desperately toward me.
“You had twenty-five years of protection, wealth, and love, Marco,” I said, turning my back on him and walking slowly toward the fireplace. “You traded all of it for greed and impatience. Take him down to the sub-level holding cells, Rocco. Let him think about what he threw away until sunrise.”
“And Victor?” Rocco asked, glancing down at the bleeding advisor still groaning on the floor.
“Take them both,” I said without looking back. “The Moretti syndicate does not tolerate traitors. Not from the outside, and certainly not from within.”
As the guards dragged the screaming, thrashing Marco and the silent, broken Victor out of the dining room, the heavy oak doors slammed shut behind them with a final, echoing thud.
The capos slowly sat back down around the mahogany table. The tension in the air was palpable, replaced now by an absolute, unshakable reverence.
“You handled that with cold blood, Don Moretti,” Rocco said, sitting down and lighting a thick Cuban cigar. “Most men would have hesitated when they found out family was involved.”
“Sentimentality is a weakness, Rocco,” I replied, turning back to face the table and resting my hands on the polished wood. “An empire is only as strong as its foundation. And tonight, we cleaned out the rot.”
“What about the Calderons?” another capo asked. “They funded this whole operation. If we don't strike back, they’ll think we’re weak.”
May you like
A dark, dangerous smile finally touched the corners of my lips.
“Who said anything about waiting?” I walked over to the main control terminal and tapped a single button, bringing up a live satellite feed of the Calderon cartel’s primary shipping depot across town. “Gabriel, mobilize every tactical unit we have. We pay our debts in full tonight.”
