Chapter 11 - Fire and Fog
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Julian Vance backed away until his shoulders hit the cold steel grille of his sedan.
"Luca, listen to me," Vance stammered, raising his gloved hands.
"This is a massive misunderstanding."
"I was hired by Vanessa as independent legal counsel."
"I had no idea she was drugging your mother!"
"I swear on my children's lives, I was completely in the dark!"
Claire opened the manila folder and pulled out the black leather ledger and the printed bank records.
"You opened the Cayman accounts under your own law firm's tax identification number, Mr. Vance," Claire said clearly, her voice echoing off the warehouse rafters.
"You personally drafted the fraudulent medical guardianship petitions four months ago."
"And you wired five hundred thousand dollars to Dr. Finch's clinic in the forest preserve."
Vance stared at Claire in disbelief.
"Who the hell are you?"
"She is the woman who uncovered your entire operation while you were busy congratulating yourself," Luca said.
Marco and two guards stepped out from the fog, disarming Vance’s remaining men and tying them securely to the warehouse support pillars.
Luca stepped into Vance’s personal space, towering over the shaking attorney.
"You thought my father was dead, so his rules died with him."
"You thought that because I wear tailored suits and negotiate with city councilmen, I forgot how my family earned this city."
Vance began to tremble violently.
"Luca, please... we can make a deal."
"I have accounts in Zurich."
"I have twenty million in bearer bonds."
"I'll give you everything."
"I'll sign over all my properties in the Gold Coast."
"Just let me get on a plane to South America."
"You don't get to buy your way out of poisoning my mother, Julian," Luca whispered, his tone chillingly soft.
A loud engine roared outside the pier.
A second vehicle pulled into the warehouse, its tires squealing against the damp floor.
It was Rosa Moretti’s private town car.
The driver stepped out and opened the rear door.
Rosa emerged, supported by her cane, her chin held high and her eyes fierce.
Beside her, two guards pushed a weeping, disheveled Vanessa out into the dim light.
Vance’s jaw dropped as he saw his co-conspirator standing before him in ruins.
"Vanessa..." Vance breathed.
"He knows everything, Julian," Vanessa sobbed, falling to her knees on the cold concrete.
"They raided Whispering Pines."
"Finch gave them the recordings."
"It's over."
Vance closed his eyes, his knees buckling under the weight of his total defeat.
Rosa walked slowly across the warehouse floor, her cane making a sharp, rhythmic tap against the ground.
Every man in the room, including Luca’s hardened soldiers, bowed their heads slightly in deference to the matriarch.
Rosa stopped in front of Julian Vance.
"Thirty years ago, Julian, your father begged my husband not to put you in the river for stealing from our pension funds."
"Gianni showed you mercy because he respected your family."
"And this is how you repay our grace?"
"By slipping poison into an old woman's teacup?"
Vance fell to his knees before Rosa, his forehead practically touching her leather shoes.
"Mrs. Moretti... have mercy."
"I was greedy."
"I was desperate."
May you like
Rosa looked down at him with cold, unyielding disdain.
"Mercy, Julian, is a luxury reserved for those who have a soul."
