Chapter 9 - THE COLLAPSE OF AN EMPIRE
|
The dining room was dead silent save for the ragged groans of Silvio Moretti lying amidst the scattered Christmas packages.
Ornaments made of hand-blown glass lay shattered into thousands of colorful, glittering fragments around his bleeding head.
Luca stood over his uncle, his chest heaving, his hand throbbing from the impact of the strike.
He kicked the fallen revolver across the floor, where Matteo smoothly scooped it into his massive palm.
"Matteo," Luca commanded, his voice cold, steady, and merciless.
"Take this piece of human garbage down to the wine cellar."
"Strip him of his phone, his keys, and his coat."
"Chain him to the iron support beams where the temperature stays near freezing."
Matteo grabbed Silvio by the collar of his expensive suit, dragging him across the slick marble floor like a slaughtered animal.
Silvio coughed blood onto the pristine stones, his eyes rolling back in dazed disbelief.
"You won't survive without me, Luca!" Silvio wheezed weakly as he was hauled through the double doors.
"The Commission will crush you for raising a hand against your own blood!"
Luca didn't even grant the old man a backward glance.
"I am the Commission now," Luca replied coldly as the heavy doors swung shut behind them.
The room turned its attention to Vanessa, who was curled into a trembling ball on the floor by the sideboard.
Her mascara had run down her cheeks in thick black streaks, ruining her once-immaculate makeup.
"Luca, please have mercy!" Vanessa wept, crawling on her hands and knees toward his polished shoes.
"I was young, I was terrified of Silvio, and my father forced me into this world!"
"I learned to love you, Luca, I swear to God I truly fell in love with you!"
Luca looked down at her with a disgust so absolute it seemed to freeze the very air between them.
"You never loved me," Luca said, his voice dropping to a harsh, cutting whisper.
"You loved my wealth, you loved my protection, and you loved watching me mourn my mother while you wore her ring."
Luca reached down and pulled the wedding band off his own left finger.
He dropped the gold ring onto the floor right in front of her tear-streaked face.
"Your marriage to me is dissolved," Luca proclaimed before every prominent family in Chicago.
"Every asset, every property, and every offshore account tied to your name has already been frozen."
"You will leave this house tonight in the exact clothes you wore when you entered it."
"Take her to the secondary guest quarters under armed guard," Luca ordered the remaining security staff.
"If she attempts to touch a phone or leave that room, put a bullet in her leg."
Vanessa screamed and thrashed as two guards hoisted her up by her arms and dragged her away.
Her desperate cries faded down the long, cavernous hallways of the mansion until silence reclaimed the room.
Luca stood alone in the center of the devastated dining hall, surrounded by terrified capos and half-eaten food.
He looked around the table at the powerful men who had worked alongside Silvio for decades.
"The dinner is concluded," Luca announced, his voice carrying the unquestioned weight of an absolute monarch.
"Go home to your families."
"And remember what happens to those who bring treachery beneath the Moretti roof."
May you like
The guests stood up in complete silence, bowing their heads respectfully as they hurried toward the exits.
Within minutes, the magnificent banquet hall was empty, leaving only Luca, Olivia, and me amid the ruins.
