Chapter 5 - Meeting the Mob
With Sophie and Elena safe under my roof, it was time to play offense. I couldn't just hide behind walls of bulletproof glass; I had an empire to protect, and a family to secure.
I arranged a meeting at The Obsidian Club, an exclusive, high-end restaurant downtown that I happened to own. I didn't invite my uncle Richard. I invited Vincent Russo.
Vincent arrived with four bodyguards, but my security forced them to wait outside the private dining room. When Vincent stepped inside, he looked remarkably like his father Salvatore in his prime—slicked-back hair, a sharp wool coat, and an aura of supreme arrogance.
"Michael Harrison," Vincent said, sitting down across from me without being asked. "You've got a lot of nerve intercepting my men at the hospital. You're a businessman. You deal in stocks and concrete. You don't want to get involved in family matters."
"She is my family, Vincent," I said, sliding the paternity test results across the table.
Vincent glanced at the paper, then laughed coldly. "A bastard kid doesn't change anything. Elena belongs to the family. More importantly, she has something that belongs to my father. Hand over my sister and the flash drive, and Harrison Global keeps its shipping contracts. Refuse, and I will burn your empire to the ground."
"You can try," I leaned forward, my eyes locking onto his with absolute lack of fear. "But here is what you don't know. Your sister didn't just give me a daughter. She gave me the encryption keys to that flash drive. I know about the three shipping fronts. I know about the offshore accounts in Cyprus. If anything happens to Elena, to Sophie, or to me, that data goes directly to the Eastern District Federal Prosecutor."
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Vincent’s smile vanished. His face turned a dark, venomous shade of purple. "You think you're the first billionaire to threaten us? You're soft, Harrison."
"I’m not threatening you, Vincent. I’m giving you a choice. Retire quietly to Florida, or spend the rest of your life in a maximum-security prison. Oh, and by the way... tell my uncle Richard I’ll see him at the board meeting tomorrow morning."
