Chapter 6 - Judgment in the Tower
Victor struggled against the grip of the enforcers, his face twisted in a mixture of rage and sheer terror. “Let me go! You can’t do this! I’m a Bellaro! We built this syndicate together!”
“You built nothing,” Roman said coldly, walking around the table until he stood mere inches from his cousin. “You inherited a legacy you weren’t strong enough to carry, so you tried to steal a newborn baby to satisfy your own hollow ambitions.”
“Roman, please!” Victor’s voice cracked, dropping from arrogant defiance to pathetic pleading. “We’re family! Think of all the years—”
“I am thinking of family,” Roman cut him off. “Specifically, my wife, who died believing her child was safe, and my son, who spent nineteen days starving in a dark basement while you poured champagne and waited for him to die.”
Roman turned to the surrounding captains, whose faces were now set in hard, unforgiving lines. In the underworld, betrayal of blood was the ultimate sin—one that could never be forgiven or negotiated away.
“Sal,” Roman said, addressing the veteran captain.
“Boss?” Sal stepped forward.
“Take Victor’s assets, his properties, and his title. Strip him of everything bearing the Bellaro name before the sun comes up.” Roman’s eyes locked back onto Victor’s terrified face. “And ship him out on a cargo freighter bound for South America tonight. He stays there for the rest of his natural life. If he ever sets foot in Chicago again, feed him to the river.”
“Understood, Boss,” Sal said, nodding respectfully.
The enforcers yanked Victor upward, dragging him kicking and screaming toward the private elevator at the end of the penthouse. The heavy doors slid open, swallowed the disgraced underboss into the darkness, and slammed shut, cutting off his frantic cries.
Silence settled back over the boardroom, heavier and more absolute than before.
Roman turned back to the conference table, where the infant carrier sat quietly. He unzipped the flap, revealing the tiny face of baby Nico, who was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the violent storm that had raged around him.
May you like
Roman reached down, gently picking up his son and cradling him against his chest with a tenderness that shocked the remaining captains.
“The family business continues,” Roman said softly, looking around the table. “And my son inherits every square inch of it. Meeting adjourned.”
