Chapter 6 - Storming the Council
The rain outside had finally slowed to a heavy, misting drizzle, but the tension inside the main estate above the vault felt like a live wire ready to snap.
Damian strode through the grand hallway of the west wing, his boots falling with heavy, measured precision on the polished mahogany floorboards. Clutched safely in his left hand was a secure data slate mirroring the decrypted files from the vault; walking closely at his side, her small hand firmly gripping the hem of his heavy coat, was Mia.
The grand oak double doors of the formal dining hall—where the family council traditionally held its secret tribunals—stood slightly ajar. A sliver of warm, golden light spilled out onto the dark carpet, accompanied by the low murmur of urgent voices.
"The server wipe failed," a smooth, cultured voice drifted out from the room. Victor Graham. "The local override was triggered from the secure basement terminal. Someone is still down there."
"It doesn't matter," a second, harsher voice replied—a voice belonging to Salvatore Rossi, one of the eldest and most influential capos on the commission. "If the federal marshals execute the raid on the docks at dawn as planned, Voss’s entire operation will collapse before the sun comes up. By tomorrow night, Consortium Alpha controls the eastern seaboard."
Damian didn't bother knocking.
With a swift, powerful kick, he sent the heavy oak doors crashing wide open against the interior walls. The wood splintered with a deafening crack that echoed through the cavernous hall.
Inside, the five members of the senior council sat around the long mahogany table, surrounded by a dozen armed bodyguards. Heads snapped toward the entrance in absolute shock.
Victor Graham rose halfway out of his high-backed leather chair, his face draining of all color. "Damian... how—"
"You left the back door open, Victor," Damian interrupted, his voice cutting through the room like a blade of ice. He stepped fully into the light, letting go of Mia’s coat and gesturing for her to stay just behind him in the shadow of the doorway.
Salvatore Rossi slammed his palms down onto the table, his face flushing crimson with sudden rage. "Voss! You dare barge into a council meeting with a weapon drawn? Have you lost your mind?"
"No, Salvatore. For the first time in a year, my mind is perfectly clear," Damian replied, stepping closer to the table and slamming the data slate down onto the polished wood. The screen lit up, displaying the entire network map of Project Vanguard, complete with the intercepted wire transfers, offshore bank accounts, and signed agreements between Consortium Alpha and the council.
The room went dead silent. The bodyguards instinctively reached for their sidearms, but a sharp gesture from Damian froze them in place—not because they respected the council, but because they saw the cold, absolute certainty in Damian's eyes, backed by the sound of heavy boots swarming the outer corridors.
A moment later, Vance and a dozen heavily armed loyalists filled the doorways behind the council, their weapons leveled squarely at the traitors.
"Recognize that file, Victor?" Damian asked softly, leaning over the table toward the trembling family counsel. "It's the very file you paid Daniel Reyes with his life to keep buried."
Graham swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he stared at the glowing screen. "It... it's a forgery. An unauthorized intrusion—"
"It's the truth," a small, clear voice piped up from the doorway.
Every eye in the room snapped downward.
Mia stepped out from the shadow of Damian's coat, walking slowly into the center of the grand dining hall. The green-blue glow of the data slate caught the silver wolf pendant resting against her chest, gleaming under the chandelier light.
May you like
Salvatore Rossi stared at the child, his eyes widening in sudden, unmistakable recognition. "The girl... she should have been dealt with alongside her father."
"You tried," Damian said, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper as he drew his Sig Sauer and cocked the hammer. "And now, you pay."
