Chapter 5 - The Poison in the Foundation
Marcus looked down at the cream-colored parchment. He didn't touch it. His eyes scanned the first few lines of Sofia’s handwriting, and in that instant, every trace of color drained from his face. The polished, untouchable consigliere vanished, replaced by a cornered animal staring down the barrel of a gun.
"This... this is forged," Marcus stammered, his voice losing its steady composure. "Luca, you can't possibly believe—some maid comes in off the street with a piece of paper, and you're ready to throw away fifteen years of loyalty?"
"It’s not just a piece of paper, Marcus," I said, drawing my Smith & Wesson and laying it flat on the mahogany table between us, within easy reach of my hand. "It’s an accounting. Of the accounts you drained. Of the shipping containers you diverted. And most importantly, of the digital logs showing that the medical supplies meant for my son’s clinic were intercepted and replaced with saline solution three months ago."
Marcus swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. He stood up slowly, raising his hands in a placating gesture.
"Luca, listen to me. I did it for the family! You were getting soft! Your obsession with Sofia, your focus on playing domestic with a dying child—the syndicate was starting to whisper! They thought Moretti was losing his edge! I had to consolidate power to keep us on top!"
The confession hung in the air like poison gas.
"You didn't consolidate power," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "You murdered my wife. You poisoned my son. And you thought you could stand over our graves and inherit the crown."
Before Marcus could lunge for the small nickel-plated pistol he kept holstered beneath his left armpit, my hand swept across the table.
The heavy barrel of my Smith & Wesson pressed firmly against the center of his forehead.
"Please, Luca," Marcus whispered, tears of absolute terror pooling in his eyes. "We're brothers. We built this city together."
"We didn't build anything, Marcus," I replied, cocking the hammer with a sharp, metallic click. "I built an empire. You were just a parasite feeding on the walls. And now, the walls are coming down."
Before I could pull the trigger, the heavy double doors of the conference room burst open.
Elena stood in the doorway, breathless, her eyes wide with panic.
"Luca! Stop!" she shouted.
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I didn't take my eyes off Marcus, but my finger tightened on the trigger. "Give me one reason not to paint this wall with his brains."
"Because if you kill him now," Elena panted, stepping quickly into the room, "you'll never know who helped him. Marcus didn't act alone. He had backing from the Chicago Commission. And more importantly... the poison in Matteo's system isn't just failing organs. It's a synthetic neurotoxin. And Marcus doesn't have the antidote."
