Chapter 8 - The Cleansing Fire
The rebellion was crushed in less than ten minutes.
Marco Ricci knelt on the cold stone of the courtyard, his hands zip-tied behind his back, his immaculate suit stained with dirt and blood. The loyalist capos stood around him in a tight semicircle, their expressions grim and unforgiving.
Aleandro stood before him, calm, composed, and terrifyingly detached.
“Take him to the northern warehouse,” Aleandro instructed the senior capo without looking down. “Let the council decide his fate at dawn. He will never set foot in New York again.”
Marco thrashed forward, shouting in blind panic, “You can’t do this! I made you! I kept this family together while you played god! You’re destroying everything for a whore and a brat!”
Aleandro’s fist lashed out with blinding speed. The heavy impact cracked against Marco’s jaw, sending the traitor crashing backward onto the pavement, unconscious.
“Clear the courtyard,” Aleandro commanded quietly.
The enforcers moved efficiently, hauling Marco away and securing the perimeter. Silence descended once more upon the Moretti estate—not the silence of fear, but the silence of absolute, unbroken order.
Aleandro turned around and walked slowly back toward the Alfa Romeo.
Maria sat inside, holding Sophia in her lap. The little girl had fallen asleep against her mother’s shoulder, her small hand still clutching the purple crayon she had used to draw a halo on the black velvet table.
Aleandro opened the door gently. He looked at Maria, whose eyes were red-rimmed and filled with a mixture of terror and awe.
“It’s over,” Aleandro said softly.
Maria swallowed hard, her voice trembling. “What happens to us now, Mr. Moretti? Do we... do we have to leave?”
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Aleandro looked down at the sleeping child, her crooked pigtails resting softly against Maria’s arm. For the first time in ten years, the heavy, crushing burden of the Moretti name felt light—not because the empire was secure, but because something infinitely more valuable had just been saved.
“You aren't going anywhere,” Aleandro said quietly. “Unless, of course... you still want to borrow me for another day.”
