Chapter 8 - The Purge of the Sovereign
With a single violent wrench of his arm, Darius dragged Albert off the stage and slammed him face-first onto the banquet table. China shattered, silver platters clattered to the floor, and dark red wine pooled around Albert’s pristine white shirt like fresh blood.
""Lorenzo,"" Darius said without glancing at the rival Don.
Lorenzo stood up slowly, raising both hands in a gesture of absolute neutrality. ""My family had no part in the hit on your wife, Darius. Albert told me she had fled the country voluntarily after being caught skimming. Had I known he was hunting an innocent woman behind your back, I would have put a bullet in his skull myself. Honor still exists in my house.""
""You have ten minutes to clear your men from my city,"" Darius replied, his tone devoid of compromise. ""Every contract negotiated with Albert is void. If I see a single Romano flag north of the Bronx after sunrise, we go to war.""
""Fair terms,"" Lorenzo said quietly. He nodded respectfully toward Elena, whose bandaged hands remained clenched at her sides. ""Lady Darius... my apologies for the diner incident. You were braver than your husband’s counsel deserved."" With a sharp gesture to his lieutenants, Lorenzo Romano turned and led his entourage out through the shattered main entrance, leaving Albert’s remnants to face their reckoning alone.
The banquet hall cleared in a matter of minutes as terrified guests scrambled for the side exits. The politicians and judges scattered into the stormy night, desperate to distance themselves from the fallen patriarch. Only Darius’s loyal guard remained, locking the heavy brass doors from the inside.
Albert lay sprawled across the broken china, sobbing into the spilled wine. ""Darius... please. I am your father's brother. Blood of your blood. You cannot do this.""
Darius looked at Victor, who stood near the doors with his arm in a sling. ""Take him to the basement of Pier 42. Put him under the same pallet of rotting timber where his men hunted my wife with hounds. Let him listen to the river rise until dawn.""
""No! Darius! Shoot me here! Don't leave me in the dark!"" Albert shrieked as two stone-faced guards hauled him off the table by his collar, dragging his polished shoes across the glass-strewn floor. His screams echoed down the long marble corridor until the heavy service doors clicked shut, plunging the ballroom into a deep, ringing silence.
Darius stood alone among the ruins of the grand feast. The scent of spilled wine and adrenaline hung thick in the air. Slowly, the terrifying Don seemed to crumble from within. He turned back toward Elena, his shoulders slumping as if carrying the weight of the entire world.
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He walked over to where she stood, dropped down to both knees on the ruined carpet, and pressed his forehead against the hem of her stained scullery apron.
""I broke my vow,"" he whispered, his voice cracking with dry sobs. ""I swore to protect you from the world, and I became the monster you had to flee from. If you want to take the gun from my holster and end this, I will not raise a hand to stop you.""
