Chapter 6 - The Gathering of Shadows
The top floor of the Harborview Tower offered a panoramic view of the storm-tossed Boston Harbor. Inside the grand boardroom, twelve powerful capos and financial trustees of the Sheridan syndicate sat around a glass table, sipping vintage wine while Eleanor Sheridan held court. Dressed in an immaculate emerald velvet gown with diamonds dripping from her neck, Eleanor looked every bit the ruthless queen she had spent a lifetime becoming.
"Cormack’s obsession with a common working-class girl has compromised our family security," Eleanor declared, placing a forged medical evaluation and a fake transfer order on the mahogany table. "He allowed his emotions to derail our alliance with Chicago. He has become reckless, volatile, and unfit to protect our interests against the New York families. As his mother and trustee, I am invoking the succession protocol."
Several older capos nodded hesitantly, while others looked around the room with nervous eyes. They knew Cormack’s wrath, but Eleanor held the financial levers of the trust.
"And what of the Ashby girl?" asked Vincent Morretti, a visiting emissary from New York sitting at the far end of the table. "Loose ends can speak to the federal authorities."
"The Ashby girl has been neutralized," Eleanor smiled coldly, lifting her champagne glass. "She is currently hiding in some gutter in South Boston, penniless and terrified. Her mother won't survive the week. There is no threat left to—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the heavy double oak doors of the boardroom were blown off their hinges with a deafening crash.
Smoke and plaster dust filled the air as four Vanguard security guards were thrown backward across the polished marble floor. Through the swirling haze stepped Cormack Sheridan, unhurried, his dark overcoat dusted with snow. Beside him walked Sloan Ashby, dressed not in her worn gray sweater, but in a tailored black suit, holding the battered wooden toolcase firmly in her hands.
The entire boardroom froze. Wine glasses shattered on the floor as two capos scrambled to their feet, reaching for their holsters.
"Sit down," Cormack commanded, his voice ringing with absolute, terrifying authority.
Every man at the table froze, their hands dropping instantly to their sides.
Eleanor’s smile vanished, her face draining of all color. "Cormack... how dare you interrupt a private board meeting with this... this stray!"
May you like
"You called a meeting to discuss treason, Mother," Cormack said calmly, walking to the head of the table. He pulled out the master chair and held it open. "Take a seat, Sloan."
Sloan looked directly into Eleanor’s terrified eyes, stepped forward with unwavering poise, and sat down at the head of the empire’s table.
