Chapter 7 - The Poisoner's Confession
The side metal doors groaned as Mateo entered, pushing a disheveled, terrified man bound in heavy zip-ties.
Dr. Arthur Bennett stumbled onto the concrete floor, his expensive suit torn and covered in mud, his face bruised and streaked with tears. The twelve capos gasped in recognition.
""Dr. Bennett?"" Capo Moretti muttered, leaning forward in shock. ""What is the meaning of this?""
""Tell them, Arthur,"" Luca commanded, his voice deadly soft. ""Tell the council what you did twelve years ago in the private pavilion of St. Jude's.""
Dr. Bennett fell to his knees, trembling so violently his teeth chattered audibly under the warehouse lights. He looked up at Dominic with pure terror. ""Dominic... forgive me... they caught me at the ferry... they have the offshore bank records...""
""Shut your mouth, Bennett!"" Dominic roared, reaching toward his inner coat pocket.
Before Dominic's fingers could even touch his weapon, a deafening gunshot echoed through the hall. Luca's pistol smoked in his hand. Dominic screamed in agony as a bullet shattered his ivory-handled cane and grazed his wrist, sending him collapsing back into his leather chair, clutching his bloody arm.
""Nobody speaks until Bennett finishes,"" Luca warned, not even glancing at his uncle. ""Go on, Doctor. The council is listening.""
Weeping openly, Dr. Bennett spilled every detail of the twelve-year conspiracy. ""It was Dominic! He promised me five million dollars and a luxury estate! Twelve years ago, when Luca was shot at the docks, his reproductive system was completely untouched! Dominic threatened to butcher my family if I didn't forge the laboratory results to show total sterility!""
The capos erupted into furious murmurs. Moretti's face turned dark purple with rage.
""And what did you do after the shooting, Arthur?"" Luca pressed, taking a slow step toward the trembling physician.
""Dominic... Dominic made me prescribe synthetic androgen suppressants disguised as blood-thinners,"" Bennett sobbed, bowing his head against the cold floor. ""For twelve years, every prescription I sent to Luca’s manor contained low-dose toxins designed to suppress his fertility permanently. If he ever stopped taking them, his natural biology would recover within two months. Dominic wanted to guarantee that even if Luca took a wife, no child would ever be conceived!""
The silence that followed was suffocating. Every capo around the table stared at Dominic with disgust and murderous contempt. In the mafia underworld, territorial warfare was accepted, but poisoning your own brother's son and sabotaging the sacred bloodline was considered an unforgivable sacrilege.
""Lies!"" Julian screamed, backing away from the table in panic. ""My father would never—""
""Silence, boy!"" Capo Moretti slammed both fists onto the table, his eyes blazing at Dominic. ""You poisoned Vincent's boy? You disgraced the entire Varenna name for money?""
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""It doesn't change anything!"" Dominic hissed through clenched teeth, his hand dripping blood onto his trousers. ""Even if Bennett lied, Luca has no heir! He has been married to this penniless nobody for nearly three months and she has produced nothing! The charter requires an heir, not just the potential for one!""
I took a deep breath, stood up from my chair, and looked Dominic dead in the eye.
