Chapter 3 - The Gathering of Jackals
The mahogany-paneled boardroom on the top floor of the Rainer Commercial Tower smelled of expensive cigars and nervous perspiration. Dominic sat at the head of the long table, dressed in a custom charcoal three-piece suit, his hands clasped casually on the dark wood.
To his right sat Luca Bellandi.
Luca looked composed, exuding the effortless confidence of a prince about to inherit a crown. He was impeccably groomed, wearing an Italian silk tie, the heavy gold signet ring with the black onyx stone glinting under the chandelier.
""The quarterly numbers from the shipping terminals are up fourteen percent,"" Luca was saying, gesturing smoothly to the ledger before him. ""The transition from the Moretti dispute has been handled smoothly. The capos are content. But Dominic... if I may speak frankly as your brother in blood...""
Dominic didn't blink. ""Speak, Luca.""
Luca lowered his voice, affecting an expression of deep, mournful sympathy that would have fooled an academy panel. ""The men are talking about the rumors. Word on the street is that Elena has moved into the guest wing. That she's spending half her week out of the compound. A boss whose own house is divided cannot project strength to our rivals. Have the papers been signed? If you need me to handle the settlement arrangements, to ensure she leaves Lakewood quietly with a comfortable trust fund, you know I will shoulder that burden for you.""
Several older lieutenants shifted uncomfortably in their leather chairs, eyes darting toward Dominic.
Dominic let the silence stretch until the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner sounded like gunshots. Then, he offered a thin, terrifying smile.
""You've always been so eager to lighten my burdens, Luca,"" Dominic remarked smoothly. ""Ever since that freezing night in the warehouse district last November. Tell me... how is your old contact from Chicago doing? Marco Vane? The one with the serpent coiled around his throat?""
The color drained from Luca’s face so rapidly it looked as if his soul had been sucked out through his boots. His fingers twitched, instinctively sliding toward the edge of the mahogany table, but Dominic had already moved.
With blinding, savage speed, Dominic’s right hand shot out, grabbing Luca by his silk tie and slamming his skull down onto the table. The wood cracked under the impact. The ledger flew into the air, scattering balance sheets across the floor.
Guns cleared leather instantly. Half the table reached for their holsters, but Dominic didn't even look up. He drew a custom-machined steel dagger from his inner jacket pocket and drove the blade down with brutal precision, pinning Luca’s right hand directly through the center of the palm into the solid oak.
A blood-curdling shriek tore from Luca’s throat.
""Nobody moves,"" Dominic commanded, his voice cold, flat, and absolute.
The capos froze, their weapons half-drawn, staring in sheer horror at their boss. Dominic didn't look like an unhinged madman; he looked like an executioner performing a long-overdue ritual.
Dominic leaned down, bringing his lips inches from Luca's sweating, agonized ear. ""You hired a Chicago mercenary to run me down outside an Italian bistro. My wife threw her body between me and that bumper. She took two tons of steel so I could live. And while she lay in agony for six months, strapping plastic around her spine so she wouldn't show weakness to my enemies, you sat in my parlor, drinking my Macallan, telling me she was whore.""
Luca choked on his own blood, tears streaming down his face as he clawed fruitlessly at the blade pinning him to the table. ""Dominic... please... it wasn't... it was business... the family needed a leader who wasn't distracted by an Lakewood baker...""
Dominic gripped the hilt of the dagger and twisted it a quarter turn. Luca shrieked again, his legs thrashing against the floor.
""Her name is Elena Rainer,"" Dominic said, each syllable carved from granite. ""And she has more courage in her fractured spine than every single man in this room combined. You wanted to know if the divorce papers were signed, Luca? They were burned. Because from this moment forward, anyone who looks at her sideways, anyone who doubts her place at the head of this family, will find themselves pinned to a table like a common pig.""
Dominic looked up at the circle of petrified capos. ""Clear this room. Bring me the names of every soldier who took Chicago money over the last six months. If a single name is missing by midnight, I will personally visit your homes.""
The capos scrambled, retreating out the double doors in terrified haste, leaving Dominic alone with his betrayer.
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Dominic yanked the dagger free. Luca collapsed to the carpet, clutching his mangled hand, whimpering in the shadow of the desk.
""You're not dying today, Luca,"" Dominic said, wiping the blade on a linen handkerchief. ""Not until my wife comes out of the operating room. If she never walks again, you will spend the rest of your natural life wishing you had died under the wheels of that sedan.""
