Chapter 5 - The Snake In The House
Matteo didn't flinch. He didn't even shift his weight on the pillows. He simply looked at Dante with the detached indifference a lion reserves for a vulture circling too low.
""You look disappointed, Dante,"" Matteo said smoothly, though each word clearly cost him physical agony. ""Did you already finish liquidating my holdings in Zurich? Or were you waiting for the funeral on Friday?""
Dante forced a laugh that sounded like dry leaves scraping across concrete. ""Don't be absurd, Matteo. We've been holding vigil. The entire syndicate has been paralyzed without you. The Romanos have been encroaching on our docks in Brooklyn. I was merely preparing the family for the worst.""
His eyes drifted past Matteo, landing on Poppy, who had picked up her stuffed rabbit and was casually brushing its ears against the bedside table. Dante’s eyes narrowed into slits.
""Who is this? And why is a maid's child inside your quarantine room?""
""Step closer, Dante,"" Matteo whispered.
Dante hesitated, his hand instinctively twitching toward the inner pocket of his jacket, but the sight of two stone-faced guards flanking Rosalind at the door stopped him. He took three reluctant steps toward the bed.
""This little girl,"" Matteo said, lifting his right arm with agonizing slowness to point directly at Poppy, ""is Julian’s daughter.""
Dante froze. For a fraction of a second, raw terror flashed across his features before he smoothed it over with a mask of theatrical disbelief. ""Julian? Julian died without issue. This is an extortion attempt. Mother, you cannot let some opportunistic cleaning woman fabricate a bastard child to claim a share of the estate!""
""The DNA is registered, Dante,"" Rosalind said from the door, her voice ringing like a funeral bell. ""Direct lineage. Confirmed by three independent laboratories this morning.""
Dante swallowed hard. ""Even so... a child cannot hold title. The syndicate rules are clear. If you are incapacitated, Matteo, leadership passes to the senior male line. To me.""
""I am not incapacitated,"" Matteo said quietly. He swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed.
The room gasped. Gwen rushed forward, but Matteo held up a single hand, stopping her in her tracks. With pure, stubborn fury burning in his eyes, he stood upright. He stood over six feet two inches, towering over his cousin even in plain linen trousers, the IV line tearing from the back of his hand and dripping blood onto the white tiles.
May you like
He walked three paces until he stood chest-to-chest with Dante.
""I know who cut the brake lines on Route 9W, cousin,"" Matteo whispered directly into Dante's ear. ""You thought you could kill me, murder Julian's memory, and hand our shipping routes to the Romanos for a thirty percent kickback. But God gave my brother's child a voice that reached through forty-nine days of darkness to drag me back from hell. And now, you have exactly one hour to leave this country before I declare open season on your name.""
