Chapter 9 - The Council’s Reckoning
At ten o’clock the following morning, the great dining hall of the Sartori estate was filled with thirty men in dark bespoke suits. These were the capos, the financiers, the union heads, and the territory bosses who controlled the underground economy of the Eastern seaboard. A heavy, nervous murmur filled the air. They had arrived expecting a funeral announcement for Matteo Sartori.
Instead, the double doors swung open, and Matteo walked into the room under his own power.
He wore a custom charcoal three-piece suit, tailored to hide the bandages beneath his shirt. His step was firm, his presence suffocatingly dominant. Beside him walked his mother, Rosalind, radiant in black silk. And beside them walked me, dressed in an elegant ivory dress Rosalind had provided, holding Poppy’s hand. Poppy was happily chewing on a fresh strawberry, her little patent-leather shoes clicking rhythmically against the parquet floor.
The room fell dead silent. Three capos stood up immediately, their chairs scraping loudly against the floor.
""Matteo..."" an older man with silver hair gasped, crossing himself. ""They said you were brain-dead.""
""Dante wished it so,"" Matteo said, his voice carrying effortlessly across the vaulted ceiling. ""Dante Sartori betrayed this family, sold our distribution codes to the Romanos, and attempted to assassinate me in my bed last night. His assets have been seized. His name has been stricken from the family roll.""
A collective intake of breath swept through the council. Nobody dared challenge him.
""Furthermore,"" Matteo continued, his voice ringing with absolute authority, ""the succession question that has paralyzed this table for four years is officially resolved.""
He reached down and gently lifted Poppy into his arms. The little girl rested her head on his shoulder, completely unfazed by the thirty hardened killers staring at her in shock.
""This is Sofia Sartori,"" Matteo declared, giving her the Italian name Julian had chosen in secret before his death. ""Daughter of Julian Sartori. Granddaughter of Don Carmine Sartori. The sole legal heir to the Sartori bloodline and the fifty-one percent controlling share of Sartori Enterprises.""
An older capo stood up, his brow furrowed. ""Matteo... she is a three-year-old child. Who commands her proxy until she comes of age?""
Matteo turned his gaze toward me. In front of the entire syndicate, he reached out his hand, inviting me to stand beside him at the head of the table.
May you like
""Her mother, Nell Hayes Sartori,"" Matteo said clearly. ""Under the terms of our marriage contract, finalized this morning. Anyone who raises a hand against my brother’s widow, or against my niece, will answer directly to me.""
My breath caught. We hadn't signed a marriage certificate yet—it was a public declaration of absolute protection, staking his entire empire on our safety.
