Chapter 7 - A Father's Wrath
The heavy metal doors of the service exit slammed shut, cutting off Vanessa’s hysterical screams forever.
The grand ballroom remained in a state of suspended animation, nobody daring to make a sound or move a muscle.
Luca Moretti stood in the center of the blood-splattered marble, adjusting the gold cufflinks on his white dress shirt.
He looked around the room at the capos, the corrupt judges, and the syndicate lieutenants who held the city of Chicago in their hands.
“The engagement is off,” Luca said, his voice flat and perfectly composed, as if discussing the weather.
“The Sterling family no longer exists in this city.”
“Anyone who does business with Charles Sterling, anyone who answers a phone call from his associates, will be treated as an enemy of this house.”
Every single boss in the room nodded vigorously, several of them muttering immediate oaths of absolute loyalty to Don Moretti.
“And now,” Luca said, his eyes scanning the crowd with lethal intent, “we clean house.”
Luca pointed toward the head table where his secondary logistics coordinator, a man named Paulie, was sweating through his tuxedo.
“Paulie,” Luca called out softly.
Paulie jumped as if an electric current had shot through his chair, his hands shaking violently as he dropped his linen napkin.
“Y-yes, Don Moretti?” Paulie stammered, his eyes darting toward the exits.
“You were responsible for updating the security access codes to the third-floor wine vault yesterday afternoon, weren't you?” Luca asked.
Paulie swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing frantically.
“I… I just followed the orders from Miss Sterling, Boss! She told me you approved the code reset for the catering staff!” Paulie cried.
Luca walked toward him, his footsteps heavy, rhythmic, and terrifying.
“Did you hear my voice give that order, Paulie?” Luca asked, stopping directly behind the man’s chair.
“Did you receive a signed authorization from Marco?”
Paulie began to weep, gripping the edge of the table as his knees buckled beneath him.
“She said it was a surprise for the party! Boss, please! I’ve been with the family for eight years!”
Luca placed his heavy hand on Paulie’s shoulder, leaning down until his lips were inches from the man’s ear.
“Eight years,” Luca whispered.
“And in eight years, you forgot that my daughter’s safety is the only law in this city that cannot be broken.”
Luca didn't raise his voice.
He simply tapped Paulie’s shoulder twice.
Two guards stepped out from the shadows behind the table, gripped Paulie by his armpits, and dragged him kicking and screaming toward the basement stairs.
Nobody at the table spoke up for him.
In the mafia, incompetence when dealing with the family’s children was considered equivalent to high treason.
Luca turned back toward the center of the room, looking at the house staff who stood terrified near the kitchen doors.
Among them, Sofia stood with her arm wrapped in bandages, her face still pale from the shock and pain of her broken hand.
Luca’s expression instantly softened, shedding the terrifying mask of a mafia executioner.
He walked directly over to the young maid, stepping over the shattered remnants of the silver tray that had started this entire nightmare.
Sofia bowed her head respectfully, but Luca gently reached out with his uninjured hand and lifted her chin.
“Never bow your head in this house again, Sofia,” Luca commanded softly, his voice full of genuine respect.
“You stood up to a monster while two hundred grown men with guns stayed seated.”
Sofia’s eyes filled with tears, but this time they were tears of relief.
“I just couldn't let her hurt Lily, Don Moretti,” Sofia whispered.
“Lily is an angel. She didn't deserve any of that cruelty.”
Luca turned to his aunt, Carmela Moretti, who had walked over to stand beside them.
“Aunt Carmela,” Luca said.
“From this moment on, Sofia is under your personal care.”
“I want the best orthopedic surgeons in the state brought to this house tonight to repair her hand.”
“I don't care if it costs half a million dollars; she will have full use of her fingers, or the hospital will answer to me.”
Aunt Carmela smiled warmly, placing a comforting hand on Sofia’s good shoulder.
“It will be done immediately, Luca,” Carmela replied softly.
“And Sofia’s younger brother?” Luca asked, looking down at the girl.
“Leo,” Sofia choked out. “His name is Leo, sir. He’s twelve.”
“Tomorrow morning, Leo will be enrolled in St. Jude’s Academy with full tuition paid through university,” Luca declared.
“And you, Sofia, will be the head of this household once you heal. You will manage the entire estate staff, with a salary ten times what you were making.”
Sofia gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in utter disbelief.
“Don Moretti… I can’t accept that… it’s too much…” she stammered.
“You saved my daughter’s life, Sofia,” Luca said, his voice firm and unyielding.
“There is no amount of money in this world that can pay that debt. You are family now.”
Just as the tension in the room began to subside, the heavy double doors at the main entrance burst open with a violent crash.
A young guard, covered in sweat and panting heavily, stumbled into the ballroom with his gun drawn.
“Boss!” the guard shouted, his voice cracking with sheer panic.
“The transport van! Vanessa broke the driver's neck with a hidden ceramic blade from the broken china!”
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“She’s loose in the east wing! She has a weapon from the security armory!”
Luca’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure, lethal fire.
