Chapter 5 - The Midnight Sit-Down
Midnight arrived with the precision of a guillotine blade.
Back at the Moretti estate on Long Island, the great hall was fully lit. Heavy snow whipped against the high stained-glass windows, howling through the courtyard.
Sitting around the massive walnut conference table in the formal dining room were six men in dark suits—capos representing the various territories of the Moretti empire. At the head of the table sat Paulie "The Cleaver" Rossano, a broad-shouldered man in his late fifties with slicked-back gray hair, a heavy gold signet ring on his pinky finger, and eyes as cold as a frozen lake.
Paulie was chewing on an unlit cigar, tapping his thick fingers rhythmically against the polished table.
"Where the hell is Dominic?" Capo Falcone growled from across the table, checking his gold Rolex. "He calls us in from Chicago in a blizzard, tells us it's life or death, and then disappears for six hours?"
"Calm down, Falcone," Paulie said smoothly, though his own eyes were darting toward the heavy double doors. "Dominic has been under a lot of stress lately. The federal audits, the dock strikes... the boy is losing his touch. He doesn't have his father's stomach for this business."
"Maybe his father should have left you in charge, Paulie," another capo muttered under his breath.
Paulie smiled thinly, enjoying the comment. "We all serve the family, gentlemen. But if the Don can't keep his appointments, maybe it's time we re-evaluate how the books are managed."
Suddenly, the heavy double doors swung open with a loud bang.
Dominic Moretti walked into the room.
He didn't wear his overcoat. He wore a crisp white shirt, dark trousers, and a charcoal vest. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing the thick dark tattoos of the Moretti crest on his left wrist. He walked with a terrifying, absolute authority that immediately silenced every man in the room.
Behind him walked four heavily armed guards led by Marco, all holding suppressed submachine guns pointed down at the floor.
"Dominic," Paulie said, standing up with a broad, fake smile. "We were starting to think you forgot about us."
Dominic didn't answer. He walked to the head of the table, pulling out the grand leather chair that had belonged to his grandfather Enzo. He didn't sit down. He rested his hands on the high wooden back, looking slowly down the line of men.
"I apologize for the delay, gentlemen," Dominic said, his voice quiet, almost pleasant. "I had a minor administrative matter to attend to in Queens."
Paulie's left eyebrow twitched slightly—a tiny detail that Dominic didn't miss.
"An administrative matter?" Paulie chuckled, trying to keep his tone casual. "In Queens? Since when does the Don handle field errands?"
"Since the errand involved a five-year-old girl named Lily," Dominic said softly.
The room went dead silent. The other capos looked at each other in confusion, but Paulie's smile instantly vanished. His skin turned a sickly shade of gray beneath the chandelier light.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Dominic," Paulie said, his voice dropping an octave.
Dominic reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a stack of printed financial documents, and tossed them into the center of the table. The papers fanned out across the mahogany surface, revealing detailed bank transaction logs, shell corporation registries, and private wire transfers originating from Panama and the Cayman Islands.
"These are the master ledgers for Project Anchor," Dominic announced cleanly. "As you can all see, over forty million dollars has been diverted from our dock operations over the last twenty-four months."
Capo Falcone stood up, staring at the numbers in disbelief. "Forty million?! Who the hell did this?!"
Dominic pointed his finger straight at Paulie Rossano.
"Paulie did," Dominic stated cleanly. "He used an override key to steal from the family. And when a forensic auditor named Elena Vance found the leak three days ago, Paulie framed her, fired her, and threw her into the street with her daughter so she couldn't talk."
"That's a lie!" Paulie roared, slamming his heavy hands onto the table. "This kid is trying to set me up! I was loyal to your father for thirty years, Dominic! You're going to take the word of some low-level bean-counter over mine?!"
"I don't take her word, Paulie," Dominic said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his silver pocket watch. He clicked it open, looking at the second hand. "I take her code. Elena cracked your encrypted server in forty-five minutes. Every dollar you stole bears your personal offshore signature."
Paulie looked around the room. The other capos were already moving their hands toward their shoulder holsters, their faces filled with absolute disgust. In the mafia code, stealing from the boss was the ultimate sin—a crime punishable by only one sentence.
Paulie realized he was trapped. His hand darted toward his jacket pocket—
CRACK!
A single gunshot echoed through the grand dining room.
Paulie collapsed back into his leather chair, clutching his right shoulder, blood soaking through his expensive Italian suit. Dominic stood motionless at the head of the table, holding a sleek black pistol, smoke curling slowly from the barrel.
"You don't draw a weapon at my table, Paulie," Dominic said coldly.
"Dominic... please..." Paulie gasped out, his face contorted in pain. "We were family... your father..."
"My father trusted you," Dominic said, stepping around the table until he stood right beside the bleeding man. "And you betrayed his son. Marco, take him to the cellar. He doesn't die tonight. He stays alive until every cent of that forty million is transferred back into the family accounts."
"Yes, Boss," Marco barked, grabbing Paulie by his lapels and dragging him roughly out of the room, leaving a long trail of red blood across the polished floorboards.
May you like
Dominic turned back to the remaining capos, who were all standing at attention, their faces pale with respect and fear.
"The meeting is adjourned, gentlemen," Dominic said, holstering his weapon. "And as for the accounting department at Moretti Holdings... we have a new Chief Financial Officer starting on Monday."
