Chapter 5 - Cleaning House
The rain had cleared by 5:00 AM, leaving the city slick and reflective under the glow of the streetlights. While the rest of Chicago slept, the Romano family moved with surgical efficiency.
Using the information extracted from Marcus, Viktor led three tactical teams to the Valetti family’s river warehouse. They didn't fire a single shot. With complete surprise and undeniable tactical superiority, my men surrounded the facility, disarmed Julian Valetti’s strike teams, and seized three shipments of illegal weapons meant to finance his coup.
At 7:00 AM, I arrived at the Valetti family estate in North Chicago.
I didn't break down the doors. I didn't send a strike team. I walked up the front steps accompanied only by Viktor, wearing a tailored charcoal suit, my hands resting calmly in my pockets.
Julian Valetti’s guards at the front gate recognized me instantly. Their faces turned deathly pale. They didn't even attempt to raise their weapons; they simply opened the iron gates and stood aside, knowing that if I was standing on their doorstep in broad daylight, his plan had utterly failed.
I walked into Julian’s private study without knocking.
Julian was sitting behind his mahogany desk, surrounded by spilled coffee cups and printouts of financial ledgers, desperately trying to contact Marcus on a burner phone that would never ring again.
When he looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, his phone slipped from his trembling fingers, hitting the floor with a plastic thud.
"Vincent..." Julian stammered, his voice rising an octave in sheer terror. "What... what are you doing here?"
"I came to return something of yours," I said calmly.
I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out a flash drive containing the complete digital footprint of his transaction with Marcus, and tossed it onto his desk.
"That drive contains every wire transfer, every encrypted message, and every contract you made to organize a hit on my home," I said, walking slowly toward his desk and leaning over it, placing both hands on the polished wood. "If I hand that drive to the Commission of the Five Families, they will execute you by noon for violating the peace treaty."
Julian began to shake uncontrollably. "Vincent... please! It was a mistake! I was influenced by advisors... I can pay you! Whatever Marcus asked for, I’ll double it! I’ll give you the North Side territory!"
"I don't want your money, Julian," I said, my eyes burning into his soul. "And I don't want your territory. What I want is peace in this city. You are going to sign over all your commercial shipping licenses to Romano Logistics. You are going to step down as head of the Valetti family today, retired under house arrest in Florida. And if I ever see your face in Chicago again, I won't use the Commission. I'll handle it personally."
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Julian didn't hesitate for a second. He grabbed a pen with a shaking hand, pulled out the commercial transfer documents Viktor placed on the desk, and signed his name on every dotted line.
By 9:00 AM, the war that had threatened to consume Chicago was over without a single drop of blood spilled in the public eye. The Valetti family was neutralized, the traitors were removed, and the Romano family’s control over the city’s commerce was absolute.
