Chapter 7 - The New Alliance
To turn the Valente organization from a weapon into a shield, Roman had to eliminate the final threat remaining on the eastern seaboard: the Moretti family.
The Morettis had been the ones who ordered the dockside explosion five years ago, and though they had been weakened by Roman’s covert war in Europe, their aging patriarch, Don Leo Moretti, still held significant influence over the shipping ports that controlled the flow of commerce into Boston.
"Leo Moretti has called an emergency meeting of the Commission," Gabriel reported during a private briefing in Roman’s study. "He knows Enzo is gone. He knows you're back. He’s terrified you’re going to launch a full-scale turf war that will bring the feds down on everyone."
Roman sat behind his desk, Noah sitting on the floor nearby, happily building a tower out of wooden blocks. "I don't want a war, Gabriel. War is expensive, loud, and it keeps me away from my family. Call Leo. Tell him I will meet him at the old state house on neutral ground. But tell him I am not bringing soldiers. I am bringing a contract."
The meeting took place the following afternoon in a private, historic boardroom downtown. Don Leo Moretti sat at the head of the table, surrounded by his remaining capos, his face lined with the deep bitterness of an old man who knew his time was running out.
Roman walked in alone, carrying a single leather folder. He sat down across from the old Don, his gray eyes completely calm.
"You blew up my ship five years ago, Leo," Roman said, opening the folder. "You forced me into the shadows. You allowed my underboss to betray me. Under the old laws, I should kill everyone at this table before sunset."
Leo Moretti sneered, though his hand trembled slightly on his cane. "You don't have the numbers for a war, Valente. The city has changed."
"The city has changed because I allowed it to change," Roman countered, pushing a document across the table. "This is a full legal liquidation of the Valente shipping terminals. I am transferring sixty percent of our port access to the Moretti family, giving you total control of the commercial routes."
The room went dead silent. The Moretti capos looked at each other in disbelief.
"What's the catch?" Leo asked, his eyes narrowing.
"The catch is that the remaining forty percent of the ports will be transitioned into a fully legitimate, union-backed logistics firm managed by Gabriel Russo," Roman explained. "The Valente family is exiting the black market permanently. We will no longer traffic, we will no longer extort, and we will no longer participate in the Commission. You get the ports, but you sign a permanent non-aggression pact with my house. If a single Moretti soldier steps onto Lake Forest territory, or approaches my wife and son, the federal records I gathered on your family over the last five years will be delivered to the Department of Justice within ten minutes."
Leo Moretti stared at the contract, realizing that Roman wasn't surrendering; he was buying his freedom with an empire his enemies couldn't afford to refuse.
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"You're giving up the throne for a woman and a child?" Leo asked, his voice full of an old criminal's confusion.
Roman stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow over the table. "I am giving up a graveyard, Leo. I suggest you sign before I change my mind."
