Chapter 8 - The Traitor's Reckoning
At 4:30 AM, the torrential rain had slowed to a steady, cold drizzle over the city harbor.
Dock 14 was a desolate, cavernous shipping facility filled with stacks of rusty metal shipping containers, illuminated only by the dim, flickering amber lights of the security towers.
A sleek black Mercedes pulled slowly into the main hangar, its headlights cutting through the thick fog drifting off the ocean water.
Sal Moretti stepped out of the back seat, flanked by four heavily armed bodyguards. He wore a heavy wool overcoat, a cigar dangling from his mouth, a victorious smirk plastered across his face.
Vincent’s fake phone call an hour ago had convinced Sal that Carmine was dead and that Ivy was waiting in bindings inside the office.
"Vincent!" Sal called out, his loud voice echoing off the corrugated metal walls of the hangar. "Bring me the girl! Let's get out of here before Carmine’s capos figure out what happened!"
Silence answered him.
The heavy steel doors behind Sal’s car suddenly slammed shut with a thunderous metallic boom.
CLANG!
The bright overhead industrial floodlights flared to life all at once, blinding Sal and his men in a sudden sea of brilliant white light.
Sal shielded his eyes, cursing loudly. "What the hell?!"
From behind a stack of shipping containers stepped Carmine.
He was impeccably dressed in a dark wool coat, his hair neatly styled, looking completely unbothered by the chaos of the night. Behind him stood twenty armed lieutenants, their rifles raised and aimed directly at Sal and his men.
Sal’s cigar dropped from his mouth, hitting the wet concrete floor. His face turned ghost-white.
"C-Carmine..." Sal stammered, stepping back against his car. "You're... you're alive."
"You should have picked better men to buy, Sal," Carmine said, stepping forward with calm, measured strides. "Vincent talked after five minutes in my basement. He gave me everything—your safehouse locations, your offshore accounts, and your meeting schedules with the New York families."
Sal’s bodyguards immediately raised their weapons, but before they could squeeze a trigger, Dominic and six snipers positioned on the upper catwalks fired simultaneously.
Four sharp pop sounds echoed through the hangar.
Sal’s four bodyguards dropped to the floor instantly, their weapons clattering away over the concrete.
Sal fell to his knees, shaking uncontrollably, his hands raised high in the air.
"Please! Carmine! Wait!" Sal begged, his arrogance completely gone, replaced by the pathetic whimpers of a defeated coward. "We can make a deal! I’ll give you the eastern docks! I’ll give you fifty percent of my casino profits! Just let me walk away! We're old men, Carmine! We don't need to kill each other!"
Carmine stopped three feet away from the trembling mob boss. He looked down at him with utter, chilling disdain.
"You didn't just try to take my business, Sal," Carmine said quietly, pulling his sleek black pistol from his coat pocket. "You sent armed killers into my home. You terrified the only thing in this world that I care about."
Sal looked up, his eyes widening in pure terror. "Carmine, please—"
Carmine pulled the trigger.
A single shot echoed through the massive hangar.
Sal Moretti slumped forward onto the concrete, his reign over the city's eastern territory coming to an abrupt, absolute end.
Carmine lowered his weapon and turned to Dominic.
"Clean this up," Carmine ordered flatly. "Contact the capos of Moretti’s crew. Tell them Sal and Vincent are gone. Tell them they have twenty-four hours to swear allegiance to my house, or leave the city forever."
"Yes, Don Carmine," Dominic bowed respectfully.
Carmine turned and walked out of the hangar into the cool morning air, where a black luxury sedan was waiting for him.
He opened the back door and stepped inside.
Sitting in the plush leather seat was Ivy, wrapped in a warm coat, waiting for him.
As soon as she saw him step in unharmed, a massive wave of relief washed over her face. She reached out, grabbing his hand and pulling it tightly to her chest.
May you like
Carmine slid into the seat beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close against his side.
"It's over, Ivy," Carmine whispered into her hair as the car pulled away, heading back toward the estate as the first light of dawn broke over the ocean horizon. "It’s finally over."
