Chapter 3 - The Viper in the Family
Dominic didn't react immediately. His expression remained an unreadable sheet of ice, but Maeve saw the pulse in his jaw throb once.
Salvatore Rossi stood up from his chair, smiling warmly. "Dominic, my boy, don't listen to this crazy woman. She's trying to sow discord in our family! I was your father's right hand!"
Maeve turned to Salvatore and spoke in his exact Calabrian dialect: "You told Gregory that when Dominic goes to the hospital, his motorcade will be ambushed at the underpass. You offered him thirty percent of the shipping docks in exchange for Dominic's chair."
Salvatore’s warm smile completely evaporated.
Dominic looked at his uncle. "Is this true, Uncle?"
"She's a planted spy!" Salvatore shouted, pointing a trembling finger at Maeve. "Search her! Check her phone! She’s working for the rival families!"
"Search her," Dominic ordered quietly.
Two guards approached Maeve, checking her apron pockets and canvas bag. All they found was a worn bus pass, a half-eaten granola bar, thirty-two dollars in cash, and a small notebook filled with hand-written vocabulary lists in eight different languages.
Dominic picked up the notebook, turning the yellowed pages gently.
"She’s not a spy," Dominic said softly, looking up at his uncle. "She’s just smarter than everyone in this room."
Suddenly, Dominic’s radio chirped. Marco’s voice came through: "Boss, we got Anthony! He’s safe. Pier 42 is secure. Volk’s men inside are dead."
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Dominic’s eyes turned lethal. He turned back to Gregory Volk and Salvatore.
"Lock them in the lower vault," Dominic commanded smoothly. "We will settle our family accounts before sunrise."
