The Uncle

Chapter 09 - The Uncle

Vittorio Russo arrived at the estate with a priest, a smile, and no fear.

That was the most dangerous part.

Fear made men sloppy. Anger made them loud. Vittorio carried himself with the serenity of a man who had long ago mistaken survival for innocence.

Dominic received him in the library.

Sadi watched from a chair near the fireplace, a blanket over her shoulders and Rosa’s cane within reach. Rosa sat beside her. Gabriel stood by the door. Sal had been removed to a safer room because, according to Dominic, his face was too honest for strategy.

Vittorio entered in a charcoal suit.

The priest came behind him, pale and sweating.

“Nicolò,” Vittorio said warmly.

Dominic did not answer.

Vittorio’s eyes moved to Sadi. “And the bride. You have caused considerable trouble for a woman who married into the family before dessert.”

Sadi smiled politely. “I try not to waste time.”

His amusement thinned.

Rosa leaned forward. “Why is Father Matteo with you?”

“To hear truth before this family destroys itself.”

Dominic’s voice was quiet. “Truth is already in the house.”

Vittorio sighed. “Ah. Elaine’s little tape.”

Sadi felt the room sharpen.

He knew.

The priest closed his eyes.

Dominic took one step forward. “You killed Tom Hayes.”

Vittorio glanced at the priest. “A man can say anything in grief.”

“You weren’t grieving on the tape.”

“I was young.”

“You were forty-six.”

“Age is emotional.”

Sadi almost laughed because monsters, she was learning, often sounded ridiculous when cornered.

Dominic did not laugh.

“You sent men to kill my mother.”

Vittorio’s expression hardened for the first time. “Your mother chose sentiment over blood. She was meeting Sal to resurrect a dead scandal days before we concluded peace negotiations with the Morettis.”

“Peace?” Rosa said. “You call Lucia Moretti’s offer peace?”

“I call it math. The docks cannot survive another war.”

Dominic looked at him. “So you tried to kill my mother to keep a ledger buried.”

Vittorio’s eyes flashed. “I tried to prevent this family from being hanged by a waitress with an old box.”

There it was.

Not denial.

Contempt.

The priest whispered, “Vittorio.”

“Quiet.”

The word struck the priest like a slap.

Sadi studied the old man. The neatly combed hair. The expensive shoes. The hands folded as if at church.

“You had my mother killed too,” she said.

Vittorio looked at her.

He did not answer quickly enough.

Rosa made a wounded sound.

Dominic’s face became something Sadi never wanted turned against her.

“Say it,” he ordered.

Vittorio lifted one shoulder. “Elaine became unstable. She carried documents she did not understand. She threatened men who had wives, grandchildren, businesses, obligations. She would have destroyed many lives.”

“She was a mother,” Sadi said.

“She was a liability.”

The room changed.

Dominic moved so fast Sadi barely saw him cross the space. He had Vittorio by the throat against the bookshelves before the priest could cry out.

Gabriel stepped forward but did not interfere.

Vittorio’s smile strained beneath Dominic’s grip.

“There he is,” the old man rasped. “Angelo’s son.”

Sadi forced herself up.

Pain tore through her side.

“Dominic.”

He did not look at her.

“He killed your parents,” he said.

“Yes.”

“He shot my mother’s life to pieces.”

“Yes.”

“He will do it again.”

“Maybe.”

That made him turn.

Sadi walked slowly toward them, one hand pressed to her ribs.

“If you kill him in this room, every man who works for you learns the same old lesson. That truth only matters until it reaches a Russo.”

Dominic’s breathing was hard.

Vittorio watched her with hatred now.

Good.

Sadi was tired of being underestimated by well-dressed murderers.

“My mother left a line in her letter,” she said. “Trust the son only if he chooses truth over blood.”

Dominic looked at her for a long time.

Then, slowly, he released his uncle.

Vittorio coughed, bent forward, and laughed.

“You think mercy makes you different?”

“No,” Dominic said.

Gabriel stepped behind Vittorio and locked steel cuffs around his wrists.

“Evidence does.”

The priest opened his coat and removed a small recording device.

Vittorio stopped laughing.

Father Matteo’s voice shook. “I am tired of absolving men who plan their next sin before finishing confession.”

Sadi stared at him.

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “How long?”

The priest looked at Rosa.

“Since Elaine Hayes came to my church with a baby girl and begged God to leave one honest man in Chicago.”

Before anyone could speak, glass shattered somewhere upstairs.

Gunfire cracked through the house.

Gabriel grabbed Sadi and pulled her down.

Dominic turned toward the door.

May you like

THE MAFIA BOSS WAS TOASTING CHAMPAGNE WITH HIS MISTRESS... UNTIL HE FOUN...

t

THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS MAID STRUGGLE WITH A HEAVY MIRROR... UNTIL HI...

t

THE MAFIA BOSS WAS ABOUT TO BLAME AN INNOCENT MAN... UNTIL HIS MAID SPOK...

t

Vittorio, still cuffed, smiled with blood on his teeth.

“You should have killed me when you had both hands free.”