Chapter 13
The warehouse interior had been converted into a massive, opulent boardroom, completely isolated from the industrial grime outside. The bright, unyielding light of the room cast sharp shadows across the faces of the five men sitting at the long mahogany table. They were the heads of the Chicago families, old men with fair skin, tailored suits, and decades of blood on their hands.
Alessandra walked to the single empty chair opposite them. The heavy click of her heels echoed loudly, commanding the silence of the room. She did not sit. She stood behind the chair, resting her manicured hands on the leather upholstery, the gold signet ring gleaming under the lights.
"Alessandra," the head of the Commission, a man named Morreti, said. His voice was gravelly, laced with condescension. "We were surprised to hear about Vincent's sudden... retirement."
"My father’s health required a change of scenery," Alessandra replied smoothly, her American accent crisp and lethal. "The Romano family is now under my absolute control."
"A woman running the largest shipping syndicate in the Midwest," another Boss sneered, shaking his head. "And one who exiles her own mother and sister over a childish scuffle. It shows instability, Alessandra. It shows a lack of respect for the old ways."
Alessandra tilted her head slightly, her pretty, adorable features forming a mask of pure, calculated lethality. "The old ways allowed a four-year-old child to be tied to a chair and beaten while my mother watched. If you think I will tolerate weakness in my bloodline just to appease your archaic traditions, you are sorely mistaken."
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Morreti leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "Your family drama is your own, Alessandra. But your instability threatens our profits. We have decided that, for the good of the Commission, the Romano shipping lanes will be placed under our direct supervision. You will step down as Boss, and we will install a proxy."
Alessandra didn't scream. She didn't argue. She simply smiled—a terrifying, empty smile that made the blood run cold in the veins of the hardened men before her.
