Alessandra swiftly sliced the fabric from his tiny wrists and pulled him protectively against her chest as he struggled for each breath

The heavy, metallic silence of the dining room was broken only by the faint ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway. Alessandra stared at the blood-stained pocket watch in the plastic bag, her mind operating with flawless, predatory precision.

"Morreti is dead," Alessandra stated, her voice a low, mesmerizing whisper. "The Chicago Commission didn't just bend the knee to me. They were overthrown."

"Intel confirms it, Boss," Silas said, his jaw tight. "A rival faction within the Commission, led by a man named Vargas, slaughtered Morreti and his loyalists last night. Vargas is ruthless, and he doesn't respect the treaty you forced upon them."

"He sent the watch to the Montana compound instead of here," Alessandra analyzed, her pretty, adorable features forming a mask of pure, calculated lethality. "He found out where I exiled my family. He's telling me that my secrets aren't safe. He thinks he can use my parents and my sister as leverage against me."

Silas crossed his arms, the fabric of his tailored suit stretching over his broad shoulders. "If Vargas gets his hands on Vincent and Francesca, he can parade them in front of the other families. He can claim you are an illegitimate Boss who tortures her own blood. It would cause a civil war within our ranks."

Alessandra stood up smoothly, picking up her encrypted tablet. She felt no love for the family she had banished. They had allowed her son to be tortured; they were dead to her. But politically, Silas was right. They were a loose end that she could not allow an enemy to exploit.

"Prepare the private jet, Silas," Alessandra commanded, her dark eyes flashing with an icy, unforgiving fire. "We are going to Montana. I will not let Vargas use the garbage I threw away to poison my empire."