Chapter 6
Pierce cracked before Gloria did.
Not out of loyalty.
Fear.
He asked to speak to me alone.
I agreed.
We went into the library.
He poured himself water and forgot to drink it.
“How serious is it?” I asked.
He looked at the door.
“More serious than she thinks.”
“Who?”
“Gloria.”
Interesting.
“What does she think?”
“That Victor is pressuring you back toward old family rules.”
“And what is he actually doing?”
Pierce swallowed.
“Building consensus.”
I hated the phrase immediately.
Consensus among Mafia men rarely means conversation.
“Names.”
He gave me five.
Dominic Hale.
Arthur March.
Samuel Voss.
Victor Marchetti.
And—
“Calvin’s father.”
I stared.
Pierce nodded.
His own brother, Anthony, was supposedly working overseas.
Apparently not.
“Where is Anthony?”
“Home.”
“Since when?”
“Three months.”
“And Gloria knows?”
“Yes.”
Of course.
The perfect steak in front of Calvin looked different now.
Not only grandson favoritism.
Succession signaling.
Calvin’s father belonged to Victor’s faction.
Calvin was being fed like a future insider.
Sadie like someone who needed to learn dependency.
I looked at Pierce.
“What do they want?”
“For you to restore the old council.”
“What does that mean?”
“Seven senior men can overrule the boss on family matters.”
I almost smiled.
“Meaning I keep the title and lose authority.”
“Yes.”
“And if I refuse?”
He looked away.
“Then they force succession.”
“Through Anthony?”
“No.”
That surprised me.
“Who?”
Pierce did not answer.
I moved closer.
“Who replaces me?”
He whispered:
“No one.”
Same pattern.
Old men did not want another strong boss.
They wanted a weakened center.
A council.
A symbolic head.
“And Sadie?”
“She stays under Gloria.”
There.
My daughter was not collateral.
She was leverage.
If I lost command but stayed alive, controlling Sadie controlled part of me.
If I died, Gloria controlled the next blood generation.
Either way, the child became useful.
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
“Why Calvin?”
Pierce finally drank the water.
“Because Victor wants the children compared.”
“To what end?”
“Calvin obedient. Sadie spoiled.”
There it was.
They were creating evidence.
Not against my leadership directly.
Against my parenting.
A story.
Dante—no, Donovan—cannot even raise his own child properly. How can he raise the family?
May you like
The burnt steak was not punishment.
It was propaganda.
