Chapter 13
The noon council still happened.
That mattered.
Dominic expected me to cancel.
Celia expected chaos.
Victor expected humiliation.
I gave them none.
The senior capos entered at twelve sharp.
Milo stayed in the breakfast room.
Ruby stayed upstairs.
Dana stayed out of service.
I sat at the head of the long table.
Victor was present.
So were Dominic and Celia.
Not as prisoners.
As evidence.
I told the council exactly what happened.
No dramatic flourishes.
No performance of strength.
The bottle.
The staged weakness.
Victor’s role.
Dominic’s plan.
Ruby’s removal.
Celia’s participation.
The old service tunnel.
My father’s promises.
Everything.
One capo stared at Victor.
“You poisoned your own brother?”
Victor answered.
“I helped put the bottle on the tray.”
Good.
No excuse.
Another looked at Dominic.
“You wanted Julian weakened in front of us.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s destroying Ferraro discipline.”
The oldest capo, Raymond Voss, leaned back.
“By what?”
Dominic listed my changes.
No extortion against widows.
No taking children as leverage.
No punishment of household staff for family disputes.
No forced tribute from crews already losing money.
Raymond looked at him.
“That sounds like you miss easy victims.”
Silence.
Dominic’s face hardened.
Good.
Another capo looked at Celia.
“You took Ruby?”
“For continuity.”
Raymond laughed.
“A three-year-old?”
Celia stared.
“Younger generations don’t understand—”
Raymond cut her off.
“No. We understand perfectly.”
I watched the room.
This was the part Dominic miscalculated.
Old does not always mean identical.
Some men adapt quietly because survival teaches what pride refuses to.
I looked around.
“No vote.”
Several men frowned.
“This is not a campaign,” I continued.
“If any of you think I am unfit, say it.”
Nobody did.
“Then say what this was.”
Raymond answered first.
“A coup.”
Another capo shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Dominic.
“A restoration attempt.”
That was more accurate.
Dominic wanted the old rules back.
I nodded.
“Exactly.”
Then I looked at Victor.
He did not meet my eyes.
The council had not seen me weak.
May you like
It had seen something worse for Dominic.
The old system exposed in daylight.
