Chapter 9
The first strike happened at 3:00 AM. It was entirely bloodless, but infinitely more damaging to the old Mafia dynasty than a bullet.
Nia stood by the massive glass windows of her penthouse, her phone pressed to her ear. On the other end of the line was the Chief of Police, a man whose election campaign had been entirely funded by the black ledger sitting securely on Nia's desk.
"It's done, Nia," the Chief’s gravelly voice crackled through the speaker. "We raided all three of Arthur’s private storage facilities. We seized the untaxed liquor, the smuggled antiquities, and the off-the-books cash reserves he kept hidden from the syndicate."
"Did you find the ledgers linking Victoria’s husband to the illegal gambling rings?" Nia asked smoothly, watching a police siren wail silently in the streets miles below.
"We found them exactly where you said they'd be," the Chief confirmed. "Arrest warrants are being issued as we speak. Victoria’s husband will be in federal custody by sunrise."
"Excellent. Keep my name entirely out of the briefings," Nia instructed before cutting the line.
She turned back to the room. Sullivan handed her a fresh cup of black coffee.
"Victoria’s crew is panicking, Boss," Sullivan reported, checking his encrypted earpiece. "With her husband running from the Feds and their accounts frozen, her men are abandoning their posts. They know Arthur can't protect them anymore."
Suddenly, the secure landline on the glass table began to ring. It was a direct, encrypted line that only five people in the world possessed. Nia walked over and stared at the blinking red light. She picked up the receiver.
"Nia," Arthur’s voice came through, sounding significantly older and more exhausted than he had in the dining room hours ago.
"Arthur," Nia replied, her tone perfectly flat.
"You are burning the house down, Nia," Arthur said, a hint of genuine panic breaking through his stoic facade. "The police raids? Freezing the accounts? You are destroying everything I built."
"You built nothing," Nia corrected, her voice turning to ice. "You inherited a dying syndicate and I resurrected it. I made you kings. And in return, you let your wife and daughter torture my son."
"It was a mistake," Arthur pleaded. "Victoria was out of line. I see that now. We can mediate this. Call off the Feds. Unfreeze the accounts. We can sit down like a family."
"We are not family, Arthur," Nia whispered into the receiver, the words carrying the finality of a judge's gavel. "You made that perfectly clear when you stood in the doorway and told me Julian needed to learn how to take a hit. I hope you're ready to take yours."
May you like
She slammed the phone down, disconnecting the line. She looked up at her lieutenants.
"Sullivan," Nia commanded. "Assemble the strike teams. Arthur thinks this is the end of my retaliation. I want to show him it's just the beginning."
