Chapter 10
I held the Bellafonte meeting anyway.
That surprised Agatha.
She expected me to cancel her council discussion after exposing the setup.
I did the opposite.
Every senior capo attended.
Agatha sat at one end.
Julian at the other.
I placed the broken chain lock in the center of the table.
No speeches first.
I asked Thomas Vane to explain the original proposal.
He did.
A three-person family council capable of overriding me in matters involving succession, household security, and decisions considered emotionally compromised.
I looked around.
“Who believes Bellafonte needs more oversight?”
Three men raised their hands.
Not traitors.
Men with a concern.
Good.
“Who believes Agatha should appoint it?”
No hands.
Agatha’s jaw tightened.
Then I asked:
“Who knew yesterday was designed to become evidence for this proposal?”
Nobody raised a hand.
Peter spoke.
“I knew men were being positioned for discussion. I did not know about Elliot.”
Thomas looked furious.
That mattered.
Agatha had believed older capos would tolerate method if they agreed with goal.
She was wrong.
I explained the monitor.
The chain.
The water.
Julian’s provocation.
The planned audience.
No embellishment.
Then I said:
“If you think I hold too much authority, tell me.”
Silence.
“I will hear it.”
Thomas nodded.
“But if you need to terrorize a child to make your argument persuasive, your argument has already failed.”
That landed.
Agatha finally spoke.
“You’re turning sentiment into governance.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“You did.”
She stared.
“You put succession around a three-year-old’s ankle.”
The room went completely still.
That was the sentence.
Not mine.
Hers.
The council proposal did not pass.
But I refused to kill the entire idea.
We would revisit oversight later.
Without Agatha controlling the question.
Without Elliot inside it.
May you like
That hurt her more than simple rejection.
She lost ownership of the problem she had weaponized.
