Chapter 15
"You married my daughter," Lorenzo stated calmly, staring down at Julian. "You swore an oath in front of God and my family to protect her. And yet, you drugged her, moved her call button, and handed her newborn son to a man who intended to sell him."
"I didn't know he was going to sell him!" Julian shrieked, his arrogant facade completely destroyed by absolute terror. "Bianca told me she was going to raise him! I swear, Lorenzo, I didn't know about Moretti's debt!"
"Ignorance is not a defense, Julian," Lorenzo said, his voice absolute and unyielding. "It is a symptom of cowardice. And cowards are a liability."
Lorenzo snapped his fingers.
Two broad-shouldered Ravelli operatives stepped out from the shadows, carrying a heavy, industrial steel drum. They placed it roughly on the concrete floor, a few feet from the kneeling Mercer family.
"What... what are you doing?" Victor gasped, struggling against his zip-ties, his eyes widening as the operatives unsealed the drum. The sharp, acrid smell of chemical solvent instantly filled the air.
"I told you at the hospital," Lorenzo reminded them, his handsome, bearded face set in stone. "By tomorrow morning, the financial world will learn that the Mercer family fled the country to avoid embezzlement charges. But they won't find you on any beach."
"No! Please, Mr. Ravelli!" Bianca screamed, thrashing wildly. "I'll do anything! I'll work for you! Please!"
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"You will simply disappear," Lorenzo finished, ignoring her completely. He turned his back on them and began walking toward the heavy steel doors.
He didn't need to watch. He didn't enjoy violence for the sake of violence; he utilized it as a necessary tool to sanitize his world. As the heavy doors rolled shut behind him, sealing the warehouse, the frantic, muffled screams of the Mercer family were abruptly cut off, leaving only the sound of the cold wind blowing off the harbor.
