Chapter 6
The declaration hung in the bright, cinematic air, sealing the fate of an entire syndicate faction. The wealthy American guests, the politicians, and the socialites who had attended the brunch to curry favor with the Moretti family slowly began to back away, desperate to distance themselves from the radioactive fallout of Vanessa’s impending doom.
"Take the boy," Raffaele commanded softly, not taking his eyes off his trembling wife.
A massive bodyguard stepped forward from the protective wall. He reached out and placed a firm, unyielding hand on Mason’s shoulder. The eleven-year-old boy flinched, letting out a sharp gasp, but he did not resist.
"Don't touch my son!" Vanessa shrieked, scrambling forward in the patio chair, her manicured hands grasping desperately at the air. "Mason! Run!"
"If the boy runs... break his legs," Raffaele ordered, his voice devoid of any human empathy.
Mason froze instantly, his fair face pale with absolute terror. The bodyguard gently but firmly steered the trembling boy away from the stone pillar, leading him toward the interior of the vast estate.
"Raffaele, he is just a child! He didn't do anything!" Vanessa sobbed, throwing herself onto her knees on the hard stone terrace, landing directly next to the filthy polishing cloth she had forced Lily to use. "Punish me! Do whatever you want to me, but please, do not hurt my son!"
"You ask for mercy... for a child," Raffaele observed, his deep, raspy voice echoing over her hysterical cries. He gently stroked Lily’s back, calming the little girl's residual whimpers. "Yet you showed absolutely none... to mine."
He looked down at her, a cold, terrifying statue of judgment.
"The boy will not be harmed," Raffaele stated, the slow, measured cadence of his words offering a chilling sort of comfort. "He will be escorted to his father's family in the north. He is no longer... my concern. But you, Vanessa... you are a different matter entirely."
"I will sign the divorce papers! I will walk away with nothing!" Vanessa begged, crawling a few inches closer, her elegant formal dress completely ruined by the dirt and her own tears. "Just let me leave the estate! You will never see me again!"
"You are absolutely correct," Raffaele agreed, a dark, dangerous shadow passing over his handsome face. "I will never... see you again."
He turned his head slightly, locking his cold, intimidating eyes onto his lead capo, a hardened man standing near the buffet tables.
"Lock down the estate," Raffaele commanded. "Confiscate all communication devices from the guests before they leave. No one speaks of what happened here today. If a single word reaches the press... I will execute the leak myself."
May you like
"Yes, Boss," the capo responded immediately, raising his radio to his lips.
"And take my wife... to the lower cellars," Raffaele continued, turning his back on Vanessa entirely. "She seems to have an affinity... for cleaning. Let her scrub the concrete... until I decide what to do with her."
