Chapter 12: War Council
The fragile peace of the morning shattered by noon.
Aria was in the kitchen, casually sipping a cappuccino, when she noticed the sudden shift in the estate's atmosphere. Men in dark suits were moving with quiet, urgent purpose. Black SUVs were lining up in the circular driveway. She set her cup down and walked toward Dante’s study, the heavy double doors slightly ajar.
Inside, the air was thick with tension. Dante stood behind his desk, reviewing a stack of documents, while Matteo paced in front of the fireplace, his phone pressed to his ear.
"Three of our downtown warehouses were raided at dawn," Matteo growled, ending the call. "Building inspectors, OSHA, and the local PD. They’re shutting down our legitimate shipping fronts over fabricated zoning violations. Two of our capos were detained for questioning."
Dante’s expression was murderous, his jaw locked tight. "Sterling."
"He’s using his political leverage to bleed us dry," Matteo confirmed. "He can't touch us violently without breaking the treaty, but he can weaponize the city bureaucracy. The man is trying to bankrupt the legitimate side of our operation."
Aria pushed the door open fully and stepped into the room. Both men froze, instinctively dropping their voices.
"Aria," Dante said, his tone instantly softening, though the lethal edge in his eyes remained. "You shouldn't be in here. This is syndicate business."
"It's family business," she corrected, walking straight toward the mahogany desk. "And my father is attacking you because of me. I am not hiding in the conservatory while he tries to destroy what you've built."
Matteo looked at Dante, clearly unsure of how to handle the boss's wife inserting herself into a mafia war council. Dante, however, simply leaned back in his chair, watching her with that familiar, intense pride.
"And what exactly do you propose we do, Aria?" Dante asked smoothly. "If I send men to eliminate a US Senator, the federal government will rain hellfire on this city. We will lose everything."
"You don't need bullets to destroy Arthur Sterling," Aria said coldly. She walked around the desk and stood beside Dante, looking at the map of Boston spread across the wood. "You just need to know where his skeletons are buried. And I know exactly which closet he keeps them in."
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Matteo raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, Mrs. Rossi, we’ve dug into the Senator's finances. He's clean on paper."
"Of course he is," Aria scoffed. "He’s a politician. He doesn't keep the dirty money under his own name." She looked down at Dante, her eyes flashing with a dangerous, calculating light. "He keeps it under Julian's. And I know the passwords."
