Chapter 6 - The Fall of the Romanos"Dante...?! What... what is the meaning of this?!" Isabella stammered, her face turning an ugly, paper-white shade of shock as she backed two fast steps toward the fireplace. "Why are the guards armed?! And why is that housekeeper standing beside you?!"
Dante didn't draw a weapon. He walked slowly down the carpeted central aisle, stopping five feet from Isabella, setting a clear glass beaker flat onto a white-linen table.
Inside the beaker, resting in saline solution, was the microscopic silver neural transponder.
Isabella’s eyes locked onto the chip. Her jaw sagged open in total, speech-bound horror. The color drained from her ears completely.
"You and your father paid Victor Hale two million dollars three years ago to plant this inside my neck after the car bomb, Isabella," Dante spoke cleanly into the quiet ballroom. His deep baritone carried an absolute, unyielding authority that echoed off the high ceiling.
"No! That's a lie! I love you, Dante!" Isabella shrieked frantically, reaching her trembling hands toward his lapels. "I knew nothing about Victor's schemes! I've been by your side for three years!"
Dante raised an encrypted digital tablet, projecting high-definition audio recordings and bank transfers onto the massive wall screens above the stage.
The red typography lit up the silent ballroom:
INTERCEPTED AUDIO LOGS: Capturing Isabella Romano instructing Dr. Vance to double the blue neural-suppression medication.
ILLEGAL ASSET STRIPPING: Documenting forty million dollars stolen from the Moretti Maritime Trust over three years.
FEDERAL RICO ARREST WARRANTS: Issued against the entire Romano Syndicate leadership.
BOOM!
The heavy side double doors were thrown open as forty fully armed Federal Marshals and NYPD tactical officers swept into the ballroom, their weapons trained directly on Isabella and her guards.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS! FEDERAL AGENTS!" the lead marshal bellowed.
CLICK. CLICK.
Heavy steel handcuffs locked around Isabella Romano's wrists behind her back as she thrashed frantically, weeping in total, groveling defeat, dragged away through the high brass doors in chains alongside Victor Hale to face lifetime federal imprisonment without parole.
Dante turned his head slowly, looking down at Anna and five-year-old Sophie standing beside him.
May you like
He dropped flat onto one knee right on the marble floor, taking Anna's trembling hand into his broad, calloused palm, holding Sophie gently against his knee.
"Anna," Dante declared flatly into the quiet room. "You and your daughter saved my life, my mind, and my empire. From this second forward... you are no longer housekeepers."
