Chapter 5 - The Confession in the East WingJulian didn't even make it past the foot of the bed.
With a speed that shocked him out of his arrogant complacency, I grabbed the lapels of his silk robe, hoisted him off his feet with one fluid motion, and slammed him hard against the reinforced drywall of the master suite. The impact rattled the framed oil paintings on the wall.
Julian let out a sharp, choked gasp of air, his hands clawing uselessly at my wrists as I pinned him securely against the wall, my face inches from his.
“Vance—wait—let’s talk about this!” Julian choked out, his eyes wide with stark terror, the polished corporate lawyer completely dissolved into a sniveling coward. “Uncle Dante—Uncle Dante authorized this! He said you were getting too aggressive with the shipping port expansion, that your risk tolerance was going to get us all indicted by the feds! We weren't trying to kill you, Vance—we just wanted you sidelined until the board vote next month!”
My grip tightened until the fabric of his robe cut into his throat. “Dante authorized it.”
“Yes! God, yes!” Julian whimpered, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “He said you were becoming your father—unpredictable, reckless, running the syndicate like a lone wolf. He said the family needed stability, and stability meant putting you out to pasture!”
My father had been executed by a rival cartel in the nineties—or so Dante had always told me, raising me as his own son, molding me into his ruthless successor while whispering stories of my father’s fatal mistakes. For my entire life, I had carried the invisible debt of my father’s supposed failure, striving every single day to prove I was worthy of the Moretti name.
Now, in the span of ten seconds, the foundation of my entire existence cracked open to reveal a rotting core of lies.
Dante hadn't just raised me. He had orchestrated my father’s downfall, seized control of the syndicate, and now, he was trying to do the exact same thing to me—using chemical warfare from inside my own home.
“If I let go right now, Julian,” I whispered, my voice sounding like grinding stones, “do you know what stops me from breaking your neck right here against this wall?”
Julian whimpered, unable to speak, shaking his head frantically.
“Nothing,” I told him, holding his gaze until he looked ready to vomit. “The only reason you are walking out of this room upright is because I want you to go back to Dante tonight, look him in the eye, and tell him that his little science experiment failed.”
I shoved him backward.
Julian stumbled, catching himself against the edge of the dresser, coughing violently and clutching his bruised throat. He didn't waste a single second. He scrambled toward the door, tripping over his own slippers, and bolted down the hallway like a frightened animal.
I didn't chase him. Let him run to his godfather. Let them panic. The psychological warfare they had waged against me for three years was over. Now, the real war was beginning.
The bedroom door clicked open again, quieter this time.
I turned around, expecting Clara or one of the estate guards.
Standing in the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes with the sleeve of her lion pajamas, was Lily.
“Mr. Moretti?” she whispered softly, her little voice cutting through the adrenaline-fueled haze in the room. “Did the bad shadow go away?”
The jagged, lethal edges of my rage softened instantly. I exhaled a long, shuddering breath, walking over and kneeling down so I was at eye level with her.
“Yes, Lily,” I said, offering her a genuine, tired smile—the first real smile I had worn in three years. “The shadow is gone. And I think... I think I’m finally going to sleep tonight.”
She beamed, holding up her earless rabbit. “See? I told you. Mama’s stories always work.”
“They certainly do,” I agreed softly.
May you like
For the first time in thirty-six months, I walked back to my bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down without a weapon within arm's reach. As my eyes closed, the haunting silence of the penthouse didn't feel like a tomb anymore.
It felt like peace. And across the estate, the wolves were about to find out what happens when the apex predator wakes up.
