Chapter 12 - The Secret in the Locket
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Maria touched the silver heart nervously.
“My husband gave it to me on the day Lucy was born,” Maria replied, her voice filled with nostalgia. “He told me never to let anyone take it from her. He said it was her protection.”
“It’s not protection, Maria,” Nicholas explained calmly. “It’s a vault key. Dominic Vane’s key.”
Maria gasped, her hands trembling. “Dominic Vane? The man Vance always talked about in whispers?”
“Yes,” Nicholas said. “Vane knows Vance is dead. He knows the locket is here in New York. He’s already assembling a hit squad to come get it.”
Panic flared in Maria’s eyes. She reached out to unclasp the necklace from Lucy’s neck. “Take it! Throw it in the river! Destroy it!”
Nicholas gently stayed her hand. “If we destroy it, Vane will still come for you and Lucy out of vengeance. He needs to be dealt with permanently.”
“How?” Maria asked, tears welling up. “He’s untouchable! Even Vance was terrified of him!”
Nicholas smiled faintly—a cold, terrifying smile that reminded Maria of who he really was.
“Nobody is untouchable,” Nicholas said quietly. “Not in my city.”
That evening, Nicholas called an emergency council of the Five Families at an abandoned brick warehouse near the East River.
Sitting at the center of a long oak table, surrounded by elderly mob bosses and heavily armed bodyguards, Nicholas laid the silver locket in the center of the wood.
“Dominic Vane has stepped out of his territory,” Nicholas declared to the assembled bosses. “He sent mercenaries into my home. He threatened a mother and child under my protection.”
An old boss named Sal Donato puffed on a cigar, shaking his head. “Vane is dangerous, Nicholas. Fighting him means a full-scale war across the state line. Is a maid really worth the blood?”
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Nicholas leaned forward, his knuckles resting heavily on the table.
“She isn't just a maid,” Nicholas spoke, his voice echoing off the brick walls with thunderous authority. “She is going to be my wife. And anyone who touches my family will burn.”
