Chapter 20 - The Unseen Board
|
Three months later.
The Moretti syndicate was flourishing. With Adelaide acting as the chief financial architect, they had legitimized over sixty percent of their operations, making them untouchable by the FBI and unimaginably wealthy.
Adelaide was sitting in her office, finalizing the acquisition of a massive shipping port in New York, when Mateo walked in. His face was grim, the relaxed husband replaced instantly by the ruthless mafia boss.
“What’s wrong?” Adelaide asked, closing her laptop immediately.
Mateo walked over and placed a heavy, encrypted satellite phone on her desk.
“We just got a message from the Lucchese family in New York,” Mateo said, his voice low and dangerous. “They absorbed the remaining factions of Dante’s loyalists. They know you’re the one who found the Cyprus accounts. They know you are the brain behind the new Moretti empire.”
Adelaide looked at the phone, her pulse quickening, but she didn't feel fear. She felt the thrill of the game.
“And?” she asked, looking up at him.
“They demanded a meeting,” Mateo said, leaning over the desk. “The Don of the Lucchese family said he won't negotiate with me. He said if the Morettis are truly being run by a woman with a scarred face, he wants to meet the Queen himself.”
Mateo looked at her, entirely serious. “It’s a power play. They think you’re a weakness they can exploit. They think you’ll crumble under the pressure of the Five Families.”
Adelaide slowly stood up. She picked up her heavy black glasses from the desk and slid them onto her face. She smoothed her tailored suit, the massive emerald on her finger catching the light.
A slow, terrifying smile spread across her face.
“They thought I was a weakness in Boston, too,” Adelaide whispered, her eyes burning with fierce determination. “Tell the Lucchese family I accept their meeting. And tell them to bring their accountants.”
May you like
Mateo smiled, a dark, proud expression of absolute adoration.
The war for New England was over. But the war for the East Coast was just beginning. And the mafia bosses of New York had no idea what was coming for them.
