Chapter 6 - The Night The Mafia Empire Fell Apart
Vincent returned to New York expecting Matteo to be weak.
Instead, he found the entire board of Romano Holdings waiting.
Federal investigators waited outside.
Lawyers waited inside.
And Daniel had frozen every account Vincent controlled.
Vincent walked into the boardroom.
"What is this?"
Matteo stood at the far end of the table.
Vincent stopped.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
"You."
Matteo smiled.
"I remember."
Vincent's face drained.
"How much?"
"Enough."
Julian stepped forward.
"Matteo, listen—"
Matteo raised a hand.
"Sit."
Julian sat.
Vincent remained standing.
"You have no evidence."
Emily entered carrying a box.
Vincent looked at her.
She placed the box on the table.
"Here."
Inside were documents.
Bank transfers.
Call logs.
Photographs.
Video drives.
Payment records.
The crash plan.
The hospital surveillance.
Everything.
Vincent stared.
"Where did you get this?"
Emily answered.
"You taught me something."
"What?"
"People underestimate quiet women."
Julian laughed bitterly.
"You think that's enough?"
Emily looked at him.
"No."
She pressed a button.
The boardroom screen came alive.
A video showed Vincent speaking to the mechanic who had cut Matteo's brakes.
Another showed Julian transferring money.
Another showed Vincent ordering the surveillance of Nora.
Matteo watched without emotion.
Then Vincent exploded.
"You don't understand!"
"I understand perfectly."
"You were supposed to be the heir!"
"I was supposed to be your puppet."
Vincent pointed at Emily.
"She ruined everything."
Matteo moved.
He was beside Vincent before security could react.
"Touch her and you're finished."
Vincent smiled.
"You think you won?"
He pressed a button.
The building lights went dark.
Emergency alarms screamed.
Then windows shattered.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Daniel pulled Matteo behind the table.
Emily ducked.
Vincent ran.
Matteo shouted, "Get Vincent!"
Daniel and two guards went after him.
Emily crawled toward the secure exit.
Then she heard Nora screaming.
She turned.
Nora was at the far end of the room.
A man had grabbed her.
Emily ran.
"NO!"
The gunman dragged Nora toward the emergency stairwell.
Matteo intercepted them.
The man fired.
Matteo twisted.
The bullet missed.
He slammed the attacker into the wall.
Nora fell.
Emily caught her.
The attacker fled.
Matteo stood bleeding.
Emily ran to him.
"You're hurt."
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
"Because you panic."
"I panic because you keep getting shot."
He laughed.
Even now.
Even during chaos.
He laughed.
Then the fire alarms sounded.
Sprinklers turned on.
The room began filling with smoke.
Daniel returned.
"Vincent got out."
Matteo looked toward the windows.
"Where?"
"The underground garage."
They ran.
The garage was empty.
Except for a car.
On the windshield was a photograph.
Nora.
Taken that morning.
On the back were four words.
You can’t protect everyone.
Matteo crushed the photograph in his hand.
"He wants me to chase him."
Emily looked at the note.
"No."
She pointed toward the license plate.
"That's not Vincent's car."
Daniel checked the plate.
It belonged to Julian.
Emily's eyes widened.
"Vincent didn't escape with Julian."
She looked at Matteo.
"They turned on each other."
And they were right.
Across town, Julian confronted Vincent in an abandoned warehouse.
"You promised me protection."
Vincent sneered.
"You were useful."
"Useful?"
"You were never family."
Julian raised his gun.
Neither man noticed the camera hidden above them.
Daniel watched from a tablet.
Matteo leaned over his shoulder.
"They're going to kill each other."
Emily stood beside him.
"Let them."
Matteo turned.
"That's not what I want."
"What do you want?"
"Justice."
She nodded.
"Then let them talk."
The recording captured everything.
Vincent admitted the crash.
Julian admitted the cover-up.
Both admitted they had planned to use Emily as leverage.
And then Vincent said the one thing no one expected.
"Matteo didn't even know Emily was the original heir."
The screen went silent.
Emily looked at Matteo.
"What did he mean?"
Matteo stared.
"What heir?"
Daniel froze.
There was another file.
Hidden beneath the corporate records.
A birth certificate.
Emily Carter.
Father: Michael Carter.
Mother: Anna Carter.
And a handwritten note.
Michael Carter was not merely an auditor.
He had been a shareholder in the original Romano empire.
When Matteo's father took over, Michael disappeared.
Emily had inherited half of an old family trust.
A trust worth over $120 million.
Matteo looked stunned.
Emily sat down.
"My father never told me."
"You weren't supposed to know."
"Why?"
"Because Vincent wanted the trust."
The realization hit them.
Emily wasn't merely the secretary who knew too much.
She had been one of the people Vincent needed eliminated.
She controlled an inheritance that could expose his financial network.
Matteo took her hand.
"Everything changes now."
Emily whispered, "Are you afraid?"
"No."
"Why?"
May you like
He smiled.
"Because I finally know what I'm fighting for."
