Chapter 4 - The Confession of Shadows
The lower basement of the Moretti carriage house was built seventy years ago during Prohibition. Soundproofed with double-thick layers of poured concrete and cork, it sat thirty feet below the frozen winter grass, isolated from the world above.
Gabriel stood under the harsh glare of a single overhead fluorescent bulb, his tailored jacket discarded, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his forearms. Dante stood by the wall, arms crossed, holding an encrypted tablet.
Tied to a heavy steel chair in the center of the room, Marco Moretti was weeping. His right hand had been bandaged with rough gauze, but the pain of the wound had drained all the arrogance from his face.
“Drink,” Gabriel said, tossing a plastic bottle of water into Marco’s lap.
Marco couldn't lift his hands. He looked up at Gabriel with bloodshot, frantic eyes. “Gabe... Gabriel, please. We have the same grandfather. Don’t do this. I was forced into it!”
“Nobody forces a Moretti to betray his family,” Gabriel said coldly, pulling up an iron stool and sitting down directly in front of him. “You chose money. You chose Vanessa Bellini’s bed. Don’t insult my intelligence by claiming victimhood.”
“You don’t know what old man Bellini has planned,” Marco stammered, his teeth chattering from shock. “He’s got three shipments of high-grade military hardware sitting in the Port of Newark right now, moving through our supply chain. If those containers clear customs under your family’s name, the Department of Homeland Security will issue federal indictments for you and your top six capos by Friday!”
Gabriel’s expression remained an impenetrable mask. “And who authorized the containers to use my bill of lading?”
“Vanessa!” Marco cried. “She has your digital security fob! She cloned it six months ago while you were sleeping in her penthouse! She’s been signing off on Bellini contraband under your signature for half a year!”
Dante tapped the tablet screen, his brow furrowing as he reviewed bank transfers. “He’s telling the truth on the logistics, Boss. Five shell corporations tied to the Bellini Shipping Group just activated cross-border transit permits using your personal authentication codes.”
Gabriel stood up slowly. “So the plan was simple. Frame me for international weapons trafficking. Have Marco take over as interim Don. Vanessa controls Marco through blackmail, effectively handing the entire Moretti territory to her father without firing a single bullet in the streets.”
“Yes! Yes, that was the plan!” Marco sobbed, thinking his confession might earn him clemency. “They promised me twenty percent of the port revenues, Gabe! I only wanted what was fair! You always treated Daniel like your real brother—you treated me like a glorified errand boy!”
Gabriel stared down at his cousin with an icy, profound disgust. “Daniel took three bullets for me. You sold my life for twenty pieces of silver. You are not my brother. You are not even a man.”
“Gabriel—!”
“Keep him down here,” Gabriel ordered Dante, turning his back on his cousin. “Give him antibiotics and water. He will sit in this dark until the Federal prosecutor looks at the papers he signed.”
“You’re giving him to the feds?” Dante asked, surprised.
“Death is too quick for what he did to Daniel’s family,” Gabriel said coldly. “Let him spend the next thirty years in a federal supermax, wondering what his twenty percent was worth.”
Gabriel took the elevator back up to the main house. The sun was just beginning to rise over the frosted lawns of the estate, casting a cold, pink light across the private gardens.
He walked into the east guest suite where Vanessa Bellini was being held.
Two armed guards opened the door immediately, snapping to attention. Inside, the room was a disaster. Vases had been smashed against the walls, bedsheets torn, and Vanessa sat on the edge of the velvet armchair, her mascara streaked across her cheeks, her red silk dress rumpled and ruined.
She looked up, terror and rage battling in her eyes. “Gabriel! This is kidnapping! My father will bring three hundred men to this gate by noon!”
Gabriel walked to the center of the room, stopping five feet from her. “Your father doesn't have three hundred men, Vanessa. He has thirty-four loyal soldiers, eleven crooked customs inspectors, and an offshore bank account that Dante emptied forty-five minutes ago using your cloned digital keys.”
Vanessa’s breath hitched. “What?”
“You thought you were the only one who knew how to play in the shadows?” Gabriel said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “For nine months, you had Daniel Hayes’s wife carrying your laundry. You taunted a five-year-old child whose father died protecting this syndicate. Did you really believe God would let you sit on my throne after that?”
Vanessa stood up, her face twisting into a venomous sneer. “Daniel Hayes was a dog! He was an orphan who grew up in the gutter with you! He had no pedigree! My family has run bloodlines in this city for four generations! You were supposed to elevate me, Gabriel!”
Gabriel didn't raise his voice. He didn't even frown. He simply looked at her as if she were a dead insect crushed beneath his boot.
“Daniel was ten times the man your father ever was,” Gabriel said. “You wanted an empire, Vanessa. Today, you are going to watch your family lose every brick, every ship, and every dime they ever stole.”
May you like
He turned to the guards at the door. “Put her in zip-ties. Put her in the back of the armored suburban. She’s coming with us to 47th Street.”
***
