Chapter 5 - The War Council
By 2:00 AM, the estate was silent save for the howling wind off Lake Michigan.
In the basement war room beneath the library, the mood was deadly serious. A massive oak table sat beneath glowing digital screens displaying financial webs, phone tracking networks, and tactical maps of Chicago's South Side.
Luca sat at the head of the table, flanked by Marco and his five primary capos.
"We interrogated Victoria," Marco reported, setting a thin leather folder on the table. "She admitted everything. Rossi paid her two hundred thousand dollars to allow his enforcer access to the kitchen staff. They selected Elena because she was temporary, desperate for money, and had a vulnerable child."
"Where is the enforcer with the red watch?" Luca asked coldness lacing every syllable.
"His name is Dario Varga," Marco replied, pressing a button on his tablet. A photo of a sharp-featured man with a silver scar across his nose appeared on the central screen. On his left wrist was a distinct crimson luxury chronograph. "He's Rossi's primary field captain. Our surveillance team tracked him to a private warehouse near the Calumet River."
"Is Rossi there with him?" Capo Santino asked, leaning forward over the table.
"No," Marco said. "Rossi is hiding inside his fortified estate in Oak Brook, surrounded by thirty armed guards. He knows the hit failed. He's expecting us to strike his business routes."
Luca leaned back in his leather chair, folding his long fingers together beneath his chin. His obsidian eyes stared at Dario Varga’s photograph on the screen.
"Rossi expects a business war," Luca said softly. "He thinks I will negotiate with the Commission or hit his shipping containers. He doesn't understand that he crossed a personal line."
"What are your orders, Don Moretti?" Santino asked.
"Take Dario Varga alive tonight," Luca commanded smoothly. "Bring him to the basement holding cells beneath Pier 19. I want to know every name, every corrupt police captain, and every politician who signed off on this operation."
"And Rossi?" Marco asked.
Luca’s expression hardened into a mask of pure, unadulterated ruthlessness.
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"Rossi built his life on the belief that fear makes him untouchable," Luca said, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "By the time I am finished with him, he will realize that threatening a mother and child in my city is a death sentence."
He stood up from the table, turning toward the door. "Make sure the guards on the east wing do not sleep. If a single fly enters the hallway near Elena’s room, I will hold you personally responsible."
