Chapter 6 - The Board Assembly
That evening at six o'clock, the executive council of Moretti Enterprises gathered in the private dining room at Villa d'Este—our waterfront restaurant in DUMBO.
Rain was still falling across the East River, blurring the lights of the Manhattan Bridge through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Around the long walnut table sat seven men—the senior captains who controlled our port terminals, trucking lines, and commercial real estate holdings. At my right hand sat Marco Moretti.
Marco was forty, sharp-featured, wearing a five-thousand-dollar tailored suit, sipping a glass of vintage Barolo. He looked relaxed, confident, like a man who knew his time was coming soon.
“Dominic,” Marco said, setting his glass down and leaning toward me with a look of warm, brotherly concern. “You look... tired tonight. Did you get any rest after the docks report?”
“A little,” I said smoothly, leaning back in my leather chair.
“You know,” Marco said, turning to address the other captains at the table, “we’ve been running at high speed for three years now. Dominic carries the whole weight of this family on his shoulders. I keep telling him he needs to step back for a few months. Take a retreat to Sicily. Let me handle the day-to-day operations until his health recovers.”
A few of the older captains nodded slowly. They had all seen my red eyes, my abrupt temper, and my growing isolation over the past thirty-six months. To them, Marco sounded like a devoted cousin offering a lifesaver to a drowning leader.
“That’s very generous of you, Marco,” I said, my voice echoing clearly across the table.
“We’re blood, Dominic,” Marco smiled smoothly. “Family takes care of family.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “They do.”
I signaled to Frankie Lucchesi, my head of security, who was standing quietly by the double doors.
Frankie stepped forward, carrying a silver serving tray covered by a velvet cloth. He set it down directly in front of Marco.
Marco frowned slightly, his smile wavering. “What’s this?”
“It’s a gift from my home,” I said.
May you like
Frankie lifted the velvet cloth.
On the tray sat three items: the silver tin of Calabrian tea, a printed toxicological report from Columbia University, and a small, worn yellow wooden toy train.
