Chapter 6 - The Trial on the Marble
Marco took another step back, his hand twitching toward his sidearm.
Before his fingers could touch the leather holster, two of my capos moved like lightning, disarming him and forcing him down onto his knees on the cold marble floor.
"Signor Moretti, please!" Marco gasped, his eyes wide with desperate terror. "I don't know what you're talking about! I've served this family for seven years!"
I stopped two feet away from where he knelt.
I pulled the plastic evidence bag from my jacket pocket and dropped it onto the floor in front of his face.
The gold-and-emerald bracelet hit the marble with a sharp, heavy clatter. Beside it lay the hospital receipt from Milan.
Marco stared at the paper, his breath catching in his chest.
"Victor Volkov paid four hundred and fifty thousand euros to San Raffaele Hospital three weeks ago," I said calmly, looking down at him with cold, emotionless eyes. "Your daughter Sophia is receiving top-tier medical care in Milan. A noble cause for a father."
Marco lowered his head, tears of panic finally breaking through his hard facade. "She was dying, Alessandro... the doctors said she had months... I didn't have the money..."
"If you had come to me," I said, my voice dropping into a low, terrifying rumble that echoed through the entire courtyard, "if you had knelt before me as a man and asked for help for your child, I would have paid every cent without asking for a single favor in return. That is what a Don does for his men."
I leaned down, grabbing Marco by his collar and pulling his face inches from mine.
"But instead," I whispered, "you sold my estate to the Russians. You put my family in danger. And to cover your cowardice, you dragged a helpless widow and a four-year-old girl into the mud."
"I'm sorry..." Marco sobbed, his body shaking uncontrollably. "Please... spare my life... please..."
I released his collar, letting him slump back onto his knees.
"Matteo," I called out.
"Yes, Signor Moretti?"
"Call our people in Milan," I commanded. "Ensure that Sophia Vance’s medical bills at San Raffaele are fully covered by the Moretti Foundation for the duration of her treatment. She will not suffer for her father's sins."
Marco looked up, shock and disbelief washing over his wet face. "Alessandro... you... you would do that?"
"I am not a monster, Marco," I replied coldly, turning my back on him. "But I am the head of this house. And treason has a price."
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I looked at Matteo.
"Take him to the basement holding cell. When Victor Volkov arrives in Palermo tonight expecting his report, Marco will be the one delivering the message."
