Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
BOOM!
High-powered floodlights snapped on from the tops of six surrounding shipping containers, blinding Vance and his mercenaries in a wall of pure white light!
From behind the heavy steel containers, twenty Moretti soldiers stepped into the open, their heavy shotguns and tactical weapons trained directly on Vance’s men.
Luca and Enzo stood at the front, their weapons locked on Vance’s head.
“Drop your weapons!” Luca shouted over the roar of the wind and rain. “Drop them now or you die where you stand!”
Vance’s mercenaries looked around frantically, realizing they were completely surrounded and outgunned. One by one, they dropped their rifles onto the wet concrete, raising their hands in surrender.
Vance stood alone, his face pale with rage and terror, clutching his briefcase to his chest.
“You think you’ve won, Moretti?” Vance yelled desperately. “You have no proof of anything!”
“I have Thomas Bennett’s private ledger,” I replied, stepping right in front of him. “The ledger he hid in his wife’s flower shop four years ago. The ledger that details every weapon, every bribe, and every murder you ordered on this waterfront.”
Vance’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His knees buckled slightly under the weight of his own guilt.
“You killed an honest working man,” I said, my voice dropping into an icy whisper. “You sent thugs to beat his widow and terrorize his seven-year-old child.”
I grabbed Vance by his collar, dragging him toward the edge of the pier where the dark ocean waves crashed violently against the concrete pylons.
“Please!” Vance gasped, crying out in terror as he looked down at the churning black water below. “Moretti, please! I’ll give you everything! The docks, the money, the union!”
“I don't want your dirty money, Vance,” I said coldly.
I didn't throw him into the ocean. I am not a savage.
Instead, federal law enforcement vehicles—sirens screaming and red lights flashing—swept onto the dock, blocking every exit.
Federal agents poured out of their vans, handcuffing Vance and forcing him down onto his knees in front of the evidence crates.
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“Julian Vance,” the lead agent announced, reading from a legal warrant. “You are under arrest for federal racketeering, illegal arms trafficking, and the capital murder of Thomas Bennett.”
Alessandro turned his back on the crying union boss, walking back toward his SUV as the rain began to clear.
