Chapter 5 - The Judgment
Every person in the room froze.
Gary turned around slowly, his hand reaching inside his leather jacket toward the handle of a pistol tucked into his waistband. "Who the hell are you? This is private property—"
Gary didn't finish the sentence.
Standing in the doorway was Marcus. Behind Marcus stood four men dressed in dark tactical suits, holding suppressed submachine guns trained dead-center on the chests of Gary’s two enforcers.
The enforcer holding Sophie instantly let go of her backpack. Sophie dropped to the floor, scrambling on her hands and knees back into her mother's arms. Amelia pulled her daughter close, sobbing violently as she pressed her cheek against the top of Sophie's head.
The tactical men stepped into the apartment with silent, terrifying precision, disarming Gary’s two enforcers in three seconds flat. Before the men could even protest, they were forced down onto their knees, their arms twisted behind their backs, face-first against the dirty floorboards.
Then, the sea of dark suits parted.
Dante Corsetti stepped into the cramped, dimly lit living room of Apartment 2B.
He still wore his tailored black suit, his coat unbuttoned, his silk shirt pristine. He looked entirely out of place in the run-down apartment, like a mythological creature stepping into a cardboard box. Yet his presence filled every inch of the space until there was no room left for anyone else to breathe.
Dante didn't look at Gary. He didn't look at the armed men.
He walked past them, stepping over the quarters and dimes scattered on the floor, and knelt down on one knee in front of Amelia and Sophie.
"Are you hurt, little one?" Dante asked softly, looking at Sophie.
Sophie shook her head, her face buried in Amelia’s neck, her small frame shaking with quiet sobs.
Dante raised his eyes to Amelia. He saw the fresh blood running down her chin, the red handprint blooming across her cheekbone, and the absolute terror in her eyes.
A dark, monstrous shadow crossed Dante’s face—a look so cold, so devoid of human mercy, that even the air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Dante stood up slowly and turned around to face Gary Miller.
Gary was trembling now. He recognized Dante Corsetti. Anyone who operated even on the lowest rungs of Brooklyn crime recognized the man who ruled the city. Gary’s knees buckled, his face turning a sickly shade of grey.
"M-Mr. Corsetti," Gary stammered, his voice dropping an octave into pure panic. "Sir... I... I didn't know you had an interest in this property! This woman... she owes back rent to my company, I was just—"
"Marcus," Dante cut him off smoothly, adjusting the silver cufflink on his left wrist.
"Yes, Mr. Corsetti?"
"Who gave this trash permission to operate a loan-sharking business in Southern Brooklyn?"
"Nobody, sir," Marcus replied coldly. "He's an unregistered parasite. He’s been skimming off local shopkeepers for two years."
Dante walked over to Gary, stopping inches away from him. Gary was sweating profusely, his breath coming in fast, pathetic gasps.
"You put your hands on a mother in front of her child," Dante said softly, his voice almost a whisper. "You broke her door. You spilled this little girl's money."
"Please, Mr. Corsetti! I'm sorry! I'll forget the debt! I'll leave the city!" Gary begged, sinking to his knees, clutching his hands together in desperation. "I swear to God, I'll never come back to Brooklyn!"
Dante looked down at the sniveling man with absolute disgust.
"You won't leave the city, Gary," Dante said quietly. "Because as of tonight, Southside Properties belongs to the Corsetti Estate. Every contract you held is null and void. Every debt you claimed is forgiven."
Dante turned his back on Gary, looking over his shoulder at Marcus.
"Take them to the docks," Dante ordered flatly. "Ensure they never touch a piece of concrete in New York again."
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"Understood, boss," Marcus nodded.
The four tactical men hoisted Gary and his two enforcers off the floor, shoving them out into the hallway. Gary’s muffled screams of panic faded down the stairwell until the heavy street door slammed shut, leaving the apartment dead silent once more.
