Chapter 4 - The Council of Wolves
The High Syndicate Council met in the grand subterranean marble hall beneath the historic Grand Hotel downtown.
It was a sanctuary where the six major families of the city met to settle territorial disputes, negotiate trade routes, and enforce underground law. No weapons were allowed inside the chamber, and twelve neutral guards monitored the entrance.
At the center of the massive round stone table sat the elderly Don, Antonio Vance, flanked by the leaders of the four minor families. To his left sat an empty chair—reserved for Carlo Donati, who sat nervously sipping brandy, his hands shaking slightly.
The heavy iron doors at the rear of the chamber groaned open.
The twelve neutral guards stood at attention, bowing their heads in deep respect.
Alejandro Moretti stepped into the stone hall. He wore a tailored charcoal suit, his broad shoulders held high, carrying an aura of absolute dominance.
Beside him walked my mother, Sarah, wearing an elegant black dress, looking poised and graceful. And holding Alejandro’s hand, wearing a small yellow sun dress with a matching hair ribbon, was me.
A collective gasp echoed through the solemn stone room.
"Alejandro?" Don Vance gasped, his old eyes widening behind his gold-rimmed spectacles. "Reports reached us hours ago that you had suffered a fatal medical emergency at your estate!"
Carlo Donati slammed his brandy glass onto the table, his face turning bright red. "What is the meaning of this?! Why are there servants and children in the sacred chamber of the Council?!"
Alejandro walked up to the grand table, stopping directly across from Carlo. He didn't look at the other bosses. His dark eyes remained fixed on Carlo Donati like a predator eyeing its prey.
"I am alive, Don Vance," Alejandro announced, his powerful voice reverberating off the marble pillars. "Because the venom Carlo Donati bought from an illegal lab in Zurich was defeated by the purity of a child."
Alejandro gently guided me forward. I stood on my tiptoes, resting my tiny hands against the polished stone edge of the massive council table.
"This is Emma," Alejandro declared to the six most powerful mob bosses in the region. "Her mother is Sarah. Yesterday, they were members of my household staff. Today, they are under the absolute, permanent protection of the Moretti bloodline."
Carlo scoffed loudly, attempting to hide his terror behind arrogance. "This is absurd! You bring a maid and a brat into our council chamber to accuse me of treason? Where is your proof, Moretti?!"
Alejandro gestured to Marco, who walked forward carrying a silver briefcase.
Marco set the briefcase on the table, opening it to reveal a glowing tablet and an encrypted drive.
"This drive contains thirty hours of continuous footage from a hidden camera installed in my private study," Alejandro explained, his voice icy smooth. "It shows Victor—a man who received two hundred thousand dollars from a Donati shell account three days ago—poisoning my glass. And it shows Carlo Donati's private vehicle parked outside my estate waiting for the signal."
The other four family bosses leaned in, watching the crystal-clear video play on the tablet screen. They saw Victor pour the poison. They saw Alejandro collapse.
And then, they saw me.
They watched a four-year-old girl in a pink rabbit backpack push past two armed guards, plunge an emergency injector into the thigh of the city's most feared man, and hold his hand until his breath returned.
Don Vance closed his eyes, leaning back in his leather chair with a heavy, solemn sigh. He looked up at Carlo Donati with absolute disgust.
"You attempted to poison a Don using a coward's method," Don Vance said softly, his ancient voice laced with cold finality. "And you failed because a child possessed more courage than you ever will."
"Don Vance, please!" Carlo panicked, standing up so fast his chair fell backward onto the stone floor. "It was a business move! Moretti controls too much of the port—"
"Silence!" Don Vance commanded, slamming his heavy wooden gavel onto the stone block.
The old Don looked at Alejandro. "Under syndicate law, the punishment for unprovoked assassination inside a family home is total forfeiture. Carlo Donati’s territory, his assets, and his seat on this council are hereby stripped."
Don Vance looked down at me, a soft, rare smile touching his weathered face.
"And by decree of this council, fifty percent of the Donati shipping revenues will be placed into an irrevocable trust for young Emma, to be managed by Alejandro Moretti until she comes of age."
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Carlo Donati sank to his knees on the cold floor as two council guards stepped up behind him, pinning his arms behind his back.
Alejandro looked down at the disgraced boss, his voice low and deadly. "You thought my weakness was an allergy, Carlo. You failed to realize that my true strength is the people who stand beside me."
