Chapter 5 - The Reckoning of the Families
At midnight, the industrial district of Red Hook, Brooklyn, was silent save for the howling wind off the East River.
Inside Warehouse 14—the largest distribution hub owned by the Vitorio family—thirty heavily armed men were guarding twenty million dollars worth of contraband goods. They were celebrating their easy takeover of Dominic Moretti's territory, drinking whiskey around oil-drum fires.
"Moretti didn't even send a crew," one of the Vitorio guards laughed, leaning against a crate. "The guy's at home changing diapers while we take his income."
Suddenly, the heavy steel roll-up doors of the warehouse blew inward with a deafening explosion.
Shockwaves tore through the room, sending dust and debris flying. Before the guards could react, smoke canisters bounced across the concrete floor, filling the warehouse with thick, blinding white fog.
Screams and panicked gunfire erupted in the darkness.
Through the red emergency lights and white smoke, Dominic Moretti strode into the warehouse like a phantom. He didn't rush. He moved with absolute, terrifying precision. Beside him, Enzo and a tactical strike team of twenty elite Moretti enforcers moved through the space, disarming and neutralizing the Vitorio guards within three minutes.
Not a single shot was fired by the opposition that hit its mark.
When the smoke cleared, thirty Vitorio men were on their knees, hands zip-tied behind their backs, staring up in absolute terror at Dominic Moretti.
Dominic walked to the center of the warehouse, stepping over a fallen iron pipe. He wore a heavy black trench coat over his suit, his face completely unbothered, his eyes cold as ice.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number on speakerphone.
After two rings, the frantic voice of Vincent Vitorio filled the silent warehouse.
"Who is this?!" Vincent demanded over the line.
"Vincent," Dominic said smoothly, his voice echoing through the quiet space. "I am standing inside Warehouse 14 in Red Hook."
A gasp sounded over the line. "What? That's impossible! I have thirty men there—"
"Your thirty men are currently on their knees on the concrete floor," Dominic interrupted calmly. "And my team has just finished placing thermite charges on every structural pillar in this building."
"Dominic! Are you insane?!" Vincent screamed. "That warehouse contains twenty million dollars of my inventory! If you destroy it, you start an all-out war with the entire Commission!"
"You started a war when you conspired with my mother to threaten my daughter, Vincent," Dominic replied, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. "Listen to me very carefully. You have one hour to call every family on the Commission. You will tell them that the Vitorio family is officially backing down from all Moretti territory. You will surrender your docks in Staten Island to me as reparations for your intrusion. And you will personally see to it that Lucia Moretti is permanently exiled to a convent in Sicily."
"And if I refuse?!" Vincent spat, though his voice was shaking with obvious terror.
Dominic looked down at his watch. "If you refuse, I press a button on this phone. Warehouse 14 explodes. Then I move to Warehouse 15. Then I come to your house in Long Island. You have fifty-nine minutes left, Vincent."
Dominic hung up the phone.
He looked down at the head guard kneeling before him. "Tell your boss that the next time he speaks my daughter's name, I won't use smoke canisters."
Without waiting for an answer, Dominic turned on his heel and walked out into the crisp, cold night air, Enzo trailing right behind him.
"That was fast," Enzo remarked, a rare grin touching his face as they climbed into the back of the armored SUV.
"I have to get back," Dominic said, checking his watch again. "I promised Lily I would read her a bedtime story at one in the morning."
Enzo looked at his boss in the rearview mirror, awe washing over him. Dominic hadn't lost his edge—he had become ten times more dangerous because now, he had something real to fight for.
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Twenty minutes later, Vincent Vitorio made the call to the Commission. The Vitorio family surrendered all disputed territory, and Lucia Moretti was escorted to JFK airport under heavy guard, banished from the United States forever, her political influence completely destroyed.
The underworld had received its answer. Dominic Moretti was not weak. He was invincible.
