Chapter 6 - The Trap Snaps Shut
The color drained from Marcus Bell’s face with terrifying speed.
He took half a step backward, his back hitting the glass wall of the pediatric ICU. His polished, aristocratic composure dissolved into the raw, cornered panic of a traitor whose web had just been set on fire.
"Enzo, listen to me," Marcus stammered, raising both hands defensively. "The New York Commission... they were going to move on Chicago regardless! Don Salvatore from the Lucchesi family had already issued the mandate. They said you were becoming too soft, focusing too much on legitimate shipping lines and your daughter's future instead of the syndicate's bottom line! I was trying to preserve our infrastructure!"
"By putting poison on my dining table?" Enzo asked, taking one slow, deliberate step forward.
"The glass was for you!" Marcus screamed, his voice cracking. "It was supposed to be a heart attack! A clean transition of power! The girl was never supposed to be at that end of the table!"
"My daughter," Enzo said, his voice dropping into a register so cold it made the hospital air feel sub-zero, "is six years old."
Enzo raised a single finger.
Hargrove stepped forward with blinding speed. He grabbed Marcus by the collar, slammed him face-first against the reinforced glass wall, and wrenched his arms behind his back. The steel handcuffs ratcheted shut with a brutal, echoing snap.
"Search him," Enzo commanded.
Hargrove reached into Marcus's breast pocket, pulling out the encrypted burner phone. He unlocked it using the lawyer’s thumbprint, scrolling through the active messages.
"The contact is listed as Vanguard-One," Hargrove reported, showing the screen to Enzo. "The last ping originated from a penthouse suite at the Drake Hotel on Lake Shore Drive."
Enzo looked down at Marcus, who was trembling against the glass.
"Who is sitting in that penthouse, Marcus?" Enzo asked.
"Salvatore’s underboss," Marcus wept, his spirit completely broken. "Dominic Rossi. He arrived from New York this morning to oversee the handover once you were pronounced dead."
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Enzo leaned down until his lips were inches from the lawyer’s ear.
"You are going to text Mr. Rossi right now," Enzo whispered. "You are going to tell him the poison worked, that I am dead in the ICU, and that the board is ready to sign the transfer documents at The Aurelian at two o'clock in the morning."
