Chapter 4 - The Midnight Council
Chapter 4 - The Midnight Council
By 2:00 a.m., the Ravellini estate had transformed into a command post.
The low, distant rumble of heavy engines echoed through the driveway as five armored SUVs slipped through the iron gates, their headlights turned off. Luca had called a midnight council of his top capos—the men who controlled the docks, the financial districts, and the enforcement crews of South Boston.
I was kept in the upper gallery, looking down through the iron balustrade at the grand dining room below. Sofia was safely asleep in the fortified basement, heavily sedated by a mild sedative Dr. Rossi had administered to calm her shock. I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the green dragon tattoo and the blood on my sister’s skirt.
Below me, twelve men sat around the massive oak table. Luca sat at the head, his white shirt now covered by a tailored black vest, his arms resting flat on the wood. The blood-smeared ledger sat in the exact center of the table like a bomb waiting to detonate.
"Jimmy Chen is already pushing his soldiers into our territory," an older capo named Silvio shouted, slamming his hand down.
"They’ve set up checkpoints on the bridge. They’re looking for a blonde girl in a school uniform. If we hold onto that ledger, we are inviting a full-scale war on the streets, Luca. The commission won't support us if the business shuts down."
"The ledger belongs to us," Luca said, his voice flat, cutting through the older man’s panic like a razor.
"It contains the names of the judges and politicians Chen has been using to squeeze our port operations. If we give it back, we give him the power to destroy us within a year. If we keep it, we break his spine. The girl brought it to me. That makes her an asset, not a liability."
"She’s a civilian, Luca!" another voice argued from the end of the table. "A waitress’s sister! We don't risk the family business for a girl from the South End. Turn her over to Chen. Tell him she was a witness, let him handle it, and we trade the ledger for a peace treaty."
My heart stopped. I gripped the iron railing so hard the metal bit into my split knuckles, a fresh drop of blood staining the carpet beneath my feet. They were talking about trading my fourteen-year-old sister like a sack of grain.
Below, Luca slowly rose from his chair. He didn't look at the capo who had spoken. He looked down the length of the table, his presence so massive, so terrifyingly dominant, that the entire room went dead silent within three seconds.
"The next man who suggests turning a child over to Jimmy Chen will leave this room through the window," Luca said. His voice was incredibly quiet, but it held a promise of absolute death.
"This family was built on a code. We do not target children, and we do not betray those who seek asylum under our name. Mia and Sofia are under my personal protection. If Jimmy Chen wants that ledger, he will have to bring his entire army to my front door. And if any of you have a problem with that, you can stand up right now and settle it with Marco in the courtyard."
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No one stood up. The hardened capos of the Ravellini family lowered their eyes, their silence an absolute submission to their Don’s authority.
Luca leaned forward, his hands flat on the table as he scanned their faces. "Silvio, mobilize the docks. Marco, take twenty men and secure the perimeter of Preston Academy. Find out exactly who saw the girl run. We have until sunrise to clean the street. Move."
