Chapter 7 - The Trial in the Ballroom
The atmosphere inside the grand dining hall plummeted into liquid ice.
Alessandro didn't flinch. He slowly set his crystal glass down on the mahogany table, his dark eyes burning with a lethal, terrifying intensity that made the surrounding bodyguards step back.
"Emma," Alessandro asked softly, keeping his voice calm. "Which glass did he put the dust in?"
Emma walked over to Alessandro’s chair, pointing her small paintbrush at his untouched wine glass, then pointing at Don Marco's hands. "He turned his big silver ring around and dropped green powder into your cup while you were talking to the other man."
Don Marco slammed his fist onto the table, jumping up from his leather chair. "This is outrageous! You're taking the word of a three-year-old brat over a senior Council member?!"
Alessandro stood up slowly to his full height, his broad, broad-shouldered frame looming over the table like a vengeful titan.
"Marcus," Alessandro commanded flatly, without looking away from Marco. "Bring the chemical testing strip from the security kit."
Marcus stepped forward instantly, dipping a white test strip into Alessandro’s wine glass.
Within five seconds, the white paper turned a vivid, dark purple—indicating a lethal concentration of synthetic liquid cyanide.
Gasps reverberated through the room as the three other rival bosses jumped back from the table, drawing their sidearms and aiming them directly at Don Marco.
"Traitor!" the senior boss from North Chicago roared. "You brought poison to a Council summit!"
Don Marco reached frantically for his shoulder holster, but Alessandro moved with blinding speed. He vaulted across the mahogany table, grabbed Marco by his collar, and slammed him violently against the stone fireplace.
The crystal wine glass shattered on the hearth floor.
"You tried to poison my father ten years ago, Marco," Alessandro growled, his deep voice shaking the high ceilings of the room. "And today you try to poison me in my own house."
"Alessandro... wait!" Marco choked out, tears of terror spilling down his pale face. "Valenti syndicate... we can give you the European routes!"
"The European routes belong to the Moretti family, Marco," Alessandro whispered coldly. "And so does your life."
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Alessandro delivered a devastating strike that rendered Marco unconscious, dropping the rival boss onto the marble floor like a sack of stones.
He turned to his chief security officer. "Hand Marco over to the state prosecutor alongside Vincent's drive. The Valenti syndicate is finished in Chicago."
