Chapter 10
The following morning, a light rain washed over the pine forests surrounding the Moretti estate. The grand conference room in the east wing was filled with thirty high-ranking syndicate elders, captains, and regional commanders seated around a massive mahogany table. The room was tense, thick with quiet suspicion and the heavy aroma of dark espresso.
Sitting at the head of the table was Dominic Moretti, looking majestic and terrifying in a bespoke black suit, his fitted dress shirt open at the collar, revealing his dark chest tattoos. Flanking him were Marco and six elite guards standing at attention with their hands on their holsters.
"Dominic," spoke Don Carmine, an seventy-year-old senior council member with slicked-back gray hair. "You summoned the emergency commission on short notice. Victor Bancroft is missing, his men are dead at Bellagio, and rumors are spreading that you broke protocol."
Dominic did not answer immediately. He stood up slowly, his tall, muscular frame dominating the room. The black dragon tattoo across his knuckles caught the chandelier light as he rested his hands flat on the oak table.
"Victor Bancroft was executed for treason," Dominic announced, his deep baritone vibrating through the room like thunder. "He attempted to murder my blood."
The captains exchanged panicked, confused glances.
Dominic turned toward the side double doors. "Bring her in."
The doors swung open. Mara Bennett stepped into the conference room. She was no longer wearing her pale-yellow waitress dress. She wore an elegant, high-collared black dress provided by the estate, her long chestnut-brown hair flowing neatly over her shoulders. Around her neck, gleaming under the bright lights, hung the silver pendant featuring the rising phoenix and serpent crest.
Beside her walked a nurse carrying baby Nico, who let out a cheerful, loud giggle the moment he saw Dominic.
A collective gasp erupted from the senior council members. Several elderly captains rose to their feet in utter shock, staring at the silver pendant with unblinking eyes.
"The phoenix crest..." Don Carmine gasped, his hands trembling against the table. "Elena's mark... it's impossible!"
"She is Mara Bennett," Dominic declared, his voice echoing with absolute, terrifying authority. "The daughter of Elena Vance-Bennett, and the legitimate heiress to forty percent of our primary holdings. As of this moment, her claim is fully restored under my personal protection."
He looked around the room, his dark, piercing eyes making direct contact with every captain present, challenging anyone to dispute the declaration.
"If any man in this room, or any faction in this city, raises a hand against her or my son," Dominic warned coldly, "I will burn their entire family line from the face of the earth."
No one spoke. No one dared to raise a weapon. The sheer power radiating from Dominic, combined with the undeniable proof of the silver pendant, sealed the council's submission.
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Mara looked at Dominic, seeing the fiercely protective king standing before an empire, and felt a profound sense of belonging wash over her heart. She was no longer a helpless waitress running from shadows; she was a Moretti, sheltered within the fortress of a man who would tear the world apart to keep her safe.
As the rain continued to fall outside over the Hudson River, the story closed on a powerful, open horizon: the old secrets were exposed, the bloodline was reunited, but as new rival syndicates across the globe prepared to challenge Dominic's rising empire, the war for the future of the Moretti family was only just beginning.
