Chapter 8 - the silver key and the vault
The grand marble lobby of the First National Bank in downtown New Haven was quiet at 8:45 AM.
Adrian walked through the heavy bronze doors, wearing his custom black wool overcoat over his black dress shirt, flanked by Marcus and four broad-shouldered enforcers.
The bank manager, recognizing the powerful Mafia Don immediately, bowed nervously and guided them down the private spiral stairs to the subterranean vault level.
"Box 412," Adrian said, presenting the silver key he had recovered from James's leather pouch.
The manager inserted his master key alongside Adrian's silver key, turning them simultaneously.
CLACK.
The heavy steel box slid out from the wall. Adrian pulled it out, carrying it to a private viewing table in the center of the room.
Inside the box lay three thick, leather-bound financial ledgers, an encrypted flash drive, and an official land grant deed for a private estate in the hills of Tuscany, Italy—registered directly under the name Nora Hayes Cole.
Adrian opened the first ledger. Page after page detailed the complete evidence of Dominic Cole's treason, including the wire transfers paid to the hitmen who had ambushed James five years ago.
"Everything is here," Marcus whispered in awe. "James documented every single transaction before he died. This completely dismantles Dominic's remaining faction."
Suddenly, the heavy iron door of the vault room swung open!
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Standing in the threshold, flanked by four armed mercenaries, was Vincent Rossi—a grizzled, ruthless mobster in his late fifties, holding a silenced submachine gun pointed directly at Adrian's chest!
"Drop the box, Adrian!" Rossi sneered, his yellowed teeth flashing in a vicious grin. "Dominic may be gone, but his men still control this city! Hand over those ledgers, or you die in this vault!"
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