Chapter 6 - A Trap Set in Blood
The grand boardroom on the third floor of the Carrow mansion was illuminated by a single crystal chandelier.
Twelve senior syndicate captains sat around the massive mahogany table, whispering nervously among themselves.
At the head of the table sat Victor Carrow, his hands fidgeting with his gold cufflinks, his eyes darting frantically toward the heavy double doors.
Suddenly, the doors swung open.
Adrian Carrow walked into the room, dressed in a black suit, holding Mara Ellison securely by his side. Behind them stood Caleb and six heavily armed security officers carrying tactical shotguns.
The room went dead silent.
“Adrian?” Victor stammered, standing up so fast his chair screeched against the hardwood floor. “What is the meaning of this? Why are armed guards in the boardroom?”
Adrian didn't answer right away. He walked to the head of the table, pulled out a heavy leather armchair, and gently guided Mara to sit down in it.
He stood beside her, his heavy hand resting protectively on her shoulder.
“Gentlemen,” Adrian said smoothly to the twelve captains. “Three weeks ago, someone inside this room decided that twenty-five years of Carrow leadership was enough. Someone decided to alter my prescription medication with digitalis to induce a fatal heart attack.”
Gasps echoed around the table. The captains looked at each other in shock and suspicion.
“And when that failed,” Adrian continued, his voice dropping an octave, “thanks to the brilliant intervention of Nurse Mara Ellison... that same person hired a hitman to poison my tea tonight and strangle Mara in the lower kitchen.”
Victor’s eyes bulged with terror. “Adrian! This is absurd! You’re listening to the lies of a maid!”
“She’s not a maid, Victor,” Adrian said softly. “And the hitman you hired... Marcus... is currently downstairs explaining to Caleb’s lieutenants exactly how much you paid him to pull the trigger.”
Victor reached toward his coat pocket.
BANG!
A shot rang out.
Caleb’s bullet struck Victor’s right hand, shattering his wrist, knocking a compact pistol out of his fingers onto the polished mahogany table.
Victor screamed in agony, clutching his bloody wrist, falling back into his chair. “You can't do this! I am a Carrow! I have rights in this family!”
“You lost your rights the moment you targeted a nurse who wears no gun and carries no malice,” Adrian said, stepping closer to Victor, leaning over the table until his dark eyes were inches from his cousin’s terrified face.
“Dr. Pierce confessed everything an hour ago,” Mara added from her chair, her voice cold, steady, and loud enough for every captain to hear. “He provided bank records showing three hundred thousand dollars transferred from your private offshore account in Grand Cayman directly to his medical practice in Newton.”
The twelve captains stood up in unison, their faces filled with disgust and rage.
“Traitor!” old captain Sal Marino spat toward Victor. “You tried to poison the Don like a coward!”
“Take him away,” Adrian ordered flatly. “Hand him over to the state prosecutors along with Dr. Pierce’s full confession. Let him spend the rest of his pathetic life in a federal penitentiary.”
Two guards seized Victor by his arms, dragging him screaming and bleeding from the boardroom.
As the heavy doors closed behind Victor, Adrian turned to the remaining captains.
“The meeting is adjourned,” Adrian declared. “And remember this face.”
He pointed to Mara.
“This is Mara Ellison. She saved my life. She saved this organization from a bloody civil war. If anyone in Boston ever shows her anything less than absolute reverence... you will answer to me personally.”
The twelve captains bowed their heads in deep respect to Mara before quietly filing out of the room.
When the room was empty, leaving only Adrian and Mara under the soft chandelier light, the terrifying Don of Boston let out a long, shuddering sigh.
He turned to Mara, dropping onto one knee beside her chair.
He took her broad, calloused hands in his, pressing his lips gently against her knuckles.
“Are you alright, my savior?” Adrian asked softly.
May you like
Mara looked down at the feared Mafia boss kneeling before her, feeling a deep, powerful warmth flooding her entire soul.
“I am now, Adrian,” Mara whispered. “I am now.”
