Chapter 4 - THE AMBUSH AT MIDNIGHT
At midnight, the high-ceilinged grand hall of the Valenti manor was suffocatingly hot despite the autumn chill outside.
Fifty men—lieutenants, soldiers, and syndicate enforcers—packed the perimeter of the room. At the center of the long marble conference table sat Marco Valenti, Don Matteo’s ambitious, hot-tempered younger brother.
Marco wore a tailored white suit, a diamond ring sparkling on his pinky finger as he slammed a heavy palm onto the table.
"Where is she?!" Marco barked, looking around at the solemn Capos standing along the walls. "We’ve been waiting twenty minutes! I didn't come here to play waiting games with Matteo's widow! If she doesn't hand over the master keys to the family trusts tonight, we vote without her!"
"You won't be voting on anything, Marco," a smooth, steady voice echoed from the balcony terrace.
The double oak doors at the top of the grand staircase swung open.
Serafina walked down the stairs, flanked by Santino and Bruno. She wore a tailored black velvet suit, her presence commanding every eye in the room.
Marco sneered, leaning back in his chair. "Ah, the accountant finally graces us with her presence. Save us the speech, Serafina. You're a civilian. You don't carry the Valenti name by blood. Hand over the ledger keys and take a stipend. We'll let you keep the guest house in Vermont."
Serafina reached the head of the table and sat in the high-backed leather chair that had remained empty since Matteo’s death.
She set a thin manila folder on the polished marble.
"Three hours ago, Marco," Serafina spoke quietly, "two of your men—Nolan and Victor—attacked Leo and Mia in the garden."
Marco waved his hand dismissively. "Rough housing. Boys will be boys. The kid needs to grow up tough if he's going to bear the family name."
"They tried to steal Matteo’s signet ring from a six-year-old boy," Serafina replied, her tone dropping into an icy register. "And they did it on your orders, because you needed the physical crest to access the Zurich vault tomorrow morning."
The ambient noise in the room died instantly. Several lieutenants exchanged uneasy glances.
Marco’s smile wavered, but he forced a loud chuckle. "You're delusional. I don't need a kid's ring to run this syndicate."
"You do," Serafina said softly, opening the folder. "Because as of 9:00 PM tonight, the Swiss Banking Authority froze all assets tied to the Valenti Master Trust. The only way to release those funds is with the dual biometric clearance of Matteo’s legal heir... and his appointed regent."
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She looked directly into Marco’s eyes.
"Which means you have zero dollars, Marco. And by 6:00 AM tomorrow, your private security team in Atlantic City will realize their paychecks bounced."
