Chapter 8 - Cleaning the House
By sunrise, Lake Michigan was calm and blue once again.
The grand pavilion had been completely swept. The white orchids were gone, the glass replaced, the black tablecloths removed. To an outsider driving past the wrought-iron gates of the estate, nothing unusual had occurred over the weekend.
In Chicago, Arthur Corvini’s syndicate collapsed within forty-eight hours.
With Vance’s financial audit handed over to the Department of Justice and the FBI, federal agents raided Corvini’s headquarters, arresting Arthur and nine of his senior lieutenants on federal racketeering, wire fraud, and attempted murder charges. The Corvini family was erased from the Great Lakes map without a single shot being fired in the streets.
Inside his study, Alessandro sat behind his walnut desk.
The rogue black box was gone. The computer screens showed clean, secure servers.
Mateo walked into the room, setting a hot cup of black coffee on the blotter.
“Detroit is secure, Boss,” Mateo reported, pulling up a chair. “The capos from Milwaukee and Chicago signed off on the new territory distribution this morning. Everyone knows what happened. No one is going to step out of line for the next twenty years.”
Alessandro took a sip of his coffee. “And Genevieve?”
“Denial of bail,” Mateo smirked. “Her lawyer tried to argue she was an innocent bystander. The prosecutor laughed him out of the courtroom when he produced forty pages of encrypted text messages detailing execution plans.”
Alessandro nodded once, setting the cup down. He looked toward the window where the morning sun was casting long, golden rays across the dark hardwood floor.
“It’s quiet,” Alessandro observed.
“It’s clean,” Mateo corrected gently. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “What are you going to do now, Boss? The estate is empty.”
Alessandro looked down at his desk. On the corner of the blotter sat a small, plastic yellow flower—a toy Amara had left behind during her visit two weeks ago.
May you like
He picked it up, touching the soft plastic petal with his thumb.
“It won't be empty for long,” Alessandro said.
