Chapter 19 - THE COUNCIL AT THE PENTHOUSE
One hour later, the grand living room of the penthouse was filled with tension so thick it felt suffocating.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows reflected the heavy grey rainstorm battering the Chicago skyline outside. Standing around the large marble conference table in the center of the room were five senior lieutenants of the Chicago syndicate—men who controlled the docks, the transport lines, and the enforcement crews across the city.
At the head of the table sat Valerio Duca.
Valerio was sixty-two years old, impeccably dressed in a double-breasted grey pinstripe suit, wearing silver-framed spectacles and a gold luxury watch. He looked calm, arrogant, and entirely confident in his position as the senior statesman of the council.
"Where is Alessandro?" Valerio asked impatiently, checking his gold watch. "He calls an emergency meeting, cancels the New York deal, and leaves us sitting here like amateurs?"
Before any lieutenant could answer, the heavy double doors of the master suite opened.
Alessandro walked into the living room.
He had donned a black trench coat over his three-piece suit, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. His dark, wavy hair was brushed back, his razor-sharp jaw set in an impenetrable line.
Walking two steps behind him was Elena.
She looked stunning, carrying eight-month-old Mia in her arms. Mia was wearing her delicate pink dress, her small brown hair styled with her tiny pink bow. Around Mia's neck, resting clearly outside her collar for all to see, was the thin silver chain holding the ancient Duca bloodline pendant.
The five lieutenants froze, their eyes widening in utter shock as they saw the housekeeper walking alongside the crime lord.
Valerio’s arrogant expression shattered instantly.
The moment his eyes landed on the silver pendant resting against the baby’s pink dress, his face turned ash-grey. His hands began to tremble violently on top of the marble table, his silver spectacles sliding slightly down his nose.
"What... what is this?" Valerio stammered, his voice cracking with sudden, overwhelming terror. "Alessandro... who is this child?"
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Alessandro stopped at the head of the table, towering over his uncle like an executioner standing over the block.
"This is Mia," Alessandro announced, his voice echoing through the vast penthouse with terrifying weight. "She is Lorenzo’s daughter. And the rightful heir to everything we own."
