Chapter 8 - THE KING'S PROTECTORATE
Lorenzo stood motionless beside the table where little Sophie sat.
Jimmy "The Needle" Russo was a ruthless, low-level loan shark operating on the fringe of the Chicago underground—a man who specialized in preying on desperate, vulnerable civilians who couldn't secure bank loans. Russo knew that Elena worked at the Moretti estate, but he assumed she was just an anonymous laundry temp with zero protection, making her an easy target for extortion and physical terror.
Lorenzo felt a cold, terrifying wrath rise from the depths of his soul.
It was not just anger at a predator preying on a mother and child; it was an absolute, unshakeable breach of his domain. Elena Carter worked under his roof. Her laundry smock bore his family’s crest. In Lorenzo Moretti's Chicago, anyone who threatened a person under his protection threatened him.
Lorenzo slowly crouched down on one knee in front of Elena, bringing his six-foot-three frame down to her level on the marble floor.
He reached out with a massive, calloused hand, gently gripping her wrist and lifting her face until her hazel eyes were forced to meet his dark, unblinking gaze.
"He came into your home?" Lorenzo asked, his voice low, steady, and terrifyingly calm.
Elena offered a tiny, trembling nod. "He... he said if I didn't hand over my paycheck every Friday... he'd sell my car... and then he'd take Sophie to a house in Indiana..."
Lorenzo’s hand tightened subtly around her wrist—not to hurt her, but as an absolute, iron anchor of physical protection.
"Listen to me very carefully, Elena," Lorenzo declared, his deep voice carrying a weight that resonated through the floorboards. "Jimmy Russo is never stepping foot in your apartment building again. He is never speaking your name, and he is never looking at your daughter."
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Elena stared at him through her tears, her heart hammering in her chest. "Mr. Moretti... you don't understand... he has six men with him... they carry guns—"
"Elena," Lorenzo interrupted smoothly, a faint, dark, terrifying smile touching the corner of his lips. "I have six hundred men. And I own the city."
