Chapter 6 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE THE FAMILY
Carmine’s abandoned car was discovered beneath an overpass.
Blood stained the passenger seat.
There was no body.
Anthony was gone.
Roman wanted every Costa soldier in the city searching.
Sadie stopped him.
“Think.”
“That’s my father.”
“And whoever took him expects you to react.”
Roman slammed both hands onto the desk.
“I am reacting!”
“That’s the problem.”
He turned away.
Sadie lowered her voice.
“Victor wasn’t the end of this.”
Roman knew.
Anthony had confessed just enough to gain their trust.
He had provided the hotel plans.
He had encouraged them to focus on Victor.
And while everyone was looking in one direction, he had taken Carmine.
Roman remembered Luca’s notebook.
They searched it again.
One name appeared repeatedly beside Anthony’s.
Mercer.
Not a person.
A location.
Mercer Cold Storage.
An abandoned refrigeration facility once owned by the Costa family.
Roman and Sadie drove there.
Roman ordered her to remain in the truck.
She followed him inside thirty seconds later.
“You are impossible.”
“I've heard.”
They found Carmine tied to a chair in the central freezer.
Alive.
Anthony stood behind him.
A gun rested against Carmine’s shoulder.
Roman stopped.
“You always were impatient,” Anthony said.
“What do you want?”
“The evidence.”
“It’s gone.”
“No. Victor’s copy is gone.”
Anthony smiled.
“Luca kept backups.”
Roman understood.
The notebook contained a coded location.
Anthony needed Roman to decipher it.
Carmine looked exhausted.
“Don’t give him anything.”
Anthony struck him.
Roman moved forward.
The gun lifted.
Sadie grabbed Roman’s sleeve.
Anthony noticed.
Again.
Always Sadie.
“You know what Luca’s real mistake was?” Anthony asked.
“He cared.”
Roman stared at him.
“Carmine cared about his sons. Luca cared about Roman. Roman cares about the waitress.”
Anthony smiled.
“Love makes men predictable.”
Sadie spoke.
“No.”
Anthony looked at her.
“Fear does.”
His smile disappeared.
“You kidnapped Carmine because you’re terrified of what happens when the truth comes out,” she continued.
“You betrayed Luca because you were afraid of Victor.”
“Be quiet.”
“You've spent your whole life calling cowardice strategy.”
Anthony aimed at her.
Roman stepped between them.
“Don’t.”
Anthony smiled again.
There.
The weakness.
But Roman was no longer the man Anthony remembered.
He did not charge.
He did not scream.
He looked at Carmine.
Then at the refrigeration controls.
Sadie saw it too.
The old emergency sprinkler system.
Roman subtly moved his hand.
Three fingers.
Two.
One.
Sadie pulled the alarm.
Sirens exploded.
Sprinklers activated.
Anthony turned instinctively.
Roman moved.
He struck Anthony’s gun hand once.
The weapon slid across the floor.
Carmine kicked Anthony’s knee.
Sadie grabbed the gun.
Everyone froze.
Especially Sadie.
She had never held one.
Roman looked at her.
“Put it down.”
Anthony laughed.
“She won’t.”
Sadie’s hands shook.
Roman approached slowly.
“Sadie.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I know.”
“Then stop walking toward me.”
Roman stopped.
“You don’t have to know.”
She stared at him.
“You just have to choose.”
The same words she had given him.
Sadie lowered the weapon.
Roman took it carefully.
Anthony lunged.
Carmine stuck out his cane.
Anthony tripped spectacularly and hit the floor.
For one second nobody moved.
Then Sadie started laughing.
Roman stared at her.
Carmine laughed next.
Even Roman eventually did.
Anthony remained on the floor, furious.
Police arrived minutes later.
As officers led Anthony away, he looked at Roman.
“Your family is finished.”
Roman answered quietly.
“Maybe it should be.”
Carmine heard him.
Back at the estate, father and son sat opposite each other.
Carmine poured two drinks.
Roman declined his.
“I’m leaving.”
Carmine looked up.
“The organization?”
“All of it.”
“Roman—”
“Luca wanted out.”
Roman placed the notebook on the table.
“He died trying.”
Carmine looked at it.
“I’m not dying for this.”
Sadie watched from the doorway.
Roman continued.
“Harbor Logistics becomes completely legitimate. Every questionable account gets closed. Every illegal route ends.”
“You think people will simply accept that?”
“No.”
Roman looked at his father.
“But I’m doing it anyway.”
Carmine studied him.
For decades, he had built an empire designed to survive every enemy.
He had never imagined his own son might simply refuse to inherit it.
Finally, Carmine nodded.
“All right.”
Roman blinked.
“That’s it?”
“No.”
Carmine took a drink.
“I’m furious.”
Sadie smiled.
“But Luca wanted this.”
Carmine looked toward his dead son’s notebook.
“And I have already buried one boy because I refused to listen.”
Roman’s eyes lowered.
Carmine looked at Sadie.
“Take care of him.”
Sadie shook her head.
“No.”
Both men looked surprised.
“He takes care of himself.”
Roman smiled.
Sadie added, “I’ll remind him when he forgets.”
Carmine laughed.
For the first time, Roman saw the possibility of a future.
Then Sadie’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her smile vanished.
Someone had sent photographs of Roman’s violent past to every major newspaper in the city.
Along with Sadie’s name.
May you like
And the headline already spreading online was brutal:
WAITRESS SEDUCES MOB HEIR FOR MILLIONS.
