Chapter 10 - The Syndicate's Move
The files on Thomas Sterling’s USB drive were devastating. They contained a decade of wire transfers, bribes to city officials, and the exact routes Julian used to launder money for the Moretti cartel. If these files went to the FBI, Julian wouldn't just go to prison; the Morettis would murder him for leaving a paper trail.
But Julian was not a man who waited to be slaughtered.
The next morning, Gabriel’s estate went into lockdown. Silas burst into the study, his face grim.
"Boss. Julian made a move. He didn't go to the cops. He went to the Morettis," Silas reported. "He convinced them that you abducted his wife to extort their money. The Moretti cartel just put a five-million-dollar bounty on your head, Gabriel. And they froze all of Elena's personal bank accounts."
Gabriel’s jaw tightened. "Julian is using the cartel as his shield."
"They're mobilizing," Silas continued. "They hit our warehouse in Queens an hour ago. It’s a full-scale turf war."
Elena sat in the leather armchair, listening. "He’s trying to flush you out. He knows you have me, and he knows if he kills you, he gets the files back and silencing me in the process."
Gabriel stood up, walking to the window. "Julian is a coward. He hides behind the Morettis because he cannot fight his own battles. If we go to war with the cartel in the streets, innocent people will die."
"Then we don't fight them in the streets," Elena said, her voice eerily calm. Both men looked at her.
"Julian cares about exactly one thing," Elena continued, stepping up to the desk. "His public image. His prestige. Tomorrow night is the Vanguard Architectural Gala at the Plaza Hotel. Julian is the keynote speaker. He has to be there to maintain the illusion that his life is perfect and his wife is just 'unwell.'"
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"It’s a fortress," Dante warned from the doorway. "He’ll have cartel security disguised as private details."
"I know," Elena said. "But he won't be expecting a ghost. I want to go to the gala."
