Chapter 7 - The True Poison
Norah screamed in absolute horror as Salvatore thrashed violently on the pristine marble floor.
Thick, white foam bubbled aggressively from his lips, and his eyes rolled completely back in his head.
Gabriel’s calm, authoritative facade shattered instantly.
He leaped aggressively from his chair, aiming his pistol wildly at the two remaining capos.
"What the hell did you do?" Gabriel roared, assuming one of them had poisoned Salvatore.
The two capos looked equally terrified, their weapons shaking as they backed away from the dying man.
"We didn't do anything, Boss!" one of them yelled frantically.
"You just told us you poisoned the food!"
Norah rushed desperately to Salvatore’s side, her medical training completely overriding her fear of the mafia.
She quickly rolled the massive man onto his side to prevent him from violently choking on his own foam.
She checked his pulse; it was racing erratically, completely out of control.
"He hasn't been poisoned by a slow-acting neurotoxin!" Norah shouted over the chaotic yelling.
"This is an acute, incredibly massive allergic reaction!"
Gabriel stared at her in utter confusion.
"Allergic to what?" he demanded.
"The stracotto is just cheap beef, potatoes, and spices!"
Norah frantically searched her memory, trying to recall every single ingredient she had used in the kitchen.
Thyme. Garlic. Cinnamon. Cheap red wine.
Suddenly, a terrifying realization hit her like a physical blow to the chest.
"The oyster crackers," Norah whispered in horror.
She remembered placing a sealed packet of oyster crackers on Gabriel's saucer at the diner.
Leo had brought a new box of the exact same crackers from the "secure" grocery delivery earlier today.
She had casually crumbled a handful of them into the stew as a thickener, just as Rosa used to do.
"Does Salvatore have a severe shellfish allergy?" Norah demanded, looking up at Gabriel.
Gabriel’s eyes widened in sudden, horrifying comprehension.
"Yes," Gabriel breathed.
"He is highly allergic to almost all seafood."
Norah looked at the crumpled, discarded cracker wrappers sitting near the kitchen counter.
"Oyster crackers don't actually contain oysters, Gabriel," Norah explained rapidly.
"They are just plain flour and water."
"Unless someone deliberately crushed freeze-dried shellfish powder and carefully re-sealed it inside the commercial packaging."
The silence in the dining room was suddenly deafening, broken only by Salvatore’s ragged, dying gasps.
The realization hit Gabriel with devastating force.
Marcus hadn't infiltrated the kitchens to poison the food directly.
He had simply corrupted the supply chain, replacing everyday, harmless items with lethal, untraceable alternatives.
The Wagyu beef and the truffle oil hadn't been poisoned.
The expensive sea salt used to season them had been laced with cyanide.
And the "secure" supplier who had delivered the groceries to the penthouse today was actively working for Marcus.
"Leo!" Gabriel roared at the top of his lungs.
The massive enforcer burst violently through the dining room doors, his weapon instantly drawn.
"Lock down the entire penthouse immediately!" Gabriel ordered fiercely.
"The traitor isn't one of the capos."
"It's someone deeply embedded in our supply logistics."
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Before Leo could move to secure the exits, a sudden, blinding flash of light erupted from the kitchen.
A massive, concussive explosion blew the heavy kitchen doors completely off their hinges, throwing Leo violently across the room.
