Chapter 7 - The Matriarch's Secret
Dominic froze, his finger hovering over the trigger of his suppressed pistol.
He stared at the frail, elderly woman standing in the rain with her hands bound.
The absolute authority in her voice commanded the attention of every dangerous man on the pier.
Luca immediately stepped in front of his mother, trying to shield her again.
“Mother, stay out of this,” Luca warned, his voice tight with fear.
Mrs. Moretti stepped around her powerful son, refusing to be hidden.
She looked directly at the rival syndicate boss, her eyes burning with an intense, long-buried fire.
“You think you know the secrets of this family, Dominic?” she asked quietly.
Dominic lowered his weapon slightly, clearly unnerved by her confidence.
“I know your husband murdered his own son and hid the body in that box,” Dominic sneered.
Mrs. Moretti let out a dry, bitter laugh that echoed over the sound of the rain.
“My husband didn't kill Matteo.”
The entire pier went dead silent.
Luca turned to stare at his mother, utter confusion written across his face.
Vanessa backed away slowly, sensing the shift in power.
“What are you talking about?” Dominic demanded.
Mrs. Moretti looked at the skeleton sitting inside the rusted blue container.
A tear finally escaped her eye, tracing a path down her wrinkled cheek.
“Matteo wasn't stealing from the commission,” she confessed, her voice trembling but loud enough to be heard.
“He was stealing from Dominic's father.”
“He was young, stupid, and trying to prove he was strong enough to run his own crew.”
Dominic’s face drained of color.
“That’s a lie.”
“It’s the truth,” she snapped back.
“Your father found out and demanded Matteo’s life in exchange for peace between the families.”
“My husband refused to kill his own blood.”
Luca grabbed his mother's bound hands, his mind reeling.
“If father didn't kill him, who did?” Luca demanded softly.
Mrs. Moretti looked up into her eldest son's eyes, the weight of fifteen years of guilt finally breaking her.
“I did.”
The words hung in the freezing air like a physical blow.
Luca stumbled backward, shaking his head in absolute denial.
“No.”
“That’s impossible.”
Mrs. Moretti sobbed openly now, falling to her knees in the wet gravel.
She confessed that Dominic’s father had threatened to wipe out the entire Moretti family, including young Luca, if Matteo wasn't punished.
She had poisoned Matteo's wine during a private dinner to save the rest of her family from a massacre.
Her husband had discovered the body and locked it in the shipping container to protect her from the commission's wrath.
Dominic stared at the weeping woman, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
“Well, this is an even better story to tell the commission,” Dominic laughed.
“The great Moretti matriarch is a child killer.”
Dominic raised his gun again, preparing to execute Luca while he was paralyzed by the revelation.
Sophie knew she was entirely out of time.
She stood up from behind the wooden pallets, ignoring the pain in her injured shoulder.
She raised the heavy pistol with both hands, aiming directly at Dominic’s chest.
“Put the gun down!” Sophie screamed, her voice cracking with terror.
Dominic barely glanced at the maid in the torn uniform.
He smirked dismissively.
“You don't have the nerve to pull that trigger, little girl.”
He began to squeeze the trigger of his own weapon.
Sophie closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
The gun fired with a deafening roar.
But the bullet didn't hit Dominic.
It struck the massive rusted crane hook hanging directly above him.
The heavy iron hook snapped from its frayed cable and plummeted downward.
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It smashed into the pavement, crushing Dominic's right leg completely.
Dominic screamed in agony, dropping his weapon as he collapsed into the mud.
