PART 5: The Confession of a Traitor
PART 5: The Confession of a Traitor
Exposed lies demand a final reckoning.
"Do you recognize this ledger, Vincent?" I asked, my voice carrying an icy, razor-sharp calm that was far more terrifying than a shout. "Lucas Moreno kept it hidden in the docks before you murdered him and burned his warehouse to the ground twelve years ago."
Vincent’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
His eyes darted desperately toward the door, calculating escape routes that didn't exist.
"You told me it was an insurance scam gone wrong," I continued, leaning forward, resting my forearms on the table. "You lied to my face, you embezzled millions from my shipping lines, and you destroyed a good man's family just to cover your tracks."
"Boss... please!" Vincent whimpered, sliding out of his chair and dropping to his knees on the restaurant floor right beside my feet. "The Genovese family... they pressured me! They said if I didn't take over the docks, they would wipe out my crew! It wasn't my idea!"
The two Genovese captains sitting across the table stiffened instantly, glaring daggers at Vincent for trying to shift the blame onto their bosses.
"Shut your mouth, you pathetic piece of trash," one of the captains growled, starting to stand up.
Dante slammed the butt of his pistol down onto the table, shattering a water glass.
"Sit down and keep your hands where I can see them, or you'll die right here in this restaurant," Dante barked.
The captain sat back down, seething in silence.
I looked down at Vincent, who was currently weeping openly, clutching at the hem of my trousers like a drowning beggar.
For eleven years, I had trusted this man.
I had paid for his mother's surgery.
I had made him godfather to my nephew.
And all along, he was a thief, a liar, and a cowardly murderer who preyed on the innocent to save his own skin.
"You know what my father taught me when I was six years old, Vincent?" I asked quietly, looking down into his terrified, tear-streaked face.
Vincent sniffled, shaking his head. "N-no, Boss... what?"
"He told me never to let anyone see what can hurt me," I said, my voice dropping into a dark, lethal register. "For a long time, I thought that meant building walls of iron and trusting no one."
I stood up, stepping away from him so he fell forward onto the floorboards.
"I was wrong. True strength isn't about hiding behind armor. It's about protecting the people who have been crushed by monsters like you."
I looked at Dante.
May you like
"Take him down to the East River warehouses. Lock him in the basement where Lucas Moreno worked twelve years ago. Let him spend a few days thinking about what it feels like to be trapped in the dark with nowhere to run."
"Gladly, Boss," Dante grinned, hauling Vincent up by his collar like a sack of garbage as the traitor screamed and begged for mercy.
