Chapter 5 - The Council of Wolves
The grand boardroom on the top floor of Moretti Tower had seen many battles, but none like the one waiting for me when I returned at four o'clock that afternoon.
The storm outside had reached its peak, howling against the glass. Inside, the massive mahogany table was surrounded by power.
Sitting at the head of the table was my mother, Victoria. Beside her sat Richard Bennett—the patriarch of Bennett Logistics, an arrogant, white-haired billionaire with cold eyes—and his daughter, Sophia. Surrounding them were eight corporate attorneys and four senior board members of Moretti Enterprises.
When I entered the room, the conversations abruptly died.
Richard Bennett stood up, adjusting his bespoke suit jacket. “Vincent! Finally. Your mother explained there was a minor domestic distraction, but we’ve been waiting for three hours. The press conference is scheduled for five. Let's sign these papers and finish this deal.”
I walked to the foot of the table, remaining standing. I did not take off my overcoat.
“The deal is off, Richard,” I said plainly.
A sharp gasp echoed through the room. Board members looked at each other in utter shock.
Richard Bennett’s face turned bright red. “What did you just say? We’ve negotiated this transaction for three years! We have fifty banks backing this credit line!”
“Vincent, stop this madness immediately!” Victoria commanded, standing up from her chair, her eyes burning with fury. “You are ruining thirty years of legacy over a ghost!”
“She’s not a ghost, Mother,” I said, my voice cutting through the rising panic in the room like a blade. “She’s in the intensive care unit at St. Jude’s Hospital. And she’s alive.”
Sophia’s hands tightened around her gold pen, her knuckles turning white.
I pulled out my phone, tapped the screen, and placed it on the glass conference display in the center of the room. The video feed from the Brooklyn hit-and-run began playing on the four massive wall-mounted monitors for everyone to see.
The room went dead silent as the dark grey sedan struck Emily and sped away.
“That vehicle,” I said, pointing at the screen, “belongs to Bennett Logistics. Registration number NY-884-BL. It left the Bennett private garage in Long Island City at 1:45 AM last night and returned at 2:30 AM with front-bumper damage.”
Richard Bennett didn't blink. “That proves nothing. Our fleet has fifty vehicles. Employees take them without authorization all the time—”
“I don't care about the driver, Richard,” I interrupted coldly. “I care about who gave the order.”
I turned my attention to Sophia. She was staring at the monitors, her lips trembling, her calm facade completely destroyed.
“Nine years ago,” I said, stepping toward her, “Emily Vane disappeared. I was told she took five hundred thousand dollars from our family bank accounts. But three hours ago, my forensic team audited those old bank logs.”
I brought up a second document on the screens—a series of wire transfers dating back nine years.
“The five hundred thousand dollars didn't go to Emily,” I revealed, watching Sophia’s face turn ash-grey. “It was wired to a private offshore account in the Cayman Islands registered under the name of Sophia Bennett. You used my mother’s authority to forge the financial trail, making it look like Emily took a payoff to leave the country.”
Victoria took a sudden step back, looking genuinely startled. “What? Vincent... what are you talking about?”
I turned to my mother, my chest heavy with disgust. “Did you know about the money, Mother? Or did you just give Sophia the security codes to get rid of the girl you thought was beneath our family status?”
Victoria’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. For the first time in my life, I saw my mother look truly terrified.
“Vincent, darling, please,” Sophia stammered, standing up, tears finally overflowing her eyes. “I did it for us! That girl was a nobody! She was going to ruin your standing in the city! Your father had just died, the syndicate was falling apart, and you needed the Bennett family alliance to survive! She would have dragged you down!”
“So you threatened her?” I whispered, stepping right up to Sophia. “You told her you would kill her family if she didn't disappear? And when she came back to the city yesterday because she was dying, you tried to run her down in the street?”
“I didn't mean for her to get hurt last night!” Sophia sobbed, losing all control. “She called me! She told me she was bringing your daughter to see you! She was going to ruin everything we built!”
The room gasped in unison. Board members stood up in horror.
Richard Bennett stared at his daughter, his mouth agape. “Sophia... what have you done?”
I looked at the attorneys from Harrison & Cole, who were already packing their briefcases in silent terror.
“The merger is dead,” I announced, my voice resounding through the high-ceilinged room like a death knell. “And as of five minutes ago, NYPD Homicide and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been provided with every video feed, bank transfer, and vehicle log in this room.”
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway outside.
The double doors opened, and six uniform NYPD officers alongside two federal agents walked into the boardroom, led by Frank.
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“Sophia Bennett,” the lead federal agent declared, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs. “You are under arrest for attempted murder, conspiracy, and corporate fraud.”
As the officers stepped forward and snapped the cuffs around Sophia’s wrists, her screams filled the air, echoing down the pristine halls of Moretti Tower as she was dragged away.
