Chapter 7 - The Cleansing of the Tower
Before Julian could scream or beg further, the bedroom door was kicked open.
Frankie Varga and four heavy-set, loyal Moretti enforcers stepped into the room, their weapons drawn, their faces hard as iron. Behind them stood Dr. Marcus Thorne, carrying his chemical testing kit and a secure evidence container.
Frankie took one look at Julian weeping on his knees, then looked at Victor—standing tall, broad-shouldered, his gray eyes burning with cold, restored authority.
"Boss," Frankie said, his voice thick with emotion and relief. "We locked down the lobby. Julian’s three guards are in the basement in zip-ties."
"Collect that bottle, Marcus," Victor instructed without taking his eyes off Julian. "Seal it. Run the full chemical signature. Prepare a complete report for the Commission."
"Right away, Victor," Thorne said, carefully picking up the dropped vial with gloved fingers and securing it in a metal evidence tube.
Julian looked up from the floor, his eyes wild with terror as he realized his fate. "Victor... what are you going to do to me? Please... we're family! My father was your uncle!"
Victor looked down at him with an expression of pure, unadulterated disgust.
"You aren't my family, Julian," Victor said quietly. "Family doesn't poison the water. Family doesn't drive a man mad in his own bed."
He looked at Frankie Varga.
"Take him down to the subterranean holding rooms at the docks," Victor commanded. "Keep him alive until the Commission meets at dawn. I want every capo from New York to Philadelphia to see the evidence Marcus prepared. I want them to hear Julian’s confession from his own lips."
"And after the Commission, Boss?" Frankie asked, his hand gripping the back of Julian’s collar like an iron hook, hauling him roughly to his feet.
Victor stepped up to Julian, reaching out with his uninjured right hand to pull the antique gold pocket watch from Julian’s waistcoat pocket. He snapped it open, listened to the sharp, distinct click one last time, and then crushed the delicate gold casing between his bare fingers, shattering the tiny gears into brass dust.
He dropped the broken gold onto the floorboards.
"After the Commission," Victor said coldly, "Julian goes for a very long swim in the harbor."
Julian let out a choked, terrified sob as Frankie dragged him out of the master suite, his boots dragging uselessly against the plush carpet, until his screaming died away down the service corridor.
The room fell quiet once again.
Dr. Thorne finished packing his medical kit, looking at Victor with a long, approving nod. "You look better, Victor. For a man who hasn't slept in three years, your pulse is remarkably steady."
"I have work to finish, Marcus," Victor said softly.
"Get some sleep first," Thorne urged gently. "The water is clean now."
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Victor looked toward the door leading to the housekeeper’s quarters.
"Not yet," Victor said. "There is one more debt I need to settle."
