“MISTER… MAY I EAT WITH YOU?” MY HOUSEKEEPER’S FOUR-YEAR-OLD ASKED TO SIT IN MY DEAD DAUGHTER’S CHAIR—THEN HER FATHER’S PENDANT EXPOSED THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN BESIDE ME FOR TEN YEARS

In our world, you do not execute a capo without a trial, even if the trial is conducted in the shadows. I needed a confession. I needed Julian to admit to his betrayal so the rest of the families wouldn't see it as a paranoid boss going mad with grief.

I organized a private dinner. Just the two of us.

The dining room was set. The same room where Sophie had asked to eat with me. I sat at the head of the table. Julian sat to my right. The fireplace roared, casting dancing shadows against the heavy oak walls.

We ate perfectly seared steaks, poured rare vintage wine, and talked about the old days. We laughed about a botched job in Palermo ten years ago, reminiscing like blood brothers. It was a flawless performance from both of us, a deadly dance of smiles hiding daggers.

“It’s good to see you like this, Leo,” Julian said, raising his glass. “You’ve been a ghost for two years. The men need to see their King on the throne.”

“A King is only as strong as his Hand,” I replied, clinking my glass against his. I took a slow sip. “Julian… did you ever feel that I held you back? That you deserved the throne?”

Julian’s knife paused against his plate. He looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. “We built this empire together, Leo. I have always been proud to stand by your side. Why would you ask that?”

“Because of the Southside ports,” I said casually, cutting a piece of meat. “I hated them. You loved them. The money is staggering. I imagine it was frustrating, waiting for me to approve something I never would. You needed me out of the way. But you knew the families wouldn't follow you if you assassinated me directly.”

The room temperature seemed to plummet. Julian placed his silverware down very carefully.

“Leo. Are you accusing me of something?”

I didn't answer. Instead, I reached into my jacket pocket and tossed a heavy object onto the table. It slid across the polished mahogany and came to a stop right next to Julian’s wine glass.

The silver wolf pendant.

Julian stared at it. For the first time in ten years, I saw genuine fear crack his composed mask.

“You gave that to David Bennett,” I said, my voice eerily calm, a dead man speaking from the grave. “You hired a degenerate gambler to cut the brakes on my car. You meant to kill me, Julian. But I stayed home that day to take a phone call, and Elena took Sophia to the park instead.”

Julian didn't speak. He looked from the pendant to me. His mind was racing, calculating his odds, realizing the doors to the dining room were locked and Dante was standing outside.

“You killed my wife. You killed my four-year-old daughter. And then you killed the mechanic and threw him in the harbor.” I leaned forward, my eyes burning with a hellfire that had been smoldering for twenty-four months. “Tell me I’m wrong, Julian. Lie to me one last time.”

Julian closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and when he opened them, the brotherly love was entirely gone. All that remained was raw, naked ambition and venom.

“You became weak, Leo,” Julian snarled, his voice dropping the facade. “You were turning into a philanthropist! A family man! This is the mafia, not a charity. We had rival families circling us like sharks, and you were busy reading bedtime stories! I had to take control!”

“By murdering my child?” I roared, slamming my fists onto the table, shattering the plates.

“It was supposed to be you!” Julian yelled back, jumping to his feet. “It was a mistake! But once it happened, I couldn't undo it. I took the ports to make us untouchable! I made us richer than we have ever been!”

“You are a dead man,” I whispered.

Julian laughed, a harsh, grating sound. He pulled a small radio transmitter from his pocket. “You think I walked into your house blindly, Leo? I knew you were digging. The moment you asked about the pendant this morning, I made my calls. Half your guards are on my payroll. They’re loyal to the money I bring in.”