Chapter 7 - THE GILDED CAGE
The rain had stopped, leaving the streets of Chicago slick and reflective, mirroring the neon glow of the city.
The Obsidian loomed over the river, a towering monolith of black glass. Tonight, it wasn't a restaurant; it was a fortress. Black SUVs lined the valet curb, and men with earpieces and bulging jackets stood at every entrance.
Inside, in the grand ballroom, Celeste Vane was holding court.
Evelyn watched from the catwalk eighty feet above the ballroom floor, hidden in the shadows of the lighting rig. Mia was tucked safely behind a stack of unused speaker crates, clutching her teddy bear and wearing a noise-canceling headset Evelyn had found in the AV booth.
Lorenzo knelt beside Evelyn, peering through the steel grating at the scene below.
The Five Families were gathered. Old men in expensive suits smoking cigars, sipping champagne, completely unaware that the man they thought was dead was hovering directly above them.
Celeste stood at the podium. She looked radiant, wearing a blood-red evening gown, a triumphant smile painted on her face.
"Lorenzo Moretti was a relic of the past," Celeste’s voice echoed through the PA system, smooth and poisonous. "He was weak. He lacked the vision to bring our families into the new century. Tonight, we honor his passing, but we also celebrate a new beginning. Under my leadership, the syndicate will be united."
"She’s good," Lorenzo murmured, his voice a low scrape of stone.
"She’s a snake," Evelyn whispered back, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Wait for Dante’s signal," Lorenzo said, checking the magazine of his Sig Sauer.
Down below, the head of the Romano family, an elderly man with a silver cane, stood up. "And what of the transition? Lorenzo's men are loyal. There will be war."
"There is no war," Celeste purred. "His capos have already pledged loyalty to me. The transition is complete."
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the ballroom burst open.
Dante stood in the doorway. He was swaying on his feet, his shirt soaked in blood, but he was grinning like a maniac.
"Transition this, you treacherous witch!" Dante roared, raising his submachine gun and firing a burst into the crystal chandelier above the podium.
Chaos erupted.
The capos dove under tables. Celeste’s bodyguards swarmed the room, returning fire. Dante ducked behind a marble pillar, laughing as he laid down suppression fire, drawing every single gun in the room toward the main entrance.
"Now," Lorenzo said.
He didn't take the stairs. He grabbed a heavy lighting cable, wrapped it around his arm, and vaulted over the catwalk railing.
Evelyn gasped as Lorenzo plummeted eighty feet, the friction of the cable slowing his descent just enough for him to land flawlessly on the grand dining table, directly in front of the podium.
The entire ballroom froze.
Dante stopped shooting. The bodyguards lowered their weapons, staring in absolute shock.
Celeste turned pale, her confident smile shattering like cheap glass. "Lorenzo..."
"Hello, darling," Lorenzo said, his voice carrying over the dead silence of the room. He stepped off the table, holding the black leather ledger in his left hand, his gun relaxed but ready in his right. "You forgot to confirm the kill."
"Kill him!" Celeste screamed, pointing a manicured finger at Lorenzo.
But none of the bodyguards moved. The Five Families were watching.
"Before you do," Lorenzo said, addressing the room, holding the ledger high. "You all might want to read this. My father’s private records. Specifically, the entries from 2006. The year the feds raided the docks."
He tossed the heavy book onto the table in front of Romano.
Romano opened it, adjusting his glasses. The old man’s face went from pale to purple in five seconds. He looked up, his eyes blazing with fury. "Arthur Vane. Celeste’s father. He was the informant. He sold out three of our capos to keep his own operations clean."
Murmurs of outrage swept through the room. The tide turned instantly. The men who had been ready to bow to Celeste were now looking at her like a rat in a trap.
Celeste panicked. The graceful veneer melted away, revealing the feral, desperate creature underneath. She grabbed a pistol from the bodyguard next to her and aimed it directly at Lorenzo’s head.
"I don't care about the ledger!" Celeste shrieked, her hand trembling. "You destroyed my family, Lorenzo! You took everything from me! I’m going to watch you die!"
"You're not going to watch anything," a new voice echoed through the PA system.
Celeste flinched, looking up.
In the lighting booth, Evelyn had flipped the main power switch. She grabbed the microphone. "Celeste Vane. You ordered a hit on a waitress tonight. Big mistake."
Evelyn slammed her hand down on the control board.
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Every single high-intensity spotlight in the rigging snapped on, instantly blinding everyone on the stage with a hundred thousand watts of brilliant, agonizing white light.
Celeste screamed, dropping her gun to cover her eyes.
