Chapter 7 - The Ruthless King
The assault on the estate was fierce, but Moretti underestimated my preparation. He thought I had gone soft. He thought playing house with a nanny had dulled my edge. He was wrong. Having something to protect didn't make me weak. It made me the most dangerous man on the eastern seaboard. I moved through the dark corridors of my home like a shadow. Gunfire echoed from the front gates. Victor and the security team were holding the perimeter, but a few of Moretti's hitmen had breached the back entrance. They were looking for my family. I found the first two in the kitchen—the very room where Marisol had taught me how to laugh again. I didn't hesitate. Two suppressed shots, and they were down. I moved to the grand staircase. I could hear footsteps above. They were searching the bedrooms. I climbed the stairs silently. Three armed men were tearing apart my sons' rooms, shooting up the beds, thinking they were asleep. A blind rage took over me. I didn't just want to stop them; I wanted to erase them from existence. I stepped into the doorway and unleashed hell. The firefight lasted less than twenty minutes, but it felt like hours. By the time the police sirens grew close, Moretti's men were either dead or fleeing. I walked out to the front gate. Victor was bleeding from a graze on his shoulder, but he was grinning. "We got him, Boss," Victor said, holding a secure phone. "Moretti was in the command SUV down the street. Our boys intercepted him. He's begging for a truce." "No truce," I said, wiping blood from my cheek. I took the phone from Victor. "Moretti," I said into the receiver. "Mercer, listen," the rival boss panicked. "We can work this out. Business is business." "You crossed the line," I said coldly. "You brought guns to a house where children sleep. As of tonight, you are finished. You will sign over all your territories, all your ports, to my lieutenants. Then you will leave the country. If you are on American soil by sunrise, I will hunt you down myself." "You can't do that!" Moretti screamed. "I just did." I crushed the phone under my boot. I turned to Victor. "Call the fixers. Clean up the house. Bribe the local police chief. Make this whole night disappear." "What about the business, Julian?" Victor asked. "With Moretti gone, we rule the whole coast." "Give it away," I said, turning my back on the empire I had built. Victor stared at me in shock. "What?" "Divide the illegal operations among the capos. Keep only the legitimate businesses. The real estate, the shipping, the construction. I'm done, Victor. The Mercer crime family is dead." I didn't wait for his response. I walked back into my bullet-riddled house, my mind fixed on only one thing. The sub-basement.
