Chapter 5 - The Confrontation at the Dining Table
The atmosphere inside the grand dining room of the Moretti mansion was thick enough to cut with a knife.
A long mahogany table was set with fine crystal, silver cutlery, and expensive Italian wine. Seated around the table were seven senior captains of the Moretti family—men who controlled the docks, the construction unions, and the gambling dens of New York. At the head of the table sat Don Matteo.
Lena sat in a quiet corner of the grand room, resting on a leather sofa. Titan lay at her feet, his heavy head resting on her boots. Though he was blind, his large ears twitched at every clink of glass, every shift of heavy boots. Lena kept her hand gently rubbing his ear, keeping him grounded.
Julian sat at Matteo’s right hand, sipping his wine, looking outwardly relaxed, though sweat glistened at his hairline under the bright chandelier lights.
"Gentlemen," Matteo began, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "I called you all here tonight because our family has been compromised. A parasite has been feeding on our trust."
The captains looked at one another, murmurs rising among them.
"Three weeks ago," Matteo continued, "my dog, Titan, was poisoned and abducted. The goal was simple: clear the path to my private study, steal the vault keys, and sell our shipping routes to our rivals in Chicago."
Julian set his glass down with a soft click. "Matteo, this is tragic, but is it really necessary to bring business to the dinner table over a pet? The dog was old. Maybe he wandered off—"
"He didn't wander off, Julian," Lena’s voice rang out from the corner.
Every head turned toward her.
Lena stood up, walking slowly toward the table, her sneakers silent against the Persian rug. Titan stood beside her, walking in perfect sync with her stride, his heavy shoulder brushing against her leg.
"Titan was poisoned over a six-month period," Lena said, her voice clear and unwavering. "Small doses of thallium mixed into his food. It blinded him slowly. It made his skin burn. It made him lash out because he was in agony."
"And how would a delivery girl know any of this?" Julian sneered, leaning back in his chair. "Matteo, you're letting a peasant dictate family matters."
"She knows because she found the evidence," Matteo said quietly. He pulled a heavy manila envelope from his jacket and tossed it into the center of the table.
"What is this?" asked Uncle Carmine, the oldest captain at the table.
"That," Lena explained, "is the chemical analysis of the dog food taken from Titan’s bowl in the main house, along with bank transfer records from the Lakewood K9 Rehabilitation Center. The money transferred to Director Boon to execute Titan came directly from an offshore shell company called Aegis Holdings."
Julian’s face went completely bloodless.
"Aegis Holdings," Matteo whispered, staring directly at his brother. "The account I helped you set up in the Cayman Islands five years ago, Julian."
Silence fell over the room like a heavy anvil.
Julian’s eyes darted wildly around the room. He realized the captains were all looking at him with cold, merciless eyes. The betrayal wasn't just about a dog—it was treason against the entire family.
"You're crazy!" Julian suddenly shouted, standing up so fast his chair toppled backward. "You're old, Matteo! You've gone soft! You care more about a damn hound than expanding our empire! Chicago offered us three times what we make now!"
Julian reached into his jacket, pulling a compact snub-nosed revolver from his holster, pointing it directly at Matteo’s head!
"Julian, don't!" Carmine yelled.
Before Victor or any of the guards could draw their weapons, a massive, dark shape exploded across the dining room.
It was Titan.
Even without sight, Titan didn't need eyes to know where the threat was coming from. Guided by the sharp, panicked scent of adrenaline and the familiar, hated voice of the man who had poisoned him, the 140-pound mastiff launched himself over the mahogany table!
CRASH!
Plates, crystal glasses, and wine bottles shattered into a thousand pieces as Titan slammed into Julian’s chest!
"AAAAHHH!" Julian screamed as he was violently thrown onto the hard marble floor. The gun flew from his hand, skittering across the room.
Titan stood over Julian, his massive paws pinned against the traitor’s shoulders, his jaws wide open inches from Julian’s neck, letting out a roar of absolute fury that shook the chandelier above.
"MATTEO! SAVE ME! CALL HIM OFF!" Julian shrieked in terror, tears streaming down his face as he felt the burning breath of the beast he had tried to destroy.
Every guard had their weapon drawn, but no one fired. They watched in awe at the sheer power of the noble animal.
"Titan, STOP!" Lena’s voice commanded softly.
She walked forward through the broken glass, kneeling right beside the massive dog. She laid her soft hand gentle on Titan’s chest, making that same old farm sound: two short beats, one long beat.
Thump-thump... thrrroat.
Titan’s muscles trembled. The ferocious growl slowly died down in his throat. He looked toward Lena with his cloudy, milky eyes, panting heavily, and slowly backed away from Julian’s chest, placing himself defensively in front of Lena.
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Julian lay on the floor, gasping for air, wet with sweat and spilled wine, completely broken.
Matteo stood up from the table, looking down at his defeated brother with cold disgust. "Take him away," Matteo ordered his guards. "Hand him over to the authorities in Chicago along with the ledgers he tried to sell. Let them deal with a traitor."
