Chapter 12 - Blood in the Water
The grand study was completely silent as the four remaining Moretti captains stared at the woman sitting at the head of the oak table.
Arthur stood right behind her chair, a silent, looming threat that dared any man in the room to show disrespect.
Clara rested her hands flat on the polished wood, letting the silence stretch until the tension in the room was almost suffocating.
Captain Rossi, a grizzled veteran with a jagged scar across his cheek, cleared his throat nervously.
“With all due respect, Boss,” Rossi started, looking directly at Arthur rather than Clara.
“We eliminated the Falcones, but the Russian Bratva has been moving product near the northern docks.”
Arthur did not answer him.
Instead, Arthur placed a heavy hand on Clara’s shoulder, a clear signal that the floor belonged entirely to her.
Rossi swallowed hard, his eyes finally shifting to the former maid who now held his life in her hands.
“The Bratva thrives on the perception of weakness,” Clara said, her voice smooth and chillingly calm.
“They believe Arthur is distracted because he elevated me to this position.”
The captains exchanged uneasy glances, shocked by her blunt, unfiltered assessment of the situation.
“So, what is the play, ma'am?” asked Captain Luca, a younger, fiercely loyal enforcer.
“We do not wait for them to test our borders,” Clara ordered, her dark eyes locking onto Luca.
“You will take a strike team to the northern docks tonight and burn their shipping containers to the ground.”
Rossi leaned forward, his face turning red with sudden indignation.
“You want to start a war with Viktor Volkov over a few crates of smuggled weapons?”
Clara leaned forward as well, closing the distance between herself and the insubordinate captain.
“I want to send a message to Viktor Volkov that the Moretti family does not negotiate for space in our own city.”
“If you leave so much as a single bullet unburned, Rossi, you will answer to me.”
The sheer authority radiating from her small frame left the hardened criminals completely speechless.
Arthur smiled a dark, twisted smile of absolute pride.
“You heard the lady,” Arthur commanded, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.
As the captains hurried out of the room, Arthur pulled Clara out of her chair and spun her into his arms.
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“You are going to be the death of me, Clara,” he whispered, crashing his lips against hers in a bruising kiss.
She kissed him back fiercely, tasting the danger and the adrenaline that now fueled their shared existence.
