Chapter 23 - The Invisible War
Clara’s threat had bought them time, but both she and Arthur knew a war was inevitable.
The New York bosses were too proud and too greedy to walk away from the booming economy of Arthur’s territory.
Instead of an outright assault, the Commission began a quiet, invisible war against the Moretti family’s legitimate fronts.
Three of Arthur’s casinos were suddenly hit with surprise audits by corrupt state regulators paid off by New York.
Shipments of expensive imported goods were mysteriously delayed at the docks due to anonymous tips to customs.
Clara spent her days in the command center, drinking black coffee and tearing through financial ledgers.
“They are trying to bleed us out financially before they send the soldiers,” Clara told Arthur one evening.
Arthur was pacing the room like a caged tiger, itching for a physical fight that he could not find.
“I should send a strike team to Vincent’s nightclub tonight and burn it to the foundation,” Arthur growled.
“No,” Clara insisted, rubbing her tired eyes.
“If we shoot first, we give the feds the excuse they need to move in on our territory.”
“We have to outsmart them, not just outgun them.”
Arthur stopped pacing and walked over to her chair, massaging her tense shoulders with his strong hands.
“You are working too hard, my queen,” he whispered softly.
“I am working to protect our empire, Arthur,” she replied, leaning her head back against him.
Suddenly, a glaring inconsistency on her tablet screen caught Clara’s sharp attention.
She sat up straight, her fingers flying across the digital keyboard to trace the anomaly.
“Arthur, look at this,” Clara pointed to a series of encrypted transactions from one of their own offshore accounts.
Arthur leaned down, his eyes narrowing as he read the numbers.
“Someone is siphoning our money,” Arthur deduced, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave.
“Not just siphoning,” Clara corrected, her pragmatic mind connecting the dots.
“These funds are being redirected to a shell company owned by Dominic’s nephew.”
The realization hit them both at the exact same moment.
They had another traitor inside the organization, someone with high-level access to their legitimate financial streams.
“I killed Rossi to send a message,” Arthur said, his tone icy and absolute.
“Apparently, the message was not loud enough.”
Clara stood up, her eyes burning with a cold, strategic fire.
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“Then we will not just send a message this time, Arthur.”
“We will set a trap, and we will watch the rat walk right into it.”
