Chapter 9 - Victor's Last Bargain
Victor wanted a meeting.
Alfred wanted to refuse.
Mina surprised him.
“Go.”
He stared at her.
“No.”
“You can't spend the rest of your life hiding from him.”
“I can spend the rest of my life keeping you away from him.”
“That's not living.”
Victor proposed a public location: an unfinished luxury hotel surrounded by security cameras.
He believed visibility would protect him.
Alfred saw something else.
Evidence.
Federal investigators were already building a case from Raymond's records.
If Victor talked, he could bury himself.
Alfred wore a wire.
For the first time in his life, he entered a confrontation intending to win without violence.
Victor smiled when Alfred arrived.
“Fatherhood changed you quickly.”
“You threatened my child.”
“I threatened an idea.”
Alfred's hands tightened.
Victor noticed.
“There he is.”
Alfred remained seated.
“What do you want?”
“Your territory.”
“You can have it.”
Victor's smile vanished.
“What?”
“Warehouses. Routes. Clubs. All of it.”
Victor stared suspiciously.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Your father would crawl out of his grave.”
“Let him.”
Victor laughed.
Then Alfred said, “There is one condition.”
“Of course.”
“Mina disappears from your vocabulary.”
Victor leaned forward.
“And the baby?”
Alfred's eyes became cold.
“You never speak of my child again.”
Victor smiled.
“You really love her.”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
For years Alfred had hidden Mina because admitting love created vulnerability.
Now he said it aloud.
Victor made the mistake of bragging.
About Pauly.
About the kidnapping.
About Raymond.
About obtaining Mina's medical records.
Every word was recorded.
When federal vehicles surrounded the building, Victor finally understood.
“You set me up.”
Alfred stood.
“No.”
He looked toward the cameras.
“You did that yourself.”
Victor was arrested without a shot fired.
Outside, Alfred called Mina.
“It's over.”
She wanted to believe him.
But leaving an empire was more complicated than defeating an enemy.
May you like
And Alfred still had one final battle ahead.
His own people.
