Chapter 7
The directive did not make Garrett boss.
It did something subtler.
If Alessia became temporarily unable to lead, three senior capos and her spouse could jointly appoint an interim coordinator until she returned.
She had signed it after surgery two years earlier.
She forgot it existed.
Garrett had not.
If enough people believed Alessia was emotionally unstable or dangerous, he could argue she should step aside voluntarily.
He could not force her.
But he could make every refusal look like further instability.
Power had shifted.
Not because Garrett suddenly possessed more men.
Because he understood perception.
Alessia sat alone in her office after midnight.
Miriam entered quietly.
“You haven't eaten.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You sound like your father.”
Alessia’s eyes lifted.
“Don’t.”
Miriam stopped.
The word was sharper than Alessia intended.
For a moment mother and daughter stared at each other.
Then Alessia exhaled.
“Sorry.”
Miriam placed a plate on the desk.
“He wants you isolated.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Miriam shook her head.
“He wants you to think everyone near you might betray you.”
Alessia looked toward the closed council-room door.
That had already started.
Dante.
The capos.
Security.
Even Miriam’s phone.
Miriam continued.
“If you stop trusting everyone, Garrett doesn't need to take your power.”
“He only needs me to destroy it myself.”
Miriam nodded.
The insight changed Alessia’s next move.
She did not purge anyone.
She restored normal operations.
She allowed neutral capos to keep their positions.
Then she invited Garrett to a formal council meeting.
He accepted immediately.
He arrived the following evening with Evelyn.
Garrett wore a dark suit, no visible bruising except discoloration along his jaw.
He looked almost amused.
Alessia sat across from him.
“You wanted a council.”
“I wanted accountability.”
His voice was smooth.
His fingers rested comfortably on the table.
Alessia watched the thumb of his left hand rub once against his wedding ring.
He had kept it.
She had removed hers.
“You assaulted your husband in front of donors.”
“You kicked my mother.”
Garrett leaned back.
“And there it is.”
Alessia went quiet.
He smiled.
Miriam watched from the far end of the room.
Garrett turned toward the capos.
“This is what I'm talking about.”
Then Dante interrupted.
“Full footage exists.”
Garrett’s eyes shifted.
Dante continued.
“A backup.”
For the first time, Garrett’s confidence cracked.
Only for a second.
Then he smiled again.
“Play it.”
Dante looked toward Alessia.
She understood immediately.
May you like
There was no backup.
Garrett had just told them he already knew that.
