Chapter 5
Rocco summoned Dominic before sunrise.
The club was empty.
No members.
No music.
No staff except security.
Dominic entered without a tie.
His face still showed bruising from the lobby.
He stopped across from Rocco’s desk.
“You took my badge.”
Rocco looked at him.
“You noticed.”
Dominic’s mouth tightened.
Rocco slid the amended authorization forward.
“When did I sign this?”
Dominic barely looked at it.
“Three years ago.”
“I don't remember.”
“You sign hundreds of things.”
Rocco’s eyes hardened.
Dominic met them.
For the first time since being exposed, the younger man’s fear had changed into something else.
Resentment.
“You wanted results.”
“I wanted legitimate purchases.”
“You wanted the block.”
“Not like this.”
Dominic laughed.
His hands spread slowly across the desk.
“That’s convenient.”
Rocco’s breathing remained steady.
Dominic continued.
“You told me weakness around this club becomes weakness inside it.”
“I was talking about abandoned buildings.”
“You never said that.”
“I shouldn't have needed to.”
“No?”
Dominic’s eyes flashed.
“You taught every man in this family that unclear orders are tests. Figure out what the boss wants before he has to repeat himself.”
Rocco said nothing.
The accusation contained enough truth to hurt.
Dominic leaned closer.
“I figured it out.”
“You forged Thomas Vance’s signature.”
“That wasn't necessary until he decided sentiment mattered more than business.”
Rocco’s jaw tightened.
“His daughter gave away her last coins today.”
Dominic shrugged.
“She'll be better off once her father sells.”
Rocco’s stare changed.
Dominic noticed.
His confidence remained, but his fingers curled against the desk.
Rocco lowered his voice.
“You don't get to decide what suffering improves somebody else.”
Dominic exhaled sharply.
“That club employs sixty people. The whole block depends on it. You want me to risk all of that because one baker likes his grandfather’s oven?”
Rocco studied him.
There it was.
Not greed alone.
Dominic truly believed he had been protecting the larger machine.
Then Rocco tapped the amendment.
“How did I sign this?”
Dominic finally looked down.
“You were at the hospital.”
Rocco frowned.
Three years earlier.
Heart procedure.
Two nights under heavy medication.
Rocco remembered Frank bringing papers.
Insurance.
Property matters.
Operational continuity.
Dominic watched recognition enter his face.
“You signed it.”
Rocco’s breathing slowed.
“Yes.”
“You didn't read it.”
“No.”
Dominic leaned back.
For the first time, he had reclaimed a piece of power.
“You can hate what I did.”
His voice softened.
“But don't pretend you weren't the man who taught me to do it.”
Then he reached into his coat and placed a USB drive on the desk.
“What’s that?”
“Every order you ever gave me about the block.”
Rocco’s eyes lifted.
May you like
Dominic’s expression was almost calm now.
“If you're going to punish me, Uncle, make sure you understand how much of yourself you'll have to punish too.”
