Chapter 8
The promise had been made after gunfire erupted outside a family restaurant while Luca was inside.
Nobody was hurt.
Vittorio blamed himself.
In front of the council, he said:
“If my son ever pays for my position, I walk away.”
He meant it as responsibility.
Bernadette turned it into a weapon.
The council review suddenly looked different.
Nico had signed the petition requesting an emergency leadership assessment if evidence emerged that Vittorio’s household endangered Luca.
Two other capos had signed too.
Vittorio read the signatures.
His breathing remained even.
Maria watched his hand.
The signet ring pressed hard enough into his finger to whiten the skin.
Nico noticed too.
“I thought you needed to hear the warning.”
“You signed a petition.”
“I didn't sign removal.”
“You created the path.”
Nico’s eyes lowered.
That hurt more than defiance.
Vittorio trusted Nico to tell him when he was wrong.
Instead Nico joined people trying to engineer proof.
Power shifted immediately.
The council could temporarily restrict Vittorio’s operational authority while reviewing child-safety concerns.
Not legally remove him from his home.
Not take Luca.
But within the Rossetti organization, perception mattered.
Bernadette knew it.
She stood straighter.
Her confidence returned.
“You can throw me out of this estate.”
She looked around slowly.
“But if the council sees those records, you may be the one walking out of the chair.”
Vittorio said nothing.
That unsettled her.
He picked up the petition.
Then tore nothing.
Burned nothing.
Threatened no signer.
He simply passed it to his attorney.
“Verify every date.”
Bernadette smiled.
“Still think paperwork saves you?”
“No.”
Vittorio looked at her.
“Truth might.”
That evening the attorney called.
Two signatures were genuine.
Nico’s.
Another capo’s.
The third was not.
May you like
Someone had forged the signature of Vittorio’s most loyal council member.
And the electronic file used to create the forgery had come from Nico’s office.
