Chapter 8 - WHY DOMINIC BECAME BOSS
Dominic had never wanted to lead the Moretti organization.
That was the next secret.
His younger brother Anthony had.
“Anthony understood that world better than I did,” Dominic told me.
We sat in my kitchen at three in the morning.
“He liked power?”
Dominic shook his head.
“He liked protecting people who couldn't protect themselves.”
“That doesn't sound like the rumors surrounding your family.”
“No.”
He gave a tired smile.
“It doesn't.”
Anthony had wanted to transition the family into legitimate businesses gradually.
Warehousing.
Construction.
Security.
Real estate.
But four years earlier, he was shot leaving a private meeting.
Everyone blamed a rival family.
Dominic took control afterward because there was nobody else he trusted.
Then the seizures began.
I looked at him.
“Two days later.”
“Yes.”
That wasn't coincidence.
Not anymore.
Dominic pulled up the old investigation file.
Anthony's last known meeting wasn't listed.
But my father's photograph proved Mercer and Vincent had seen him.
“Why would they kill Anthony?”
“Because he wanted the same thing I want now.”
“Out.”
Dominic nodded.
A pattern emerged.
Anthony tried to dismantle the criminal operation.
Anthony died.
Dominic took over.
Dominic began suffering seizures.
Every time he tried to reduce illegal activity, his health mysteriously worsened.
Meetings canceled.
Contracts delayed.
Decisions transferred temporarily to Vincent.
Security authority expanded under Mercer.
“They didn't need you dead,” I said.
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“They needed me weak.”
“Dependent.”
“And afraid.”
By sunrise, his accountant found something worse.
During periods when Dominic's seizures were most frequent, Vincent had approved millions in off-book transactions.
Mercer expanded armed operations.
Territories Dominic believed he'd abandoned were quietly reopened.
Someone had been running the old empire behind his back.
Dominic looked at the records.
“I thought I was shutting it down.”
“They were waiting until you were sick, then rebuilding it.”
His phone rang.
An encrypted message.
Vincent.
FAMILY COUNCIL. TONIGHT. 9 P.M.
ATTEND OR YOUR AUTHORITY WILL BE REVIEWED.
Dominic laughed.
“They're moving faster.”
“Because they know we found something.”
He nodded.
Then another message arrived.
A legal document.
Vincent had prepared a resolution declaring Dominic medically incapable of leadership.
If approved by the family council, temporary control would pass to Vincent.
Attached were four years of medical reports.
All signed by Dr. Hall.
Dominic stared at me.
“The seizures weren't only torture.”
“No.”
I felt cold.
May you like
“They were evidence.”
For four years, Vincent and Mercer had been manufacturing a medical history they planned to use to steal everything from him.
