Chapter 13 - The Final Gathering of the Five Crime Families
Three days later, a historic meeting was held in the grand ballroom of the Palmer House Hotel in downtown Chicago.
The heads of the remaining four major crime families sat around a massive circular table.
They had heard about the collapse of the Bellini syndicate. They had heard about the federal raids that seized sixty million dollars in illegal assets.
And they were waiting to see if Luca Moretti was weak.
The heavy double doors opened.
Luca walked in.
He looked immaculate in a custom black three-piece suit.
Beside him, walking with quiet confidence in an elegant navy dress, was me.
Behind us walked Dr. Samuel Adler, dressed in a brand-new tailored wool suit, his head held high.
The room went dead silent.
Don Corrado, the oldest Don at the table, stood up with a frown.
“Luca,” Corrado said, his voice raspy. “We called a meeting of the Families. Why have you brought a doctor and a woman into this room?”
Luca took the seat at the head of the table.
He gestured for me to sit on his right, and for Dr. Adler to sit on his left.
“I brought the two people who saved this city from being handed over to traitors,” Luca said, his voice commanding the absolute attention of every man in the room.
Luca placed a thick binder on the center of the table.
“Victor Bellini wasn't just working against the Moretti family. He had secret agreements with syndicates in New York to eliminate all four of your operations within the next twelve months.”
The Dons exchanged startled, suspicious glances.
Don Corrado opened the binder.
As he flipped through the bank transfers, shipping manifests, and recorded conversations between Victor and out-of-state cartels, the old Don’s face darkened with fury.
“This is authentic,” Corrado breathed, looking up at the other leaders. “Bellini was going to slaughter us all.”
“He would have succeeded,” Luca said calmly, “if Dr. Samuel Adler hadn't preserved the evidence of my father’s murder. And if Nora Hayes hadn't risked her life to make sure that evidence reached my hands.”
Luca stood up, resting his knuckles on the polished table.
“The Bellini territory is now under direct Moretti control. The docks in Gary will be restructured. Any man who honors my father’s code of loyalty will prosper. Any man who breaks it will meet the same fate as Victor Bellini.”
Don Corrado closed the binder, looked at Luca, and then bowed his head respectfully.
“The Corrado family stands with Moretti.”
One by one, the other three Dons stood up and bowed their heads in unison.
“We stand with Moretti.”
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Luca looked at me, a soft, unspoken promise in his eyes.
The war was over.
