Chapter 4 - The Confession
Tommy Valez was found in Pennsylvania the next morning.
He arrived at Bellucci House terrified.
“I didn’t know anyone would get hurt.”
Dante sat across from him.
“You cut my brakes.”
Tommy shook his head rapidly.
“I weakened a line.”
“You cut my brakes.”
“Victor said the vehicle would fail during a test.”
Dante leaned forward.
“Did he pay you?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand.”
Marco placed photographs on the table.
Tommy stared down.
Dante’s voice remained calm.
“You disappeared the day after my crash.”
“Because Victor called me.”
“What did he say?”
Tommy swallowed.
“He said you survived.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“He told me if I ever came back to New York, I wouldn’t.”
Silence.
Dante looked at Marco.
“Record everything.”
Tommy panicked.
“You said I could leave.”
“I said I’d hear you.”
“Please.”
Dante looked at him.
“Who else knew?”
Tommy stared at the floor.
“Isabella.”
Dante’s face remained unreadable.
“You saw her?”
“She was there when Victor gave me the money.”
That was the final piece.
That afternoon, Dante called every senior lieutenant in the Bellucci organization to the estate.
Some had not seen him in months.
They entered the main library expecting a weak man in a wheelchair.
Instead, Dante sat at the head of the room with Marco on one side and Dr. Shaw on the other.
Victor’s chair remained empty.
Dante looked around.
“You’ve all heard rumors.”
Nobody spoke.
“So let’s remove the rumors.”
He placed the hidden injector on the table.
“Someone has been drugging me for seven months.”
Murmurs spread.
Dante continued.
“The crash was not an accident.”
Silence.
One lieutenant asked:
“Who?”
Dante looked at Victor’s empty chair.
“Victor Salerno.”
Several men reacted immediately.
“That’s impossible.”
“He pulled you from the wreck.”
“He saved your life.”
Dante looked at them.
“He saved me after trying to kill me.”
Nobody spoke.
Marco played the garage footage.
Then Tommy’s confession.
Then the bank records showing payments to Mercer.
Finally, the room fell silent.
Dante looked at the men who had served his family for decades.
“If anyone still wants Victor running this organization, stand up.”
Nobody moved.
“Good.”
One older captain named Russo spoke.
“Where is he?”
“Running.”
“For how long?”
Dante looked at him.
“Not long.”
That evening, Victor called.
Marco placed the phone on speaker.
Dante answered.
“Victor.”
A pause.
Then:
“You always were difficult to kill.”
Dante’s eyes hardened.
“You should’ve tried honesty.”
Victor laughed softly.
“Honesty doesn’t build empires.”
“You really believe that?”
“I believe you were finished.”
Dante looked down at his legs.
“Apparently not.”
Victor’s voice changed slightly.
“Mercer told you?”
“He told me enough.”
“Then you know I kept the family alive.”
“You stole it.”
“You abandoned it.”
“I was injured.”
“You were weak.”
Dante became still.
Victor continued.
“Do you know how many people asked me whether you were still capable? How many wanted to break away?”
“And you protected me?”
“I protected what you built.”
“By destroying me.”
“By replacing you.”
Dante’s eyes went cold.
“You could have walked away.”
Victor laughed.
“Walked away from everything I helped build?”
That sentence told Dante more than the confession.
This was never about stability.
It was envy.
“You spent fourteen years standing beside me,” Dante said.
“I spent fourteen years standing behind you.”
There it was.
Victor had finally said it.
Dante looked toward Marco.
Marco quietly traced the call.
Victor continued.
“You took all the credit.”
“I took all the risk.”
“And I took two bullets for you.”
Dante leaned forward.
“That’s the part I never understood.”
Victor was silent.
“You caused the crash.”
Still silent.
“Then dragged me out.”
Dante’s voice dropped.
“Why?”
Victor exhaled.
“Because I didn’t want you dead.”
Dante’s expression hardened.
“I wanted you dependent.”
The room went still.
Dante looked at the phone.
Victor continued.
“You were supposed to survive. You were supposed to need us.”
Dante’s hands tightened.
“Us.”
Victor realized his mistake.
Dante spoke quietly.
“You and Isabella.”
Victor hung up.
May you like
Marco looked at the tracer.
“I have him.”
