Chapter 16 - Return of the King
The night air at Port 4 was thick with the salty mist of the ocean and the smell of rust and diesel fuel. Massive iron shipping containers were stacked like giant colorful bricks, creating a maze of shadows.
Inside a giant, abandoned warehouse at the end of the pier, a grand table had been set up beneath hanging industrial lights. Sitting around it were the cold, hardened bosses of the city’s major criminal factions.
At the head of the table sat Marcus, dressed in an expensive designer suit, smoking a fine cigar, and pouring scotch for his guests.
"Gentlemen," Marcus announced, raising his glass with a smug grin. "Tonight, we mark a new era. Julian Rossi is dead. His lineage is erased. The vast territory of the Rossi family is now open for restructuring... under my leadership."
The bosses murmured, whispering among themselves, considering the offer.
"Is he really dead, Marcus?" an older boss from the North Side asked, squinting through the smoke. "We saw the house burn, but where is the body?"
"He burned to ash," Marcus lied smoothly, leaning back. "Along with his weak, sickly bastard child. There is nothing left of them."
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"You always were a terrible liar, Marcus."
A dark, booming voice echoed from the high rafters of the warehouse, cutting through the silence like a razor blade.
