Chapter 12 - Baron’s Final Charge
We returned to the plantation as the morning sun broke through the clouds.
Golden light washed over the mossy live oaks.
The floodwaters were receding down the stone garden steps.
In the grand parlor, forty capos sat in absolute silence.
Donna Maria sat in the high-backed velvet armchair by the fireplace.
She was wrapped in an embroidered silk shawl.
Her eyes were sharp, dark, and merciless.
At her feet sat Baron, his head resting proudly on her embroidered slippers.
The old dog wore a fresh red leather collar.
Kneeling on the hardwood floor in front of the assembled mafia leadership was
Bianca Vane.
Her hands were tied behind her back with hemp cord.
Her face was streaked with dried tears and soot.
"Aunt Maria..." Bianca sobbed, trembling.
"Please... I was confused... the debt... the bad men pressured me..."
Donna Maria looked down at her niece with an expression colder than winter ice.
"You locked me in the crypt, Bianca."
The old woman's voice carried through the cavernous hall like iron bells.
"You put poison in the sacred chalice of our family chapel."
"I'm blood!" Bianca pleaded, dragging herself forward on her knees.
"You can't kill blood!"
Donna Maria looked at Baron.
"This animal has no Moretti blood. Yet he dug through concrete to save my soul."
She looked at me, standing beside Lorenzo in clean clothes.
"This girl has no Moretti blood. Yet she faced fire and bullets to protect my
home."
May you like
Donna Maria leaned forward, her silver cane tapping the floor with finality.
"You are not blood, Bianca. You are a disease."
