Chapter 88 The king calls the council
Carlino’s POV
Two more days passed. Two days of watching the same three shadows move.
Marcio.
Elara.
Chris.
My men tracked every meeting, every call, every step they took. But the trail kept circling back on itself.
No Kailen. No location. No mistake.
They were careful.
Too careful.
Which meant one thing—they knew exactly how much protection the council gave them. But that protection ends today.
Because there were rules in Cosa Nostra.
A king could accuse.
But a council decided whether one of their own could be dragged to interrogation… or execution.
So I called the meeting. Not a suggestion. A summons.
Every council member received it within an hour.
And when a Mafia king summons the council, no one refuses.
\~~~
The council chamber inside the bungalow was silent when I arrived. The door opened slowly as one of my guards stepped aside.
Inside, the long obsidian table stretched across the room, surrounded by leather chairs. Dim lights hung low from the ceiling, casting shadows across every face seated around it. And they were all there. Every one of them.
Luca Romano.
Matteo Bellini.
Kenji Sato.
Marcio Alvarez.
Chris Varela.
Kenneth Doyle.
Michael Carter.
Rald Kovac.
Rafael Serrano.
Ivana Dragova.
Tatiana Orlov.
Ravenna Solis.
Elara Vance.
And Ruggero Conti.
Fourteen seats.
Fourteen pairs of eyes turned toward the door as I stepped in.
No one spoke.
They didn’t know why they were here. But they knew it wasn’t good. I walked slowly toward the head of the table. The sound of my shoes against the marble floor echoed through the chamber. Calm. Controlled.
Power didn’t need noise.
I stopped behind the chair at the head and looked around the room. Some faces were calm. Some guarded. Three were already tense. Marcio avoided my eyes. Chris looked stiff. Elara’s posture was rigid.
Good. They knew something was coming.
I sat.
The leather chair creaked softly as I leaned back.
“Thank you for coming,” I said calmly.
Silence answered me.
Then Kenji Sato spoke first.
“This is unusual, Don.”
“Yes,” I replied.
My gaze moved slowly around the table. “Because the situation is unusual.”
Matteo folded his arms. “Meaning?”
I leaned forward slightly. “Kailen.”
The name alone changed the atmosphere in the room. Everyone knew the damage he had been causing. “The attacks on our operations,” I continued. “The ambushes. The seized shipments.”
My eyes hardened. “He didn’t accomplish those things alone.”
No one interrupted.
Good.
“Someone inside this council has been feeding him information. Not just that, that person has been supporting him.” A ripple of tension moved across the table.
Kenneth Doyle frowned. “That’s a serious accusation.”
“It is,” I agreed. I placed both hands on the table. “And it’s true.”
My eyes moved directly toward three people.
“Marcio Alvarez.” His head snapped up.
“Elara Vance.” Her jaw tightened.
“Chris Varela.” Chris froze.
The room exploded immediately.
“That’s ridiculous,” Rafael Serrano snapped.
“Where is your proof?” Rald Kovac demanded.
“You can’t accuse council members without evidence,” Michael Carter added sharply.
Voices rose across the table. Arguments collided. But I didn’t raise my voice. I simply watched them. Because panic always revealed who needed protection. Chris was breathing faster now. Marcio looked pale. Elara stayed quiet—but the tension in her hands gave her away.
Kenji finally raised a hand. “Enough.”
The room quieted slightly. He looked at me. “Don, accusations like this require more than suspicion, more than a hunch."
I nodded once. “You’re right.”
Then I turned my attention toward Rafael Serrano. “It’s Interesting that you’re defending them.”
Rafael frowned. “I’m defending council law.”
“Of course you are.”
I slid a thin folder across the table. It stopped in front of him. “Go ahead,” I said. “Open it.”
He hesitated.
Then he did. And his face changed immediately.
“You’ve been moving shipments through southern ports without council approval,” I said calmly.
The room went quiet again.
“Three shipments last week alone.”
Rafael closed the folder slowly. Said nothing.
I shifted my gaze toward Rald Kovac. “You too.”
His jaw tightened.
“Old Balkan connections,” I continued. “Weapons moving through them without authorization.”
Rald didn’t respond.
Next.
“Kenneth Doyle,” Kenneth looked up sharply. “Drug routes through smaller ports,” I said. “Independent operations.”
Silence.
Then I looked at Michael Carter. “Weapons distribution outside council oversight.”
His lips pressed into a thin line.
The arguments in the room had died completely now. Every man who had spoken against me had just been exposed. And they knew it.
I leaned back slowly in my chair. “You all broke council law,” I said evenly.
No one argued now. Because none of them wanted the conversation to go deeper. Then my eyes moved back toward the three people sitting stiffly near the middle of the table.
“But you,” I said quietly.
“Marcio.”
“Elara.”
“Chris.”
The air felt colder.
“You didn’t just break council law,” My voice hardened. “You betrayed the empire.”
Chris shook his head quickly. “That’s not true—”
I raised a hand.
He stopped immediately.
“You three have been coordinating with each other for weeks,” I said. “Encrypted communication. Private meetings.”
Marcio swallowed.
“And those meetings align perfectly with Kailen’s attacks on our operations.”
Elara finally spoke.
“You’re making assumptions.”
I looked at her calmly. “If Kailen didn’t have help from inside this council,” I said, “he would have already been dead.”
The words landed like a hammer.
My gaze sharpened. “But instead he’s alive.”
Silence.
“And Lina is still in his hands.”
Chris looked down.
Marcio’s fingers trembled slightly.
Elara said nothing.
“If you hadn’t been feeding him information and protecting him using the law,” I continued coldly, “he would never have had the time or the protection to take her.”
I let the words sink in.
“You helped him keep her.”
No one in the room moved.
Finally Luca Romano spoke quietly.
“Council law requires a vote before interrogation.”
“Yes,” I said.
He looked at the three accused members.
Then back at me.
“I see no reason to block it.”
Matteo Bellini nodded slowly. “Neither do I.”
Kenji Sato leaned back in his chair. “…Agreed.”
That was enough. The momentum had shifted. But the others weren’t stupid. They knew where this conversation was going. And they knew their own crimes had already been exposed. One by one, chairs began sliding back.
Rald stood first.
Then Rafael.
Then Kenneth.
Michael followed.
None of them said a word.
They simply walked toward the door.
Because staying meant risking their own punishment. The chamber slowly emptied.
Ivana left.
Tatiana followed.
Ravenna.
Even Ruggero stood and walked out without a word. Until finally the heavy doors closed. And silence settled over the room.
Only four people remained.
Me.
Marcio.
Elara.
Chris.
They looked around slowly, confusion replacing their earlier panic.
Chris stood suddenly. “What is this?”
No one answered.
Marcio’s voice came out strained. “Don… the council hasn’t voted yet.”
I stood slowly. The chair slid back with a quiet scrape. Then I began walking toward them. Slowly. Deliberately. They watched every step. Fear creeping into their expressions.
“You were counting on the council to protect you,” I said calmly.
No reply.
“But they already protected themselves.”
I stopped in front of them.
Elara’s confidence had finally cracked.
Chris looked ready to bolt.
Marcio’s breathing was uneven.
A small smile touched my mouth.
Cold.
Dangerous.
“You helped a man kidnap someone under my protection—my Donna.”
My voice dropped lower.
“You weakened my empire.”
Another step closer.
“And you thought the council would stand with you.”
The smile widened slightly.
“But the moment I started opening files…” I gestured toward the door. “…they ran.”
None of them spoke. Because they finally understood. They were alone. I leaned forward slightly, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Well,”
My gaze sharp on them.
“Since the council can’t stop me…”
The room felt smaller.
Heavier.
“…you three are going to start talking.”
Chris shook his head weakly. “We don’t know where Kailen is—”
“We’ll see.” I straightened slowly.
Then I gave them a calm, chilling smile. “Now,” I said quietly, “…you’re going to take me straight Kailen.”