Chapter 5 - The Division of Assets
Enzo looked from Bianca, who was weeping uncontrollably on the carpet, to the folder containing the medical examiner's report of his dead child.
He reached out toward me, his fingers trembling, his eyes filled with a sudden, desperate, hollow agony.
"Carmela..." Enzo sobbed, stepping toward me. "My God... Carmela, I didn't know... I swear to God on my father's grave, I didn't know..."
"Don't touch me," I said, taking a step back.
"I’ll kill them," Enzo roared, his face contorting into a mask of pure, demonic rage as he drew his custom silver-plated pistol from his shoulder holster. "I’ll wipe out every single Tatalia in Illinois by tonight! I’ll tear Dante’s skin off! I’ll—"
"It doesn't matter who you kill, Enzo," I said, my voice dead and emotionless. "Nothing you do will bring my baby back. And nothing you do will keep me in this house."
I picked up the silver pen from the desk and tapped the legal document.
"By signing the Romano-Moretti Merger Addendum five years ago, my father granted your family control over the Cicero docks and the downtown gaming houses ON THE CONDITION that our marriage produced an heir," I stated clearly. "Clause 14-B states that in the event of gross spousal negligence resulting in the termination of the lineage, all Romano territories instantly revert back to the sole ownership of Bernardo Romano’s immediate bloodline."
Enzo stared at the document. "You're taking the Cicero docks? That's sixty percent of our syndicate's revenue!"
"I'm taking the docks, the Lake Forest house, the downtown properties, and the support of the eleven Capos who were loyal to my father before they followed you," I corrected him. "As of eight o'clock this morning, Aaron served notice to the Commission in New York. The Romano family is officially separating from the Moretti syndicate."
"You can't do this!" Enzo begged, dropping his gun onto the desk and grabbing the edge of the mahogany wood. "Carmela, please! I love you! I made a mistake! I was stupid, I was blind, I let Bianca manipulate me because... because I thought I was protecting a child!"
"You protected another woman's son while yours was murdered in the snow," I said, looking down at him with cold, absolute disgust. "You chose, Enzo. Now live with your choice."
I signed my name at the bottom of the final asset transfer page with a thick, smooth stroke of black ink.
I reached over, picked up my silver wedding ring from the desk, and tossed it into the crystal tumbler of whiskey sitting beside his elbow.
CLINK.
The ring settled at the bottom of the amber liquid.
"Get out of my house," I said.
May you like
Enzo blinked, confused. "Your house?"
"The deed to this estate was held under the Romano Trust, Enzo," I reminded him softly. "You have one hour to pack your clothes, take Bianca and her son, and leave my property before my father's former guards remove you by force."
