Chapter 5 - The South Pier
Midnight arrived with a heavy, ocean fog rolling over the docks of the South Pier. Ocean waves crashed against the wooden pilings, sending a cold spray into the air.
A single black sedan sat idling near an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the pier. Sitting inside was thirty-eight-year-old Julian Moretti—a mid-level mafia captain with slicked-back hair, a sharp nose, and a tailored gray suit. He checked his luxury watch impatiently, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.
"Where is she?" Julian muttered to his driver. "She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."
"Maybe the Bellucci security caught her," the driver suggested nervously, looking around at the thick fog surrounding the warehouse.
"She has the keycard," Julian scoffed. "Bellucci trusts her like a fool. That arrogant shipping magnate has no idea his empire is about to be gutted."
Suddenly, the headlights of two heavy black SUVs cut through the thick fog, blinding the driver of Julian's sedan. The SUVs pulled up, blocking the exit route entirely.
Julian’s heart dropped. "Get the guns!"
Before the driver could reach for his weapon, the side doors of the sedan were yanked open with tremendous force. Four heavily armed Bellucci enforcers hauled Julian and his driver out onto the wet asphalt of the pier, kicking their weapons away into the dark ocean water.
Julian was forced onto his knees on the wet pavement, his gray suit getting soaked in grease and seawater.
From the fog stepped Damian Bellucci.
He walked slowly, his broad shoulders squared, his long dark hair damp from the sea air. He wore a heavy black overcoat over his fitted suit, his tattoos visible along his neck. Beside him stood Marcus, holding a tactical shotgun.
Damian stopped two paces in front of the kneeling mob captain, looking down at him with pure, unadulterated coldness.
"Julian," Damian said, his voice carrying effortlessly over the sound of the crashing waves. "You sent a woman to do a man's job."
Julian trembled, looking up into Damian’s lethal eyes. "Damian... wait! It was a business move! Don Marco ordered it! I was just following commands!"
Damian pulled a small silver flash drive from his coat pocket—the one confiscated from Selene's vehicle—and tossed it into the ocean waves below the pier.
"Tell Marco Moretti that the eastern shipping lanes belong to the Bellucci family," Damian said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. "And tell him that if his men ever set foot near my estate again, I won't send back warnings. I'll send back bodies."
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Damian turned his back on Julian, walking back toward his SUV. "Marcus. Break his hands and throw him off my docks."
"No! Damian! Wait!" Julian screamed as Marcus and the enforcers stepped forward. His cries were quickly swallowed by the roar of the ocean and the falling fog.
