Chapter 57 - The Matriarch's Ledger
"What did you do?" Giancarlo demanded, his voice finally losing its polished modulation. He stepped toward the table, slamming his flat palms against the wood. "What did you do with the operating capital?"
"The operating capital of Vance Marine Holdings was held in escrow under the 1998 Giammona Agreement," Sofia explained with surgical calm. "An agreement signed by your father and mine. It stated that if any managing director engaged in actions that triggered federal environmental forfeiture of the grandfathered maritime berths, the entirety of the liquid assets, real estate holdings, and physical vessels would immediately revert to the sole ownership of the Giammona Maritime Trust."
She looked at the four consortium executives.
"Gentlemen, Vance Marine is bankrupt. In approximately fifteen minutes, federal marshals will arrive to seize this building. However, the berths, the locks, the tugs, and the grandfathered permits for Slip Nine are no longer corporate property. They are the private property of the trust."
Sterling stood up so fast his leather chair rolled back against the wainscoting. "Signora Rossi... if the permits belong to your trust, then our shipping compacts—"
"Your shipping compacts are worthless paper," Sofia cut him off. "Unless you renegotiate them with me. Under my terms. At twenty percent above Hector's rate, with independent maritime inspectors verifying every single container that enters my water."
The executives looked at one another, frantic calculation replacing their earlier arrogance. They were businessmen; they didn't care about Giancarlo, Hector, or dead salvage divers. They cared about their supply chains staying open.
"We can agree to an interim operating agreement," Sterling said immediately, offering his pen toward Sofia.
"Not today, Mr. Sterling," Sofia said coldly. "Today, you will leave this room through the freight elevator before the federal agents secure the lobby. When I am ready to summon you, Leo will send an invitation."
The four men didn't wait to be told twice. They gathered their coats and briefcases in frantic silence, practically tripping over one another as they fled through the service doors, leaving Giancarlo standing alone at the center of the room.
His veneer of invulnerability had completely dissolved. He looked at Gabriel, his nephew, whose gun was still leveled at his chest, and then at Sofia, the silent sister-in-law he had dismissed for half a century.
"You think you've won," Giancarlo whispered, his teeth bared in a feral grimace. "You think you can run this port without the muscle? You think the street bosses will take orders from an old woman and a disgraced son?"
"The street bosses take orders from whoever controls the fuel supply, Giancarlo," Gabriel said, speaking for the first time. "And as of this morning, Father’s accounts in Zurich belong to Mother."
"And what about your brother's blood, girl?" Giancarlo spat, turning his venom toward me. "You think Sofia is your savior? Ask her who hired the mechanics who put David in the water. Ask her why they had the gate codes to the drydock that night!"
My stomach plummeted.
May you like
I looked at Sofia.
The matriarch sat motionless, her hands resting calmly on the table. She didn't flinch, but she didn't deny it.
