My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 791

Chapter 791

Leonardo shifted in his chair, “You called us here again after the Council already ruled.”

“I did.”

“You lost, just fucking accept it and move the fuck on.”

A faint, almost amused smile touched Vincenzo’s mouth, “Yes,” he said calmly. “I lost.”

His eyes moved slowly from Nikolai to Leonardo, Valentino, and Luciano, lingering on each man long enough to make the silence uncomfortable.

“Giovanni walked into this room carrying paperwork. I walked in carrying the truth,” his smile sharpened, “And somehow, gentlemen, you decided the paperwork mattered more.”

He leaned back in his chair, perfectly composed.

Nikolai’s expression hardened, “Watch it, Vincenzo. Keep pushing, and this Council may decide the Capone family has reached the end of its road.”

Vincenzo raised an eyebrow, and let out a dry laugh, “I meant no disrespect, I was just confused how some paperwork was enough to make four intelligent men forget how to recognize a monster.”

Luciano folded his hands, “You are again making a serious accusation with backing it up.” 1

“No,” Vincenzo cut him off immediately, “I’m bringing you a serious accusation,” he looked toward Silvio, “Open it.”

Silvio placed the black case on the table, the locks clicked and the lid opened. Inside sat a laptop, several drives, printed reports, photographs and sealed evidence bags.

Leonardo frowned, “What is all that?”

Vincenzo looked at him, “Your conscience.”

Leonardo’s face hardened.

Vincenzo’s smile barely appeared, “You may want to examine it. It seems to have been missing during the last hearing.”

Adriano looked away, hiding the faintest smirk. Silvio connected the laptop to the large screen at the front of the

chamber.

The first image appeared.

A child with medical sensors attached to his head. His wrists were strapped down. A machine stood beside him.

Valentino leaned forward, “What am I looking at?”

Silvio answered, “One of the Toricelli treatment subjects.”

Leonardo stared at the screen, “Subject?”

Silvio clicked, another photograph appeared, another child, another room, another chair, another set of restraints.

Another photograph, a little girl with bare feet in a hospital gown. A thick cable running toward the machine beside her.

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Luciano’s expression slowly changed, “Where did these come from?”

“Inside the Toricelli program,” Vincenzo rested his hands together, “The same program I tried to save my stepsister from.”

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed, clearly intrigued, “Continue.”

Silvio did, the photographs changed, orphanage records, school records, names, dates. Some names had been crossed out, others had been marked with numbers.

Leonardo stared at one page, “Most of these children came from orphanages.”

“Some,” Silvio clicked again, “Some were taken from special-needs schools. Some were reported as runaways. Some disappeared without any formal missing-person report. And some were taken from their perfectly happy families. Innocent families with innocent children.”

Valentino slowly sat back, “How many?”

“We don’t know yet,” Vincenzo answered this time, “But there are enough records to make the number irrelevant

Valentino looked at him, “How can you say that?”

Vincenzo’s eyes hardened, “Because one child would have been enough. One. That is the difference between us and them.”

His gaze settled on Leonardo.

“You spent the last hearing worrying about bloodlines.”

Then Valentino.

“You worried about precedent.”

Then Luciano.

“You worried about paperwork.”

Finally Nikolai.

“And you worried about order.”

Vincenzo leaned forward.

“Meanwhile, Giovanni Toricelli was putting children into chairs.”

The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss. Vincenzo Capone hadn’t come merely to defend his family. He had come to tear apart the Council, and make every man in that room understand exactly what their decision had

cost them.

He had lost the hearing.

But he had no intention of letting them walk away believing they had won.

“The Cosa Nostra guards the honor of La Famiglia like it’s sacred, yet somehow you failed to notice children being tortured right under your fucking noses. Makes me wonder, Nikolai, if you had been the one who wanted something badly enough, would you have been willing to torture children to get it?”

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