Chapter 7 - The Lockdown of the Duca Fortress

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The silence in the conservatory was broken only by the sound of Julian’s rapid, shallow breathing.
He stared down at the open manila folder.
Inside lay the certified Montreal bank wire logs from Apex Maritime Holdings, the intercepted email chains detailing the chemical shipments, and Vivian Chen’s signed, thirty-page sworn confession naming Julian as the architect of the three-year plot to murder Lucas Duca.
Julian leaped to his feet, knocking his chair backward onto the flagstones.
“This is an outrageous, fabricated setup!” Julian shouted, his voice cracking with panicked fury. “Vivian is an unstable lunatic trying to save her own skin! I have dedicated fifteen years of my life to the Duca empire! Lorenzo, you cannot believe this garbage!”
“I don't need to believe garbage, Julian,” Lorenzo replied softly, rising from his seat. “I have your voice on tape.”
Prosecutor Karen Miller tapped her tablet.
An audio recording captured at 11:30 PM the previous night played through the room’s speakers. It was a recorded call between Julian and Vivian:
Vivian: ‘The boy looked like he was going to pass out after dinner. How much longer do we have to keep this up?’
Julian’s recorded voice: ‘Double the morning dose this week. Once the boy’s heart gives out on Saturday, Lorenzo will be in no state to review the shipping manifests. The board will hand me the voting proxies before the funeral.’
Julian stood paralyzed in the center of the conservatory, his chest heaving, his hands shaking so violently he dropped his leather briefcase.
“Lorenzo... please,” Julian whimpered, his arrogance completely collapsing into pathetic, sniveling terror as he dropped to both knees. “We’re blood! Uncle Antonio would never have wanted the family torn apart! I was only trying to protect the empire from being handed to a sickly child!”
“My son is not sickly, Julian,” Lorenzo said, each word hitting like an iron hammer. “He was being poisoned by a parasite I welcomed to my table.”
The heavy glass doors of the conservatory swung open.
Six armed federal marshals and four Duca security operatives entered, surrounding the kneeling traitor.
“Julian Duca,” Prosecutor Miller announced. “You are under arrest for Attempted Premeditated Murder of a Minor, Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Chemical Weapons, and Grand Corporate Racketeering.”
Two marshals forced Julian’s arms behind his back, clicking heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.
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As Julian was dragged out of the mansion, weeping and screaming curses into the morning air, the heavy iron front doors slammed shut behind him forever.
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