Business war
600 Words
*Chapter 22: Business War*
Peace never lasts in our world.
Especially when you’re Alessandro Moretti.
It started with money.
A rival family. The Romanos. New York. They wanted Karachi’s port.
“We don’t share,” Alessandro said in the meeting. “We own.”
Luca looked worried. “Boss, they have the Russians behind them now.”
“Good,” Alessandro said. “More targets.”
I hated these meetings. Selena was two now. She didn’t need to grow up with war.
“Stay out of it,” Alessandro told me. “This is men’s work.”
“No,” I said. “This is family work.”
He didn’t argue. He never did anymore.
The Romanos made the first move.
They bought three of our shipping companies. Cut our prices. Stole our men.
“Economic war,” Luca said. “Old school.”
Alessandro smiled. It wasn’t nice. “Then we go new school.”
He called a meeting. All capos. All men.
“The Romanos think money wins,” he said. “We’ll show them blood doesn’t.”
I grabbed his arm. “No killing. Not yet.”
He looked at me. “Then what?”
“We outsmart them,” I said. “Not just outgun them.”
He paused. Then nodded. “Talk.”
My plan was simple. Take their money, not their lives.
We bought their debt. Secretly. Through shell companies.
In one month, we owned 40% of Romano Industries.
When they found out, they were furious.
Vincent Romano called Alessandro. “You’re dead, Moretti.”
“No,” Alessandro said. “You are. Sell me the port. Now.”
Click.
Two days later, their bank accounts froze. SEC investigation. Anonymous tip. Mine.
I wasn’t just a wife anymore. I ran his legal side now.
Vincent came to Karachi. Begging.
“Please,” he said, in Alessandro’s office. No gun on the table. Just papers.
“Sign,” Alessandro said. “And live.”
Vincent signed over the port. For 1 dollar.
Alessandro didn’t kill him. He let him go. Broke.
“Mercy is scarier than death,” he told me later. “Now everyone knows.”
The war ended in a week. No bullets. Just ink.
That night, he took me to dinner. Just us.
“You won the war,” he said. “Not me.”
“We won,” I said.
He raised his glass. “To Mrs. Moretti. The real boss.”
I laughed. “Don’t let Luca hear that.”
“Luca knows,” he said. “Everyone does now.”
Back home, Selena was asleep.
He stood over her crib. “I did this for you,” he whispered. “So you inherit a kingdom, not a war.”
I stood beside him. “She’ll be proud.”
“She’ll be safe,” he said. “That’s better.”
The Romanos never came back.
Word spread. Don’t touch a Moretti.
Especially not when his wife is smarter than him.
A month later, Forbes listed us. `Moretti Holdings: Fastest growing private company.`
Photo: Alessandro, me, and Selena.
No guns. Just suits. And a little girl in the middle.
The headline: `The New Face of Power.`
Alessandro hated it.
“I don’t want fame,” he said.
“You have it,” I said. “Use it.”
He did. He started a charity. For kids. For moms.
“Selena’s Fund,” he called it.
The mafia king became a philanthropist.
Because of me. Because of her.
Business war ended.
Family won.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
- Writer
