Sophia was nearly six months old when the quiet finally and inevitably broke.
It started small. A report from Enzo about unusual movement near the old Doyle territory. Families that had once aligned themselves loosely with Russo were now testing the waters again, trying to determine whether the new peace between the Castelianos and Marchettis was as solid as it appeared.
"Doyle's been talking," Enzo said, laying a folder across Dante's desk one morning while Elena sat nearby, Sophia babbling happily in her lap. "Quietly. To a few smaller families who never fully trusted the new arrangement. He's framing it as concern about succession. What happens to the balance of power if something happens to you, Dante, with an infant heir and no clear line of authority beneath you."
"That's not conc
