Chapter 365: What Else Did The Doctor Say?

"I know," Enzo confirmed. "Which is why I’m calling you now instead of continuing to investigate. Because this confirms it. Dante isn’t recovering naturally. He’s receiving experimental treatment from The Covenant. The kind of treatment that only an organization with that level of resources and research capability could provide."

"How advanced is this treatment?" Dimitri asked. "What are we talking about?"

"Accelerated healing. Nerve regeneration at impossible rates. Muscle recovery that defies conventional medicine." Enzo pulled up the scans on his laptop as he spoke. "If I had to guess, I’d say pharmaceutical compounds. Something experimental. Something they’ve been developing for years and are now testing on Dante."

"Testing," Dimitri repeated, and there was something sharp in his voice now. "You mean they’re using him as a test subject."

"Or rewarding him for his cooperation," Enzo said. "Either way, they’re invested in his recovery. They want him mobile. They want him operational. And they have the means to make that happen faster than any conventional medical protocol would allow."

On the other end of the line in New York, Dimitri was moving. Enzo could hear the shift in his movement, the sound of him standing, pacing, the way he moved when his mind was already racing through scenarios.

"This changes the timeline," Dimitri said. "If Dante is already fully mobile, if he’s already recovered to the point where he can move without assistance, then he’s ready for active operations."

"Exactly," Enzo confirmed. "Which means whatever The Covenant has planned with him, it’s accelerating. He’s not going to be recovering and hidden for months. He’s going to be operational now."

"The shipment interception," Dimitri said suddenly. "That was The Covenant proving a point. Showing me that Dante was a viable asset they’d invested in."

"And showing you what they’re capable of," Enzo added. "That they can infiltrate your operations, turn your people, steal from you. All while you’re still dealing with the Dante situation."

Dimitri’s breathing was steady, but Enzo could hear the tension in it. Could hear his brother processing what this meant.

"They’re playing the long game," Dimitri said. "They’re not going to move against me directly. They’re going to dismantle me through Dante. Through economics. Through territory. Through making me look weak and unstable while they build their position."

"That’s my assessment," Enzo said.

"They’re buying time," Dimitri said. "Building Dante into a real threat while I deal with immediate crises."

"Yes. And by the time you realize the scope of what they’re doing, by the time you understand that this is corporate warfare and not just a personal vendetta, they’ll already have too much invested in their plan to back down."

Dimitri was quiet for a long moment.

"What else did the doctor tell you?" Dimitri asked.

"That he warned Dante not to trust whoever was providing this treatment. That accelerated healing at this level comes with complications. That the human body has limits, and pushing past those limits through pharmaceutical intervention has consequences."

"And what did Dante say to that?"

"The doctor said Dante told him to stop asking questions and just document the progress. That Dante clearly didn’t care about the consequences. He just wanted to be mobile again."

"Desperation," Dimitri said. "He’s desperate to be a threat again. Desperate to be relevant. And The Covenant exploited that."

"Yes."

Dimitri’s voice shifted, became harder, more certain.

"Here’s what I’m going to do," Dimitri said. "First, I’m going to pull back on operations here in New York. Not completely, but strategically. I’m going to consolidate instead of expand. I’m going to make it look like the shipment hit damaged me more than it did, like I’m regrouping, like I’m vulnerable."

"You’re going to bait them," Enzo said, understanding immediately.

"I’m going to make them think I’m wounded," Dimitri confirmed. "I’m going to let them believe their strategy is working. And while they’re celebrating their victories, while they’re comfortable and confident, I’m going to start investigating The Covenant again."

"How?" Enzo asked.

"Through you," Dimitri said. "You’re in Rome. You have contacts in the underworld. You have access to information networks that I don’t have from New York. I need you to find out everything about The Covenant’s operations in Italy. Where they’re based now that their base in New York is gone, and you also need to find out if there is anyone else they’re backing besides Dante."

"That’s going to take time," Enzo said. "They’re careful. They don’t advertise their presence."

"Then we better move fast," Dimitri said. "Because if The Covenant is willing to invest this heavily in Dante, if they’re willing to provide experimental medical treatment and intelligence support and resources, then they’re not just trying to hurt me. They’re trying to take me down permanently."

Enzo felt the weight of that settle over him.

"Brother," Enzo said carefully, "are you prepared for what happens if you’re right? If this truly is The Covenant trying to eliminate you, not just damage your operations?"

"No," Dimitri said simply. "But I’m prepared to learn fast."

"They have resources that rival governments," Enzo said. "They have reach into places where traditional mafia power doesn’t operate. If you come at them directly...."

"Then I come at them with everything I have," Dimitri interrupted. "I come at them knowing that the alternative is sitting in New York watching them systematically dismantle my empire piece by piece."

"What about Eve?" Enzo asked. "If you escalate this, if you come at The Covenant directly, they’re going to use her as leverage."

There was a long silence on the line.

"Eve is protected," Dimitri finally said, and there was absolute certainty in his voice. "She’s guarded 24/7. She has security that rivals state-level protection. She’s the one thing in my life that they cannot touch."

"You can’t protect her from everything," Enzo said quietly.

"No," Dimitri agreed. "But I can make sure that if they try, the cost is so high that they understand it was a mistake. And I can eliminate the threat before they ever get the opportunity to try."