Acting on Tyler’s intel, Junior infiltrated Patrick McKinney’s supposed penthouse in a modest six-story building with poor security. After forcing entry, Junior subdued McKinney and threatened him with pliers, stating McKinney’s $2 million debt had been transferred from a bookie to Junior, representing the mob. When McKinney resisted surrendering assets, Junior cut off McKinney’s pinkie, muffled his screams, and demanded the deed to the “dirty perverts” building—Velvet—along with reduced rents for McKinney’s other tenants.

Junior framed the ultimatum as a choice between losing money or losing his life, leveraging the severed finger on ice to pressure McKinney into signing. Despite McKinney’s delays and pleas, Junior secured the building transfer and extracted a commitment to lower rents to city standards. Junior reflected that this violence could be his last step toward going legit and protecting Velvet’s tenants, while anticipating he might need to revisit McKinney if the man backslid.

Riding home, Junior updated Tyler by phone, confirming they had acquired the building and that McKinney would be banned from Tyler’s games. Junior planned immediate due diligence to renovate and legitimize Velvet into a profitable and safe club.

Near home, Junior checked Lauren’s tracker and discovered she was inside his apartment. Expecting a playful surprise, he attempted to sneak in. Instead, Lauren tasered him; he reacted on instinct, nearly striking her before stopping short and punching the wall. Shaken and hoarse, Lauren accused him of involvement in her father Tommy’s disappearance, citing what her sister Kristen said about the Trocci family being Lorenzo Brusomini’s cleanup crew.

Junior tried to calm her, but Lauren kept her distance, reclaiming her taser. Pressed to deny involvement, Junior hesitated. In a heated lapse, he shouted a sarcastic confession—“I killed that old bastard”—which horrified Lauren. Realizing his mistake, he retracted the claim, saying he had not killed Tommy and would not hurt Lauren, and even warned her to keep quiet about what she’d learned to avoid Nico Senior’s retaliation.

Distraught and feeling betrayed, Lauren rejected further explanation, stating she would not hear more lies from the man she now believed had killed her father. Junior did not physically stop her. Lauren left the apartment, declaring she never wanted to hear from him again, and Junior watched her walk out.