The Secrets We Hide

Chapter Four

"What about the shipments?" Victoria hummed as she picked up a piece of loose paper on her desk. She held it at an angle and fanned herself in the humid Italian air.

"The shipments are unaffected. Our contact in England informed us of the changes." Marcello, the younger man, replied.

"Make sure you send your thanks to Jack.'" Victoria stated as she elongated her middle finger towards her younger brother. "But I don't like to owe anyone...." Her finger swirled in the air. "Send him the package along with the traitor in his organisation." Victoria nodded at Giuseppe, her uncle. The older man.

Giuseppe looked like Victoria's papa. The Barone genetics were strong. For whenever she looked at her brother, she could see her uncle and father staring at her in the eye. Marcello's hair was a striking black, in contrast to their uncle's hair, which was a deep dark grey with streaks of white.

"Weren't you the one that planted the spy in his Mafia?" Marcello responded with a furrow of the brow.

Both Giuseppe and Victoria let out of sigh filled with frustration. Victoria pushes herself out of her office chair and leans over the large mahogany desk and quickly smacks the back of his head. Her hand was swift and harsh. "Stupido!" Victoria huffs out before she falls back into the velvet burgundy office chair.

"Yes, I sent the spy to their mafia but he does not know that. The spy is of no use to me. They don't even know who they are spying for. The man is an idiot for having such a stupid person amongst their ranks." Victoria explained as she shook her head in disdain.

"I have no use for spies. Especially useless spies. They were nothing but a greedy, ambitious traitor. Send them to James and give him your thanks. You don't owe anyone in this game. The traitor will satisfy him but I know in the future he will come to you with favour instead of a demand." Victoria continued her monologue as she stared out of the window.

"What's the difference between a favour and demand? They've both pushed us into a corner." Marcello grunted as he folded his arms across his chest.

"A demand would be something we could never refuse. A favour or a request would allow us to think more of our interests. If the request is unfavourable, it would not make us ungrateful to refuse." Giuseppe explained.

"See, uncle gets its." Victoria smirked as she waved her hand dismissively in the air.

"Have you thought more about the trafficking ring?" Giuseppe questions.

Victoria was never a person to be blissfully unaware. She was the type of woman that wanted every single detail about her enemy. From a young age, she was aware of the dark side of her business. Sometimes she wanted to run away from the responsibility. Trafficking rings was something she refused to take a part in. It was something she would never involve herself with. Victoria believed it was slowly a dying business. The risk you take and the returns it gave were something that she could not ignore. She used this as a reason for taking a step away from trafficking rings. Some of the old members of the Barone Mafia believed Marcello was weak. That his sweet, naïve sister influenced him; that her beliefs were influencing the Capo. She armed her brother with the information and data he needed to allow the mafia to see Victoria's way of thinking. Victoria had the mindset that technology was the way forward, hence she invested all the money previously used on trafficking into cyber crime and fraud. It was a smart move that she had expected. She had the foresight that her father and grandfather had before her.

"There is no change to the plan for the trafficking rings. If other Mafia's are picking up on this business. Let them. It has nothing to do with us." Victoria informed Giuseppe.

"The older members are unhappy about this, Victoria." Giuseppe warned.

"Let them be unhappy about this. Their generation will never understand this area of business. The future is in cyber-technology. If we want to remain at the top of the food chain, we have to be innovative. We can't be stuck in crimes of the past, we have to be bound. The risks that we take for that area of business and what we get is not worth it Uncle." Victoria explained with the shake of her head. "I have taken us to new heights and we will only keep soaring. If we get caught with any of the human trafficking rings, it would destroy more than just our public image."