It was after dinner at the Belaggio mansion. Gianluca and Luigi were sitting in Gianluca's room on two sofas opposite each other with a coffee table between them. They were drinking and talking. Gianluca and Luigi were talking about their football team mostly.
Luigi picked up his opened bottle of soda in front of him. He drank from it and said "So you are still hesitant about having football training in weekends."
Gianluca picked up his own opened soda bottle and sat back in his seat. He took a sip. "Yes. I am. But Luigi. Let's move on and discuss some other matter that I see as more pressing. I know after school you told me that we need to meet up at my house tonight to talk about strategies and new recruitment for our football team and new training regime but there is something else also to talk about."
Luigi said "Go on."
Gianluca said "After school near the time I was going to return home, Christian asked me to go see him in his school to talk. I went over. He discussed something very unexpected with me and on top of that .... he asked me to tell you about what we discussed... Do you want to hear it?"
Luigi said "I am listening. Go on."
Gianluca said "It is not something you would expect to hear Luigi. But if you don't want to hear it, I do not blame you. You should know that he has asked me to ask you to listen to what I tell you and tell me if you are willing to help."
Luigi sighed "I see where this is going. So he needs me to hear what you two discussed and take some kind of action after hearing it. Right? ... Christian and I have our differences. Well that's an understatement. His family has a vendetta against my family and would murder any Alessandrini if they get the chance. If it wasn't for you his people would have murdered my sister. But I am willing to hear what he discussed with you today and find out what he wants from me exactly."
Gianluca said "It's a pretty long story...." He then explained the entire account of what Christian had told him. Luigi listened and nodded silently.
Gianluca announced at the end "So what do you think of all this?"
Luigi said "Gianluca... Do you actually believe this account?"
Gianluca said "I trust Christian. He would not lie to me."
Luigi stated "I am not talking about Christian. Do you believe Dean? Do you trust Dean?"
Gianluca admitted "I have no reason to."
Luigi said "I was just checking. I have no reason to trust either Christian or Dean. You trust Christian... Fine... But we both agree we can't trust Dean..."
Gianluca said "So what do I tell Christian?"
Luigi said "Tell him I have nothing to say to him or Dean..."
Gianluca asked " So you don't want to even try to check to see if this father and daughter are ok in your territory? Aren't you even abit curious? I mean I don't trust Dean at all. Maybe he wants to harm these two individuals and he is planning this way to get to them... But doesn't it mean you should at least look for them to check if they are safe near by and arrange for extra protection for them maybe?"
Luigi said "Gianluca. You asked me "What do I tell Christian?" I told you to inform your best friend that I have nothing to tell him or Dean. I answered your initial question. But you just asked me so many questions right now? Before I answer them... tell me... Are you asking me these questions with the intention of informing Christian of the answers? Or you are just asking me these questions out of curiosity for your own peace of mind? I told you what my answer is to Christian. I do not have anything else to say to him in response."
Gianluca responded " I want to make sure that if Dean has told Christian all this to locate these two individuals to harm them then we should try and at least tell your father about this if you don't want to dig around for information. Your father has given a family with a land dispute over the ranch of the same name refuge here. He would surely want to protect them if there any people chasing them right now."
Luigi said "Again. I am repeating my question. Maybe I should rephrase it. Are you asking me all this and are going to tell Christian everything that I will tell you or you are asking me to hear an answer and then you have no intention of telling Christian or anyone else about the answers you hear... You are missing the point here. I do not trust Christian. I do not trust Dean. But I do trust you."
Gianluca understood "So... You are going to answer the questions but you do not want me to share it with Christian? I have no reason to give Dean any answers but I really don't have many secrets between me and Christian. So maybe it is best if you do not tell me..."
Luigi said "Finally. Some straight answer. Gianluca it is not about that at all. You do not understand how complicated the case of this girl and her father is. If you knew, then you would have understood what I mean. It is not that I do not want you to tell Christian and Dean. I do not think... that this matter is that simple... I think I am going to tell you everything. Then you will understand my question about telling anyone. Trust me you will understand what I mean... I will leave the judgement to you at the end to choose what you want with the information I give you... I am pretty sure you will think twice about sharing anything with your buddy or Dean after I tell you what I know about this case..."
Gianluca said "So ... how much do you know? Are they alive?"
Luigi said "Yes they are alive. Pretty alive.
Gianluca said "So... Are you going to go and search for them and locate them to check if they are safe now since Dean is asking about them. You know... what if they are in danger?"
Luigi said "I won't need to search for them. I know who they are, I know where they live."
Gianluca was looking at Luigi with surprise. "You do... You know all this..."
Luigi nodded "Yes. Their case is pretty well known to me. So to put your mind at ease, they are ok. They are safe. I can also confirm that Rose and her father, Ryan did indeed own a ranch called the "The Rose Petals Realm" in Chicago. They did flee the Mcloughins. In fact they described how they escaped death. The details in what Dean told Christian is true. But I can't confirm if Dean is the boy who saved them. I have no way of confirming that. The boy who saved Rose and her father did not tell them his name. So here is the first problem Gianluca. The story is true. But was it Dean who saved them or has he heard it from the real hero who maybe confided in him? Are you willing to take that chance to trust Dean?"
Gianluca went silent and then said "But Christian believes him. Christian described he sounded pretty genuine about his story..."
Luigi said "All right... If you want to believe that ... Let's say that the Dean that we know would not go into the trouble of rehearsing and delivering such Oscar winning worthy emotional acting performance to Christian for any cause. What would be his motive? I am pretty sure he has better things to do with his life. So I agree with you. Let's say because I trust you and you trust Christian to be telling the truth, we say Dean is that boy. Ok. But trust me... There are plenty other twists here coming up..."
Gianluca nodded "Ok. So they are happy and safe now?"
Luigi nodded "Yes. They are both safe and happy. So is your mind at ease now regarding their safety?"
Gianluca said "I am happy they are safe..."
Luigi said "Good. So we have established that Dean is most likely that boy and he doesn't want to harm her and they are safe. So now... The rest of the story is very tricky. If you can't handle some twists and turns and you do not want to know tell me now. Because what you are about to hear is secrets that you will have responsibility of protecting."
Gianluca said "I want to hear it. I will carry the responsibility. Can you tell me what your father did that weekend when you came to our house so he sorted out his business?"
Luigi sighed. He took a sip from his bottle. "That weekend is actually when the easy part happened. The days that followed that weekend was even more significant. But I tell you. That weekend is not that important compared to the next part. Ok. So This man. Ryan he is the son of one of the men who worked for my grandfather years ago..."
Gianluca said "What?"
Luigi said "Yeah. He is Italian. After Dean saves them, he brings his daughter here to New York. I don't know they jump on some lorry or something and take the road this way. Something like that. So yeah. Ryan goes to his father and explains what happened. His father had not seen him in years. Ryan left home as soon as he turned to an adult and never looked back. His father did not even know he had gotten married and had a kid. So his father comes to my father and asks for help. My father agrees. He takes care of the families who have served the Alessandrinis. No favour is too big for him if he thinks a man has served loyally and deserves his help. So yep. That weekend. My father makes sure that the Mcloughins do not ever pose a risk to this father and daughter..."
Gianluca asks "What does he do?"
Gianluca said "First my father questions Ryan for hours asking for every single detail. He notes down what needs to be done. Firstly he needed to see if the disappearance of those men is solved. Mcloughins ordered Ryan to be shot. The boss changes his mind when Rose comes to save her father and says kill the daughter and bury her and make sure her father begs very long before you pull the trigger. This happens while loud music is playing around the place because of the wedding. The boss walks away. So we assume the boss comes back later and sees a filled up grave and no Ryan and or any of those killers in sight. Now. The boss would not care. Because Ryan told us when he was being transported by car he asked them why are they doing this. They told this man who they thought was going to be dead their personal information. They told Ryan their names and said they have been paid upfront cash and are going on a vacation after they bury him. They told Ryan they want to go to gamble and drink their time away in the next month or so. So you can imagine, when the boss returns to the scene he thinks they killed the girl and the father has been removed from the site by those killers who are going on vacation. Now I call them killers because they were actually purely killers working for that family. They just killed. No business work. So my father just faked their deaths and made sure it was published in a local newspaper that was normally delivered to the Mcloughin mansion. They died in a car crash at night apparently. Fake story in newspapers. Pretty easy. Ryan knew their names so piece of cake.
Gianluca said "How did your father explain Ryan's disappearance. He was not at the ranch afterwards."
Luigi said "Now... My father needed to know who actually dealt with Ryan's case from the Mcloughin family. They are a large family. Who ordered the death sentence? Ryan was ordered to be killed on a wedding day and buried in the woods near the mansion for refusing to sell his ranch. The Mcloughins do this kind of business alot. They offer to buy properties for cheap and sell it for more. But they do not kill people who refuse them. They just threaten them and you can imagine you will sell if they say we will kill you. Ryan refuses. They threaten him and give him a day to decide to sell at their price. He could have come to New York to his father at that point. Right. But he did not do that... Instead he goes to the police. Wrong move...The police are owned by the Mcloughins. They write his report and tell him to go home and they will sort it. The Mcloughins send two men to bring him immediately to the mansion to kill him. You do not go to the police if Mcloughins come knocking. They gave him the business card of their firm that had the name Mcloughin on it. He gave that to police. So on that wedding day when he goes to police, the officer calls the Mcloughins and whoever that picks up the phone orders their death who happens to be a low key underboss of the Mcloughins. Ryan's case was not dealt with the big Mcloughins... So my father knew who picked up the phone when the police officer calls the Mcloughins to inform them of what's happened based on voice recordings of the phone company."
Gianluca said "So what does your father do with this information?"
Luigi said "My father located the guy. He ordered his men to interrogate this guy for hours until he broke and told them exactly how much the Mcloughins knew about this father and daughter and who dealt with the case... Well. Apparently he was the one dealing with Mcloughin business affairs that was small those days. It was around the time of a wedding. The people who were above him in rank were busy doing other more important jobs. He was the one who knocked on Ryan's door and gave him the offer. He was the one who threatened him. He was the one who took the call that came from the police station. He was the one who called up the killers and ordered them to bring Ryan to the mansion and then liked the idea of the daughter dying in front of the father as a fitting punishment. No one else knew. He was the guy. When he killed himself in that prison cell so the Mcloughins don't get their hands on him after he revealed everything, the last witness was dead. Job done with the Mcloughins. This case did not reach the top. So Rose and Ryan were no longer in danger..."
Gianluca was thinking "So is there anything else that needed covering?"
Luigi said "Not as far as what had happened with the Mcloughins. Rose and Ryan were safe from them. That weekend was when my father sent his men to capture that boss guy. He had to plan for if the plan fails. He sent his men to the heart of the Mcloughin territory. If our men were found you can imagine the consequences. Mob war. He was not sure how it was going to play out. He arranged for new identities for Rose and Ryan just in case his men were compromised by the Mcloughins. He wiped out their existence from every single record. The plan went ok."
Gianluca said "Wow. Bravo to your father. I knew your father was an expert in masterminding complex operations but he has done a great job protecting this family from the Mcloughins."
Luigi said "Wait until you hear the next part. So after that weekend the Mcloughins are no threat to Rose and Ryan. They do not know who they are and what they did. Only those killers and the not so important boss guy knew. However when my father was arranging for new identities he came across some interesting information. The information about Ryan's wife..."
Gianluca said "Dean said in his story that she was dead..."
Luigi nodded "When the boss guy tells the men to kill Rose and make her father beg very long for it, that gave time to Ryan to beg and reveal all the information that Dean revealed that you may question.. Like how come he heard that he owned a ranch and had a dead wife and wanted to move to city. When Ryan begged he went on and on about his life and why they should spare Rose's life... But that was a lie about his wife being dead. His wife is alive..."
Gianluca was shocked "What?"
Luigi nodded " You see my father arranged to wipe out the identity of Rose and Ryan from the records and gave them new identities. He arranged for the name of the Ranch to be changed and its records on every single official record to be erased...But he did not tell Ryan and Rose he was going to do it. He just arranged for Rose and Ryan to be guarded in safe house close to us. He would not believe the information that he found... My father found out the identity of Ryan's wife... Bianca Bianchi."
Gianluca froze. He knew that name. He could not believe it.
Luigi took a sip from his drink "So from your reaction you know exactly what we are talking about. Right? Let's go through what we are dealing with here. Ryan marries Bianca. They are both young. The Bianchis give their blessing. Bianca is a female. She is not a male heir. And frankly that crime family is so powerful they do not need to form alliances through marriage. They are not desperate for that. So they get married. Have a kid. But Ryan never fits in. He hates the crime life his wife's family lead. He suffers in silence for years. Until about a year before this incident with the Mcloughins. Ryan decides he does not want his daughter to be raised with this family. So he abducts his daughter and moves to Chicago. You may ask how come the Bianchis did not find him. Well... He did not register himself anywhere. He goes quietly to a ranch that he has inherited from his great aunt from his mother's side. Rose is home schooled for that year. Then the incident happens and Dean saves her."
Gianluca whispers "What did your father do when he found out?"
Luigi said "We both know how the Bianchis operate. You do know the kind of family we are dealing with. They do not have any links with us or anyone on this side of New York. You must have heard about the daughter of a Bianchi being abducted and they are looking for them. Rumours were there. You just know their reputation. And thats it. But that is all my father knew as well. He had no links with this family. He never had any business relations with them. He had never met anyone from that family or had come across their business associates. He just knew this was no ordinary crime family. He knew full well there was no way in hell he could protect Ryan without going to war with them if they demanded him to be handed to them. Gianluca you must have heard the rumours. That family was looking for their granddaughter and wanted the blood of their son in law. Rose may not have heard these rumours but she is incredibly smart. She knew her father was a dead man if her mother's family found him so she never told us who her mother is.... Ryan had left a letter to the Bianchis when he took Rose and insulted them thinking they would never get their hands on him. So you can imagine what the issue was. My father has never failed to protect someone he promised to protect. He had to make a decision."
Gianluca said "Did he hand them over?"
Luigi said "He first needed to dig for information about them. So he talks to my grandfather. That is what helped. My grandfather knew the Bianchis. Rose's grandfather was his friend at some point. It was one of those friendships. They just never did business together and were friends until they were eighteen and then lost touch so my father had no links with them.So my grandfather decides to go over there to talk to them. My father was not happy. But my grandfather assured him that it would be perfectly safe and he wanted to be the one to talk to them and resolve this matter. He goes over there and takes Rose with him. He speaks to head of the Bianchi family and explains the situation. Imagine. The Bianchis have been looking for their granddaughter for a year and here is Rose. They can not stop thanking him and the Alessandrini family for their efforts and for digging in records to find out who Rose was. If my father had not done the identity search they could have lived with us and they could never know. Also they appreciated that my father could have chosen to protect Ryan who was the son of a loyal man to the Alessandrinis and still had decided to return Rose. They wanted to forgive Ryan. They did. But Rose's mother did not want to forgive Ryan..."
Gianluca said "Wow."
Luigi nodded "You have heard her name. Bianca Bianchi. She is pretty hands on in that business family. She is a feared woman. She wanted to kill Ryan. Her own family told her they want Ryan dead too but the Alessandrinis have delivered Rose and its not fair to kill someone that the Alessandrinis have under their wing. They remind her how much debt the Bianchis have to the Alessandrinis. She vows that she will spend ever waking moment and every ounce of power she has to locate Ryan and kill him slowly and painfully. So yeah. She does not get convinced by anyone... but Rose manages to convince her... Rose promises that she will do everything her mother asks her to do and she will be a good daughter. If she ever refuses her requests and disobeys her, then she can kill her father. Her mother agrees. Imagine what Bianca Bianchi's worst fear must have been after not seeing her daughter for one year. She was afraid of losing her again. What if she ran away? She cares for nothing but her in this world. That was why she lost the love she once had for Ryan. Now Ryan lives in our territory. He is allowed to go and see Rose from time to time but under heavy guards under watch. He goes to visit and returns here. Rose is happy that her mother has spared her father. She loves her mother actually and she actually did not like what her father did. But she does not want him dead. She is loyal to her mother's crime family actually."
Gianluca said "I can imagine what you meant at the beginning now. Bianca Bianchi is very protective of her. Anyone who asks to see her may not succeed unless Bianca says yes. Rose can not see Dean unless her mother allows it...I have one question though... If this family is so happy with your family then how come I have never seen them do business with you or anything?
Luigi took a deep breath "Bianchis will never forgot what the Alesssandrinis have done for Rose. The Bianchi family have told us that the Alessandrinis can have anything they want. The Alessandrinis can ask for any favours any time and it will be granted. My father has not called any favours in. He wants to call favours in when we really need it. So no. We have not initiated anything but we can. When I say "we" I mean any Alessandrini. That includes also me and Lena. So if you ever marry my sister and she ever asks the Bianchis for anything, she will never be refused anything. All the members of that family have agreed on that. Now back to the beginning of conversation. By all means you can tell Christian but imagine what tornado you will unleash if Dean does anything. I am not so optimistic that Bianca Bianchi would even believe Dean. And I can bet you she will never let Dean come close to Rose if she is not convinced. It is so hard to get close to her. I have met her because we have been invited to their home. She does let me talk to her. I am an Alesandrini. But Dean as an O'Brien, I am not too sure can even get within a mile of that mansion without being captured and thrown in the basement by security. Even if by any miracle Rose sees Dean somehow and recognises him, do you think Bianca Bianchi would ever allow whatever this love Dean has for his Rose blossom? Would she allow it? Why would she? Do you blame her? She loved Ryan and he ran off with her only child. Would she allow any random guy to come and date her. Let alone an Irish-American crime family heir? She might reward Dean if she believes the story and doesn't care for him being from the O'Brien family but I doubt she will just give her daughter away to Dean one day. That is what Dean wants I guess from what he told Christian when he said he only loves Rose. And Rose wont defy her mother unless she wants her mother to hunt down and kill Ryan. This love does not seem to be heading for a happy ending. Miracles can happen though... Who knows? Now think long and hard. If you let Christian know you may start a chain reaction. Think before you decide who to tell and if you want to tell..."
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Please check the names and ages of the characters in the family tree chapter for reference when needed. Please comment your feedback please. What do you think will happen next soon in upcoming chapters.