I walked out of my bedroom with Alex right behind me. I walked down the stairs as I checked my phone and saw an unknown missed call. I frowned before looking upwards and walking towards the living room.
"Everything alright?" Alex said as his hand touched my shoulder. I nodded before pressing the call button. I brought my phone up to my ear and waited for the beeping to eventually stop but it never did. I stopped in my tracks, moving the phone away from my ear. "What?" Alex looked back at me before I turned the phone off and moved forward.
"Nothing," I stepped into the meeting room and was immediately met with a projector screen and a laptop at the end of the table. Alex and I walked over to it before sitting down in front of it. I looked through the contacts and video-called Dante and Aldo as the guard closed the door. I leaned back in the chair as we waited for the call to connect.
Dante, to my surprise, was the one to initiate the call. I didn't complain since it's been a good week since we talked.
The image of Dante with Aldo right beside him popped up, making me smile.
"Liam and Alex, so nice you could join," I gave him a nod as Alex smiled.
"I'm assuming there's something you have to tell us?" I asked, knowing that no matter how much he might have loved to talk about life, he didn't arrange meetings for chit-chats.
"Indeed. Last week Aldo met up with Gabriele. The don of the De Niros." I nodded, already familiar with the information. "We signed a deal which means we are going to open a brand new chain of clubs in Europe," I crossed my arms over my chest. "It was an easy decision but Margo suggested you could invest in it yourself. That would be the Martinelli interfering in a way but as far as I'm concerned, Francesco has no more desire to run the mafia." I smiled weakly.
"That's the problem." Aldo frowned. "As much as I'd love to take this step and build a stronger connection with the Cosa Nostra, I don't think now's the time. Francesco blew up earlier today and because of the argument, I doubt he'll want to stop anytime soon."
"Blew-up?" Aldo questioned. Maybe it was a common occurrence in our household but this severe? Haven't seen that one in a while.
"He tried to hurt my mother. Being the protective-asshole that I am, I interfered and kicked his ass good." Dante smiled. It was a nice sight to see after what had gone on this month. "Um..." I cleared my throat before I turned to Alex. He met my eyes, showing some uncertainty on his face about whether or not I should tell them about my latest discoveries. I looked back at the screen. "The diary," I said before I rubbed my jaw with my hand. Both Dante and Aldo frowned.
"The diary? Mariana's diary?" Aldo asked before I nodded. "How... What?" He shook his head in disbelief.
"It appeared mysteriously in my closet. I swear," I held my hands out in defence, "I didn't set this up. I was just as confused if not more."
"Hold on, it appeared?" I nodded. "Who could've done that?"
"I thought of the possibility of Francesco doing such a thing but it doesn't make sense. Like at all."
"Besides, he had no motives to do this. Especially after Liam put him in his place."
"But does that mean that whoever brought you the diary, was also the one to take it from us?" I gave Aldo a nod.
"I'm not trying to imply that that actually is the case but it's a good possibility." Dante nodded. "And I think it's best if you read it on your own. I don't think I'll be able to stomach it again."
"That bad?" Aldo asked as he crossed his hands over his chest.
"Maybe it won't be too bad for you but the man I held as my role model, turned out to be worse than Vinc himself." Dante's eyes widened. "I'll send it to you."
"That would be great."
"Did you talk to Gabriele about the Bratva?" Aldo nodded, leaning forward against the table of their meeting room.
"Yeah, he has a suspicion that this isn't going to end so easily. Think about it, the most powerful man of the Bratva was murdered by some unknown killer and then sometime later, his only possible heir, since his daughter wasn't male, was brutally killed." It's been over two weeks since that happened and so far, the mysterious killer hasn't made their move. Since all eyes of the underworld are now aimed at finding anyone associated with the said person, they might have to plan their next move very carefully. Hence, they need more time.
"I don't even think I can imagine what their next move might be targeted at," Dante admitted. "Although I have this lingering intuitive feeling that they won't go after the Cosa Nostra nor the Mob." I hoped so. But when such a killer is on the loose, you can never predict their next move since they didn't kill two people from different mafias. They went after the Bratva's leader and future boss.
I tried to think of what kind of statement they might want to make by doing this but nothing came to mind that made sense. I mean, I do think that they had some kind of history with the Usoro which led them to make such gruesome actions.
But who's next? The Cosa Nostra? The Mob?
Maybe there's a member of the Cosa Nostra that'll soon be under the ground, rotting until there's nothing left of them just the slight memory of them. Or maybe it'll be one of the members of the Mob.
I didn't let myself think this out too much because the only one that knew what will go down next was the killer themself.
"And did he tell you anything he was planning to do?"
"He said to wait it out as much as it may be the wrong thing to do. We can't deny the possibility of the Bratva solving this one out themselves. Maybe they'll pick someone new and then move on as if the murder never happened."
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I sat outside on one of the couches overlooking the garden. My thoughts were quite literally scrambled and tied up in an infinite number of knots.
I breathed in the late summer air and rested my head on the wall behind me. I stared up at the crystal blue sky, trying to forget everything going on inside me to catch a breath. My eyes closed, letting temporary calm take over me.
Just when I thought I'd get some rest after the half a day I just went through, the door opened, catching my attention. I turned my head in its direction and saw Francesco walk out of the house. He wasn't aware that was here as he stretched his arms out before folding them over his chest and staring out at the property. I didn't bother informing him I was here since I hope he'd walk away and I wouldn't need to talk to him.
That was until his head turned and met my eyes. His eyes slightly widened before going back into their normal form. I turned my eyes away from him before I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Great Wall of China?" He questioned as he walked over to the opposite couch and sat down, ruining the entire view.
"What?" I asked, skipping straight to the point. "You sat down here to tell me how much of a disgrace I am to you? How much you regret ever putting me in charge?" He leaned back on the couch, getting himself comfortable for a conversation that was going to be anything but that. "What do you want?"
"Do as I say." I rolled my eyes. "Don't be childish."
"You're acting like a child that can't get whatever he wants so instead, you bitch about it and hurt the people involved." His face stayed cold, emotionless. "I'm not going to do what you want me to. I'm the boss, not the other way around. I've tried to tell you that many times." He sighed, his insides clearly boiling to the point of letting steam out through his ears. "You put yourself above everything else. You helped to kill Luciana, you were the one who hurt Celeste, hence hurt me. I don't even think I need to get into the family history to make my point." I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees as I stared into him. "You want power. You want wealth. And you'll go above and beyond to ensure you have it. Just like Vincenzo. And just like your own father." Francesco's eyes widened, finally showing some emotion.
"What? My what?" He asked confused.
"I don't know what kind of scheme you are trying to create but it won't work. Not when I have two graves already dug out for the both of you." I stood up, looking directly at him. "Count your days, old man. The truth always has a way of resurfacing." I walked back into the house, surprised I even found the strength inside me to talk like that to him.
Whatever my mother had in mind saying that it would get ugly, I had to figure it out as soon as possible. If Francesco was trying to go behind my back once again, I wouldn't put it past him to start doing his master plan after today.
He hated me. That was clear. But he was one of the only people that knew the deal between his father and Vinc. And because of my words, he now knew I did too.
And if what we had before were harmless arguments, now, we began to play a dangerous game without having to announce it.
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I walked over to my office as the clock stroke midnight. I couldn't sleep but for the first time in what felt like forever, it wasn't because of her. I sat down by the desk and opened my laptop. I rubbed my eyes as the fatigue slowly kicked in but as much as I've tried to fall asleep, every time I closed my eyes, I'd lay there for half an hour with a million thoughts occupying my brain.
I checked through the security footage of Luca's place in London which was where he stayed at this moment. Thanks to Audrey, who informed me of this, I could monitor his moves. Without even knowing it, we prevented a possible attack on us by not going to see Robert since Luca was in London, probably well aware of the meeting I was supposed to attend.
After seeing that his place hadn't changed even one bit, I checked my email inbox. Most letters were sent yesterday or this morning but since my day was completely ruined by the events earlier, I completely forgot to see what was new in the business world.
As my eyes skimmed through the messages, I caught one which was sent ten minutes ago. It addressed me and my family and looked as if it was an invitation. I opened the file and when the image of a black and gold invitation appeared, I frowned.
It was almost September and all major events had to be finished in the underworld. But no. I was wrong to think this was something I might have not attended last year or ever, it was an invitation sent by Gabriele De Niro.
Dear famiglia di Martinelli,
I would like to invite you to a charity ball which I will be hosting next week. It will take place on the second of September and will be hosted at the Louvre. I am very well sure that you are familiar with this event and this year, our famiglia opted to host this ball.
We would be very delighted if you could come to Paris and spend a lovely evening under the stars. It has been a difficult month for the Cosa Nostra and as much as every one of our family members is devastated, we would like to start putting the past behind us. It might seem hard and impossible at first but I'm sure we all could use a night out.
The ball will be hosted in hopes of donating as much money as possible to the children suffering from cancer.
I hope you will find a way to find time for next weekend and grace us with your presence. For any further information please contact me in any way. If you accept this invitation, further information will be sent out between Monday and Tuesday.
Wish you well,
Gabriele De Niro.
I read through the invite again and pressed the reply button. I was thinking of visiting the Rossi after everything that had happened to take a breather and this might as well be the perfect opportunity.
Egon was already in Rome with Laura so he could easily join me at the event. I replied by telling him I was grateful for the invitation and kindly accepted this offer.
And since the members of the ball will most likely be members of the Cosa Nostra or the Mob, I didn't have a single worry about the outcome.
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