**This is a direct continuation of chapter 11 so please read first before continuing**
Sorren Donato POV:
"What is this, Marco?"
The older man was no longer standing. Instead, he was sitting in front of me, hands resting on the arms of his chair, waiting patiently.
"Intel..." he simply stated.
A wave of anger rolled through me and I slammed my fists on the desktop.
"Cut the bullshit," I yelled, exasperated by the childish antics of the grown man.
Across from the desk, Marco didn't flinch from the sudden burst of rage from me. He never did. Of all the people who worked for me, Marco was the only one unphased by my temper. He didn't fear me like all the others.
The large, open office sat quietly for a moment as Marco adjusted himself in his seat, reveling in the moment of my discomfort.
"I meant it when I said that boy isn't good for the business and since his presence affects the business, that, in turn, makes him my business," he emphasized.
Before I had the chance to argue, he continued, "And as your advisor, I would advise you to smarten up, get your head out of your ass, and focus on what really matters here and forget that boy exists before he really brings trouble down on our heads."
"You're not making any sense, Marco. Why would a transcript talking about a child's birthday, who just so happens to have the same name, mean that Kalen is 'bad news' or some kind of threat to the company?"
Marco chuckles softly to himself, shaking his head. It infuriated me further since he clearly had information that would piece everything together for me, but he was refusing to share.
"How much do you know about Kalen's past? About his parents?" he questioned.
I rolled my eyes, "clearly not as much as you, I'm gathering?" The other man raised his eyebrows and hummed in response.
"I know that they are both dead, but that's really the gist of it. He mentioned his dad was gone a lot for work, but that he still spent a lot of time with both of them. He never mentioned anything further, and I wasn't going to make him more emotional by probing about his parents' deaths..."
Marco hummed again, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling, causing me to roll my eyes yet again.
"Interesting, his father traveled, you say?" he hinted.
I closed the folder in front of me before picking it up to wave toward Marco.
"You're not trying to insinuate that this man is Kalen's father? What a far reach!" I exclaimed before chucking the file across the room.
Papers spilled from the folder as it flew through the air, landing harshly against the hard floor. Gradually, the papers fluttered down to settle on the floor around it.
"The last names aren't even the same. You're suggesting that Kalen's family worked for the Donato business? That his father was some low-grade drug trafficker for us?"
"No."
"Good, because-"
"I'm suggesting that Kalen's father was a caporegime for your father, and he traveled frequently overseas to organize and manage a portion of the company's business. Romeo was no low-grade associate, he was a man to be feared and he was a viable asset to us then and still to this day. Romeo was the most vital aspect of our expansion outside the country."
I laughed abruptly, "You think Kalen, the boy, is related to the man you've just described? He owns a cafe and bakes all day. I wouldn't necessarily characterize that as gangster behavior."
"Well, clearly his mother had more of an effect on him-"
"And not to mention again, but this man's last name is completely different than Kalen's, so I have a hard time believing there is any sort of connection between his world and our world.
The older man rose from the seat in front of me, shaking his head.
"Hard to believe or not, the connection is there. I recognized him the day he was brought here those weeks ago. I was apprehensive about having him around then, and now with the hard proof you've so elegantly tossed aside, I'm even more apprehensive."
"Hard proof?" I crowed. I tipped my head back to laugh harshly. "Hard proof? A piece of paper with Kalen's first name on it, tied to a 'capo'? That's hardly any real proof!"
Marco now stood standing over the piles of paper littering the ground, shuffling the pages around the floor with his foot.
"Besides, even if everything you say is true, how would any of this prove a danger to our operation, or me- or better yet, him?"
Just as I stopped speaking, Marco stopped moving the pages with his foot. He found what he was looking for. Now, only a single piece of paper lay alone, the rest shoved away to make room.
"I've done my job, now it's time for you to do yours," he declared.
With those words, he nodded towards the floor where the paper sat. I watched as Marco turned to leave the room without another word. The door closed softly behind him, leaving me with the papers and my thoughts.
I reluctantly stood from my seat, childishly stomping to the pile of papers to snatch the page from the floor. Then, I childishly stomped back to my desk before plopping down into the chair again. I huffed, dragging my fingers through my hair in frustration and anticipation. I relaxed back into the chair and slumped slightly, exhausted from the range of emotions I had just experienced. I rose the page to my field of view to read over the words, unable to prepare myself for what I might find.
The header of the page read 'Incident Report'.
My eyes glanced over the information quickly, trying to find clues of its importance. I noticed again the name 'Marcus Costa', which was a more obvious hint considering the file the page came from.
Further down the page, I read the words 'incident type: death'.
The rest of the report included details of his death, stating it occurred overseas in Sicily. Apparently, he visited often to facilitate and grow the narcotic connection we had in collaboration with another family in the country.
I recognize the name of the family as an organization we feuded with for a number of years when I was a teenager. The feud would make sense if a member of their organization potentially murdered one of our own, especially if our member was as important as Marco made him seem.
I continued to read the report, taking in information about the man, a past caporegime of our business. Apparently, he was one of the founding players in heroin trafficking from Europe to America, all filtering through our port in Italy.
With his involvement and coordination, our organization's money and men practically doubled in a matter of a few years. To say Romeo was known, not just in our organization, but in others as well, was an understatement.
However, in this profession, being known isn't always a good thing. It was a dangerous life we led, with a massive amount of risks and competition.
From the findings of the report, it would seem our competitor got a little jealous of Romeo's success, resulting in his murder.
I rose up in my seat, sitting straight again. I laid the paper down on the desk in front of me, taking a break to process the information I just learned. For some reason, Marco needed me to see this, and somehow all of this was tied to Kalen.
I forced myself to continue reading through the long, drawn-out report, trying to find any evidence of a connection to Kalen.
Eventually, I came across the piece Marco wanted me to see.
A worldwide hit placed on the family of Marcus Costa, including his one and only son- Kalen.
.x.
A much shorter chapter, but there you have it, a bit more explanation behind Sorren's family and business. Potentially Kalen's family as well?
I know this chapter is a lot of dialogue, so I'm sorry if it was a little heavy, but now we're starting to put together all the pieces between Kalen and Sorren.
Let me know what you think about the story so far, and be sure to vote, comment, and follow for updates!