54. Max
MAX
I t had to be her birthday party.
I’d been over it dozens of times. I’d tried to come up with a different solution by hiring the Shadows, but they’d refused to respond to my offer. I’d paced a hole in my father’s office, running through all the options, all the possibilities.
But every time, I came back to this.
Her birthday party was the only time where Luciano would think himself untouchable.
It was the only time when all the other Heads would gather in the same space, and they’d understand the transition of power was necessary.
It was the only time I could wave the blackmail in their faces and force them to let this happen.
I couldn’t wait any longer.
On the surface, I knew how fucked up it was.
I knew it would irrevocably ruin her life.
But on a deeper level, this purging was necessary.
It had been a long time coming. It had to be this, and if I had to hurt her to do it, so be it.
I’d long since come to terms with the fact that Cas, Leona, and I were never meant to live this life together.
It had to be this way, and I couldn’t delay any longer .
My father had taught me to act with logic, not emotion, and this was the only answer.
Luciano had spent the last four years keeping me under his thumb, but that ended tonight.
He thought we’d played the Camorra. He thought he was getting away with it.
I knew he’d become suspicious that I’d make an attempt against him at some point, and he’d had his eyes on me more than usual—even more reason I couldn’t warn Cas about what I was about to do.
What Luciano didn’t know was that I had been secretly working with the Camorra. I’d found a way to inform them of his transgressions, but they’d only signed off on this coup if I took power…and gave it to them.
It was a gamble.
If I had hidden the truth about what he was doing, and they found out, they would have killed us all without a second thought.
If I had told them the truth, they might have killed me anyway. And then they would have killed the whole family, which meant Cas and Leona would die, too.
Either way, we were dead.
But I had realized that if I offered them a bargain, if I went to them with an offer they couldn’t refuse…maybe, just maybe, they would take it. It was the only option that could keep the Family alive in the long run.
So I had approached them with a proposal, the only thing I could think of that would be large enough and weighty enough to get them to keep us alive and trust me.
I would kill Luciano and end his crimes. I’d rebuild our Family from the inside out. In exchange for their help, I’d give them the Five Families.
I had enough evidence against the other Dons to prove they were aware of what Luciano was doing and had done nothing.
Those cocksuckers had accepted bribes, turned their heads, and let him tank the legitimacy of our drug sales while also flooding the city with trafficking.
Killing the other Heads after I’d used them to take power was the second phase of my plan.
Then I’d lead the Family while under the Camorra’s thumb.
For decades, they had wanted more control over the Five Families. Until now, the American Italian mafia had always been strong enough to withstand them. Not anymore. Not when they had an inside man willing to burn it all to ash and start over.
I was making a deal with the devil, and I knew it. Bargaining with the Camorra was dangerous, but what choice did I have?
If my gamble went right tonight, Cas and Leona could be free. Luciano would be dead. My father and mother would rest peacefully.
Those were the thoughts that drove me to show up at the party, pretend to drink champagne, and watch Leona dance—enjoying her last few minutes of peace.
The feelings I felt for her were…complicated.
She’d grown into her beauty, but poison grew in my heart.
She had no clue what the mafia was really like, and I resented her for it.
I hated that all she thought of was marriage, when my thoughts were consumed by dodging death at every corner.
She had it so easy, and fixing everything fell to me.
Even though the logical part of me knew it wasn’t her fault, the other parts of me still blamed her for how spoiled she had become.
I wanted her to be free, yet I hated her for it.
Late at night when I couldn’t sleep, I’d wonder why Luciano had done the things he did.
Why he’d be so careful and doting on Leona, but behind closed doors he’d traffic women.
He would use her to manipulate me and threaten me.
Had he done it, in some sick and twisted way, for her? Or only for himself?
If she wasn’t a part of my life, it would be so much easier to kill him. To run the Family as ruthlessly as it needed to be.
Part of me wished I didn’t feel for her. If she meant nothing, I could throw her away and burn all of this shit to the ground.
The feelings were poison .
I’d kept a careful distance from both Cas and Leona in the last few years.
I was walking a path that only led to pain and heartbreak, one on which they didn’t belong, but I needed to see it through.
I needed to get vengeance for my father.
This was the choice I’d made. I’d long since made my peace with it, and even though they’d never understand, I couldn’t divert. I wouldn’t.
Logic over emotion.
Once I’d killed Luciano, I’d still get her and Cas out of here.
I’d already arranged it. I’d planned to fake their deaths to prove to the Camorra they couldn’t interfere with their plans—the Camorra would never let them leave the Family otherwise—while they flew to a remote location under false identities.
They’d be out of the city, and safety away from the Camorra’s and Luciano’s clutches.
When the Family was strong again, when the city was back under our careful control, everything would be worth it. The end would justify the means.
The only sentiment I’d allowed myself was to buy her a necklace for her birthday and give her the rose we’d become used to exchanging. Farewell gifts.
Her eyes had shone as I’d fastened the necklace around her neck. She’d once again hinted that she wanted to marry me, but her constant nagging had only deepened my resentment and frustration. It was impossible.
The only way she’d ever agree to leave and run away with Cas was for me to do the one thing she’d never forgive me for: kill her father. If she thought there was anything between us, she would never leave New York.
The only way Cas would run with her is if he knew he had to keep her safe. If Cas knew what I was trying to do, he’d refuse to leave me. He’d want to help.
Their stubbornness was a constant frustration. They couldn’t be separated, but they couldn’t stay here .
A life free from the Family was the only life that would keep them both safe. It was necessary.
The party itself passed in a blur. I was too focused. Too determined. All of my plans were coming to a head, and they had to work perfectly.
I watched Luciano like a hawk the entire evening. I’d made allies in secret, groups of men dedicated and loyal to me. Elio would be my new second-in-command. David would be my enforcer and head of security. They were both ready to act when I gave the signal.
When Luciano went upstairs, I followed him.
He was on the phone as I slipped into the study. “Max?” He covered the speaker, turning to me with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
I pulled my gun from my holster inside my suit jacket.
“Ah.” He ended his phone call and dropped the device on his desk. “So this is where you’ll try to end me. At my daughter’s birthday party.”
“I’m doing what needs to be done.” It was time. All the years I’d spent keeping quiet. All the years I’d focused on bringing him down. It all amounted to this. “It’s been a long time coming.”
“I thought we covered this four years ago. If you kill me, you have too much to lose.”
The last time we’d met head on like this, he’d told me I needed to learn how to hide my emotions. I’d spent four years doing exactly that. I’d trained them to leech from my body until I felt nothing, until I was blank.
I sank into that dead space now.
I raised my gun. “Not anymore.”
He pulled out his own weapon and pointed it at my face, squeezing the trigger without a word. He scowled at the chunk of metal when it didn’t immediately kill me.
I smirked. “I removed your firing pin yesterday. ”
His jaw clenched, and then he weighed the gun in his hand. “Looks like you replaced my bullets, too.”
“Blanks. Just in case.”
He sighed. “You’re not going to kill me, Max.”
“Oh?” I stepped forward while yanking my knife from its sheath against my back. “Get out from behind the desk. Get on your knees.”
He stood unmoving.
“On your knees, Luciano.” My voice was deadly cold.
He did as I asked. “You would take Leona’s father from her?”
“I’m doing her, and the world, a favor.”
“Is that what you tell yourself to pretend that she won’t hate you forever? To rid yourself of the guilt?”
He was goading me, but I’d spent a decade preparing for this. There was no way I’d be derailed now. “Shut up.”
“What are you going to do about the Camorra?”
“I made a bargain.”
He tsk’ d his teeth. “That was a bad decision. Let me guess. You’re paving the pathway for them to take over New York.”
“Not like it concerns you. You’ll be six feet under.”
“They’ve been trying to push into the States for years. You’ll regret inviting them in.”
“Again, my problem, not yours.”
“What about the feds?”
I paused, raising my eyebrow. I knew he was selling guns to the CIA. Years ago, he became buried in debt from the legitimate business, and made a deal with them to bail him out. But the way he asked pulled me in like a fish on a line. “What do you mean?”
“The RICO case.”
My breath gusted out of me. “What the fuck did you say?”
He nodded. “I figured that was the last missing piece of your puzzle. RICO.”