CHAPTER 17
Damn you. Umberto slammed his fist against the desk, the sound drawing his assistant into his office without knocking, worry etched into her features. He assured her, as politely as he could, that everything was fine. With a small nod, she retreated discreetly, closing the door behind her.
May you burn in hell for eternity, Umberto continued in his angry internal monologue.
The personal assistant interrupted by barging into the room.
You, that pathetic excuse for a human being, your father, my poor father’s tyrannical father, and everyone else who, one way or another, robbed me of what was rightfully mine.
You should have been dead by now, should have died a thousand times, but no. Like the devil’s seed you are, you found a way to evade Death’s merciless claw, even as it gripped you tightly, crushing your bones, turning them into jelly. Somehow, you found your way back from the gates of hell.
Umberto buried his face in both hands, a mix of anger, frustration, and helplessness boiling inside him. Ottavio Sforza, the obstacle he had been trying to remove for the past ten years, laughed in his face again. The defiant devil adopted his bastard son and named him after the dynasty’s founder.
It was something Umberto’s father, out of love for him and his mother, didn’t dare do because of the consequences.
So instead of naming his beloved son Gianbattista, Giovanni, Benedetto, or Vincenzo—names with special significance for the Sforza family—he chose a less common name not on the dynastic list.
Don Giochino, Umberto’s father, kept delaying the moment when he would teach him the Old-World Mafia’s laws and traditions.
When he finally decided it was time, he met an untimely death.
However, as far as Umberto knew, one needed The Council's approval to bestow a dynastic name on an illegitimate son.
The man invested considerable time and effort in creating a rift between Ottavio and the Old World Mafia's governing body.
He nearly succeeded, but something happened, and the troublesome creature returned from hell with a vengeance, earning the forgiveness and trust of those he had been at war with just a few years earlier.
Dark magic. The superstitious Sicilian boy in Umberto couldn’t find another explanation for how things unfolded in that situation. The carefully and patiently built edifice of lies fell apart, and the web of deceit was destroyed in a flash. He didn’t see it coming.
Like he had countless times over the last three years, Umberto began to wonder where he had gone wrong, but, as always, he couldn't find an answer.
Already emotionally drained and irritated, he pushed the questions that were bothering him to the back of his mind, his thoughts taking a different turn.
This time, his concern was solely his personal guard, Esteban Ortega. Umberto suspected the man had strong ties to the Old-World Mafia, possibly even to a member of The Council, because Ortega was the one who told him about that trash Ottavio giving his bastard a dynastic name.
Esteban was incredibly loyal and willing to protect Umberto and his children, especially Richard, even at the risk of his own life.
However, he was a quiet man who kept everything to himself, making him very hard to read.
He also followed a strict moral code, which, in his boss’s view, made him dangerous.
I wonder how he would react if he knew the truth about the circumstances that led to his conception, Umberto wondered to himself, his spine shivering. Most likely, he would give me a slow, ugly, and agonizing death, so I have to make sure the truth stays hidden.
It happened forty-one years earlier, when Umberto, the owner of several small but highly profitable companies and numerous real estate properties, was negotiating his marriage to Vanessa, the only daughter and heiress of an Irish multimillionaire who had built his fortune producing and selling various construction materials.
When he saw the beautiful eighteen-year-old Carmela, who had recently moved from California to care for her sick aunt, Umberto decided he had to possess her at any cost. Arrogant and entitled, he eliminated the only obstacle to his lust: the girl’s fiancé, Esteban, whom he killed.
A few months later, Carmela showed up at Umberto’s doorstep, telling him she was carrying the result of his heinous deed. The young man freaked out; it was only weeks until his wedding to Vanessa, and if she or her father found out what had happened, he risked losing everything.
Umberto promised Carmela he would take care of her and her unborn baby, and he fulfilled that promise—providing for her, clothing the boy, putting food on the table, and giving them both a place to live.
By hiring her as his new bride’s maid, he believed he was offering the young woman more than someone in her situation could ever hope for.
Umberto wasn’t afraid Carmela would talk and reveal the secret about Esteban’s birth; it was in her best interest to stay quiet if she wanted to keep the privileged life she valued. Besides, he made it clear that if she ever told anyone, her son would suffer the same fate as her fiancé.
It would be a real waste, Umberto thought, his eyes as cold as ice, but if it ever became necessary.
.. He left the sentence unfinished and checked his watch.
I can’t believe how fast time flies, he told himself.
The board meeting is in less than half an hour, and I haven't even looked through the reports yet.
Back to the really important things, he opened a folder and began examining its contents.
**********
“Hello, is Papa home?” Allegra smiled at the sight of her father’s chief guard and her younger brother sparring with swords. “I think you'd better show him how to use a firearm; there’s no use for these anymore,” she said, pointing to their weapons.
Esteban gave his boss’s daughter a warm, almost brotherly smile. “Hello to you, too, miss. Your brother already masters that skill like a pro; he has the precision of a sniper. To answer your earlier question, no, the boss left early this morning and didn’t tell me where. Mason is driving.”
“Oh, I see…” The frown that creased Allegra’s forehead for a few seconds gave way to a playful grin.
“Well, then, since there’s only the three of us here, how about some gossip?
What’s new and hot around here? Does Chadwick have another girlfriend?
” She ruffled her younger brother’s hair. “Or do you have a new boyfriend?”
Esteban cleared his throat. “Um…I think I have something more interesting than that,” he said, noticing the kid’s embarrassment at his sister’s words. “Ottavio Sforza legally adopted and acknowledged his older son, and added the name Galeazzo to his new birth certificate.”
“I don’t understand,” Allegra tapped her chin with her index finger. “Why would he adopt the boy if he already acknowledged him? It doesn’t make any sense. The guy did the same thing twice.”
“With all due respect, Miss, it’s not,” Esteban said politely. “You see, under the Old-World Mafia Laws, a father’s acknowledgment doesn’t remove the stigma of illegitimacy, while adopted children have the same rights as those born of a legitimate union.”
Allegra’s eyes widened in shock as she realized what was happening. “Are you implying that Ottavio intends to appoint the boy as his successor in a few years?”
Esteban nodded. “I’m not insinuating; I know it for sure. Also, it won’t happen in a few years; it’ll happen much sooner. From what I’ve heard, Ottavio plans to make an act of succession and bring it to The Council’s attention in a few weeks, once they all return from vacation.”
“An act of succession? Like a will or something?” Allegra made no effort to hide her interest in the subject. “Does the guy have any serious health problems? If not, what’s the point of making a will at his relatively young age?”
Richard, who by then hadn’t intervened in the discussion, discreetly cleared his throat.
“An act of succession is a bit different from a will. It’s essentially a list that outlines the order in which his children would step up as the next head of the family should something happen to him and the firstborn. ” The kid blushed. “Esteban taught me.”
Allegra smiled softly. “Of course he did. Who else knows so much about the Old-World Mafia’s rules and cares enough to share them with us?
” She turned to the bodyguard, her smile still in place.
“By the way, where do you get all this valuable information? Do you have friends in high places we don’t know about? ”
Esteban didn’t answer right away. For a moment, he fell silent, his lips pressed together, then swallowed hard a few times.
“Five years ago, I started looking for a second, part-time job.” He inhaled sharply.
“I’m not getting any younger, and I have to think about the day I won’t be able to work anymore, at least not as much and not as a guard. ”
“I… I’m sorry,” Allegra stuttered, offering the man a sympathetic look. “If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. For example, I can help you find a suitable part-time job if you're still interested.”
“No, thank you, but I found the perfect one five years ago,” Esteban said, offering the woman a grateful smile.
“I work the night shift at this library outside the city limits, and on my day off I take a double shift there. It’s a nice, quiet place, and the librarian, Brian Knight, is a walking, talking encyclopedia on all things Mafia. ”
“Very interesting…” The frown deepened on Allegra’s forehead. “A library in the middle of nowhere? What’s the point? Who would go all the way outside the city to borrow or read a book, with so many of these places nearby? What’s so special about it?”
“The place itself, the books you can’t find anywhere else, the people who come there in search of answers to all kinds of questions…” Esteban answered in a distant voice, his face dreamy. “And, above all, the librarian, a guy a bit older than me who seems to possess all the wisdom in the universe.”
“So, from what I understand, this mysterious library is an Old-World Mafia hub of sorts, a place where The Council members meet openly to discuss important matters without caring who might overhear them.” Allegra slowly shook her head. “Please excuse my sarcasm, but…”
“It’s all right,” Esteban cut the woman short in a polite, respectful voice.
“I’m not very good with words, which is probably why I got the job there.
” He swallowed hard a few times. “The head librarian, Brian, also takes night shifts once in a while, and on those nights, his friend Leon comes to keep him company, and together they comment on The Council’s most recent decisions. ”
“Leon used to be the right hand of a notable Old-World Mafia boss, Cesare-Eugene Brentano-Fenelli, who led the Fenelli family in Detroit. Rumors have it that he is also the protector of Nicola Della Rovere, the last descendant of one of the ten Grand Families and a member of The Council of The Ten,” Richard felt the need to add.
This time, Allegra didn’t comment; she just filed the information away in a corner of her mind, confident it would soon come in handy.