Chapter 39
CHAPTER 39
Y ou Failed
Leonardo
I sit down in this dank winery cave with the men who once offered me protection. In this moment, I feel like I need protection
from them. Had I been given a choice, I wouldn’t have come.
Too bad I was ambushed and brought here against my will. Things haven’t been the same since losing Elio. Nothing but rats and snakes surround me.
I unbutton my suit jacket and get comfortable in my chair as I prepare to hear what it is they want from me this time. It is always what I can do for them, never what can be done for me.
They wouldn’t even assist when that Donati bastard had a spy under my nose and pulled him from my grasp. I was forced to let that go as I was with Elio and Regina. I should have destroyed them all then.
I would have if I didn’t need them. The joke is on me. They have done nothing for me and now I’m here.
“We offered you an opportunity. All you had to do was prevent Alessio from cementing his connection to the Locatellis and this plan that’s been brewing. You have failed.”
Oh, how convenient. We’re going to blame everything on me. Not that I hadn’t expected this. I grind my teeth as Don Accetta continues.
“They have more pieces on the board than ever, and you are allowing them to get your family. One of the largest pieces of them all. Do you understand the weight of this?” he snarls at me.
This is humiliating. As if I’m not already humiliated enough now that I know I’ve been chasing after the wrong man. None of this is my fault.
If they weren’t such cowards when it comes to the Locatelli family and Uri Donati, this never would have happened. But no, they wanted me to throw the stones while they all get to hide their hands—serves them right. My gut tells me my head was always up to be placed on a platter.
Once I got Alessio out of the way, they were going to erase me and take all that’s ours to divide among themselves. I know how this all works. I took the risks I thought would position me for a better opportunity.
Now everything looks like it’s turning to shit. I’ve played most of my cards. My brother is still alive. He plans to promote that piece-of-shit Donati, who wouldn’t have even been in line to become Don in his own family.
The third son. The insult. Alessio knows I deserve more respect than this.
“Women and Blacks involved in business. It’s a shit show, this alleanza. We want it shut down.
“Your brother will not make fools of us. We know he will only give the family to Donati in name. He intends for that girl to be the head behind the scenes,” Don Romano bites out.
“Why have you been so sure of this?” I ask, not bothering to care about formalities.
The writing is on the wall. They have already written me off. I plan to do what I want when I leave here.
If I leave here. Which I will. Even if I have to take them all down to do so.
“Because he has been promising this would be since she was born. Do you think he found the Donati boy and took him under his wing by chance? This has always been his plan.
“He wanted to marry off the girl’s mother, but the Donatis and Locatellis declined. Oh, but Alessio didn’t give up there. The girl was born, and he began his plotting again.
“However, he learned something was wrong with the child and her mother took her back to the States. He never wanted you to have the family. That was never going to be an option,” Don Romano explains.
Some friend this one is. He and Alessio grew up together as boys. He knew my brother long before I was ever born. There was a time when you would have thought they were brothers. Now, here he sits, plotting along with my brother’s enemies for his demise.
“You have all brought me here for what?”
“One more opportunity to prove yourself,” Don Accetta says.
“You fail us this time and we will wash our hands of you,” Don Romano adds.
“The girl and the brother. There isn’t to be a Trovati—by name, birthright, or marriage—connected to this alliance,” Don Marino wheezes.