10. Niccolò
10
NICCOLò
“M atteo DiMaggio better get his act together and give me back access to Angelo Mancini’s port,” my dad grumbles from the back seat of his Bentley.
“You mean Matteo’s port?” I mumble. My gaze remains fixed on the road ahead while Mauricio—my dad’s little minion—weaves in and out of the New York City traffic.
“Excuse me?” he snaps, knowing what I said but baiting me to see if I’ll have the balls to say it to him again. Mauricio glances at me before turning his attention back to the road.
“Just noting that they’re Matteo DiMaggio’s ports now that Angelo Mancini is dead,” I state from over my shoulder, not wanting this to be the reason my dad is set off. I’ve worked too hard on my plan to let it be foiled by my quick tongue.
Letting my comment slip by, he continues, “That boy has another thing coming if he thinks he pulled one over on me when he inherited Angelo’s territory by marrying that bastard daughter of his and then killing him. How the hell did my plan get so far off track?”
A lot has happened since I got home from Sicily, where my dad sent me to live for the past few years with an old family friend to learn the ins and outs of running an Italian crime family. I learned nothing there that I hadn’t already known, growing up as the sole heir to Giuseppe Silvestri, don of the Silvestri family, but that’s not the real reason he sent me away.
My cousin Giuliana, the daughter of the late Angelo Mancini and my Aunt Elena, was supposed to marry Matteo DiMaggio, the don of the DiMaggio family. That all changed when Angelo discovered he had an estranged daughter with a woman he supposedly loved over twenty years ago.
After kidnapping this ex-lover of his, Angelo changed the terms of the contract and decided to marry off his newfound daughter, Luxtyn, to Matteo. He tried to pin kidnapping Luxtyn’s mom on my dad in hopes that it would start a war between my dad and Matteo, resulting in them taking each other out so Angelo could have full access to both ports in the city. Then to add to it, his plan was to have a second life with them in some cabin in the woods. It seems there was a lot more truth to the rumors about Angelo Mancini starting to “lose it” than anyone realized.
When Matteo found out Angelo kidnapped Luxtyn, he went after him and killed him for putting his wife and her mom in harm’s way.
Fucking insane.
It all worked out perfectly for the DiMaggio family. They now have control over both of the city’s ports, which gives them an extraordinary amount of power.
Power my dad has always wanted.
Until Matteo killed Angelo, my family worked with the Mancini family. My Aunt Elena’s marriage to Angelo Mancini forced their partnership, allowing us access to their port, which my dad used to funnel drugs, weapons, and most recently, people in and out of the city.
Sex trafficking.
It’s something my dad got into when he sent me off to Sicily, and it’s just another reason I fucking hate him.
Now that Matteo has control of the ports, he’s denied my dad access to them. I can’t say I blame him, as he’s responsible for the death of his parents after they didn’t give him what he wanted.
Those fucking ports. That’s all anyone cares about here.
“Are you listening, Niccolò? We need to figure out a plan, or else the cartel will not be happy and we’ll lose our largest source of income.” My dad’s voice snaps my attention back to his. “I’ve worked too damn hard for our family to let our reputation go down like this.”
Our family does extremely well for itself. Even without having port access, we can still make a fucking fantastic living off what we have. The ports make things easier, but it’s not the only way to do it. We just have to get a little more creative with our tactics.
“We’ll figure it out, Dad. We can expand our distribution in other ways, like?—”
“Niccolò,” he snaps, cutting me off like he does anytime I’m about to say something he doesn’t want to hear. “The only solution is the ports. If I wanted to expand our distribution channels, I would’ve asked. Now get your damn head in the game and think of a solution to getting back our port.”
The easy way out. That’s the only mindset my old man has. Never thinking outside the box. It’s why he’ll end up running this family into the ground. The only reason he made it this far is because of Angelo Mancini, and now that he doesn’t have him, he has no idea how to lead the family the way he needs to.
Not wanting to get into an argument with him, I say, “Yes, sir” because while the ports are on my mind, they’re not the only thing.
I have much more important things on the forefront of my brain.
Isabella DiMaggio.
The woman I fell in love with my senior year at CU.
The woman who just a few years ago I would do anything for and could drop me to my knees with a single look.
The woman who barely spared a second to look my way tonight.
And I can’t say I blame her.