23. Elio
Chapter twenty-three
Elio
Two knocks at the door of my office tell me Cortez is at the door.
“ Entra (Enter)!”
He walks in hastily, the constant rustling of papers in his hands making me tilt my head up towards him. Cortez places the papers on the desk before me, eyes wide with trepidation.
“What is it?” There are already a ton of papers for me to sort out so the thought of more deepens the creases on my face into a frown.
“There’s big trouble, Capo ."
My ears perk at the sound of trouble. Over the past few weeks, my life has been topsy-turvy with trouble. I don’t think there’s anyone or anything that could faze me right now.
The papers before me are pictures of a young brunette, gagged and tied at the hands and feet. “What’s this about?”
Cortez reaches across the desk to pick up the document again, flipping through its pages. “First of all, Marcus Winston’s contract with Evergreen fell through. It seems he couldn’t meet the requirements.” A small smile climbs my lips. I had placed another call to the manager and asked if she’d like to earn double her salary in a couple of minutes.
“There’s something else, Capo . The Morettis threatened me this morning. I have the call on record.”
He reaches into the front pocket of his jacket and brings out his cell phone.
“Cortez Donatelli…” The voice at the other end is menacing but unmistakably Bruno Moretti’s pitiable voice.
“ Who the fuck is this?” Cortez's voice calls out.
“ You Donatellis think you’ve had all your issues sorted by taking out Luis, but you’ve just endangered the life of the one you hold most precious…”
“ Who the hell are you, and what do you want?”
Bruno cackles with laughter. “ Let’s just say I’m your nemesis, Donatelli. Tell that big brother of yours that I have a human shipment coming in this weekend. I need him to make his ports available, or else this pretty brunette…what’s your name, Bella?”
I can hear whimpering sounds from a feminine voice, and then, “ Mallory…”
“Mallory…” Bruno continues, “ If my shipments don’t make it through your ports this weekend, Donatelli, I’ll feed your pretty Mallory to my wolves. You know what that means…”
The line clicks dead.
“Who’s Mallory?” My fingers tap impatiently on the table in front of me. Whoever this Mallory is, she must be important to Cortez for him to be this shaken up by the Moretti’s threat.
“She...” he clenches his jaw like his next words are a bomb. “Fuck! She’s the girl I’m in love with, Capo . I didn’t tell you about her because I know you see women as weaknesses.” He inhales a sharp breath, head firm but eyes trained on the desk.
My brow raises at Cortez. I never knew he had a woman. Yes, our father had raised us to see women as weaknesses, but with Aria coming into the picture, I’ve begun to see?to my surprise?how a woman can waltz into your life and become the epicenter of your existence.
The tap of my fingers against the wooden desk becomes harder and faster. Suddenly, my palm slaps down with such force that it sends the documents skidding to the opposite end of the desk.
“Fuck!”
I can imagine what it means to have your woman being endangered because of you. It’s what I’ve feared every single day since I… fell for Aria.
When I look up at Cortez again, his hands are in fists at both his sides, veins bulging at his temples. The Morettis have bitten off more than they can chew with this move, and I’ll make sure to do everything within my power to make them pay. In blood!
“Cortez, g uardami (look at me)!” His posture tenses, and he finally meets my eyes. “ Ti fidi di me, fratello (Do you trust me, brother)?”
Without hesitation, he nods. “Of course, Capo .”
“Good! Listen, they’re expecting us to probably make the first move, to go to them so they can plan to take us out, but we’re not falling for that. Siediti (Sit).”
He lowers himself into the seat opposite mine.
“Your girl’s going to be saved, but we will make the Morettis feel like they have the upper hand.”
His eyes meet mine and a tense expression crosses his face, “ Capo , you’ve always been against human trafficking. If you don’t do something about this, your ports are going to be violated…”
“Cortez.” I push my chair backwards, rising to my full height, hands sliding into my pockets. “As long as they have your girl, we can’t do otherwise. So going to them is not an option. The best step right now is to keep them distracted with the impression that they’re getting what they want.”
He arches a brow as he starts understanding my plan.
A sly smile spreads across my face. “We’re going to call for a truce, Cortez. They give us Mallory and they can have the ports. I know they’re cowardly idiots, so they’ll come. Then we make sure they don’t leave alive.”
Cortez nods his head again, the thought of having Bruno Moretti in his hands probably running through his mind.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Ask for confirmation of life every single day. The girl is our only chance. As long as she’s alive we have everything it takes to bring those fuckers down.”
Cortez nods, a knowing look in his eyes. “Thank you, Brother.”
He leaves the office and I sit there for what seems to be eternity when I receive a call.
“Elio Donatelli,” I say into the mouthpiece.
“Mr. Donatelli, it’s Jack.” One of my guys from the NYPD. “I’m afraid I have bad news, sir.”
My teeth clench together even without hearing what he has to say. These days, bad news has become the order of the day for me.
“Just spill it already.”
“Sir, the men at the office have taken that button they picked up to forensics. They’re convinced that the button must belong to one of the people at the crime scene.”
My fingers reach up to knead at my throbbing forehead. How the hell did I get into this mess again, for fuck’s sake?
“What else?” I ask.
“That’s it, sir.”
I waste no time killing the call. Total silence hangs over the atmosphere for a full minute. For the first time in my life, I think I’m under some kind of jinx?if that is a thing.
I call for Cortez, and he walks in briskly. “They’re taking the damn button to the forensics, as we knew they would.” I don’t need to explain further. He understands.
As he makes his way out of the office, my head drops to my palms. I don’t care how long it’s going to take me. I’m going to sort out all the troubles suddenly showing up to haunt me and chase them back to the shadows where they came from.
Only this time, the shadows are darker, and the enemies are more cunning. And this time, the troubles aren’t just knocking at the door. They’re kicking it down.
***
I’m still sitting at my desk, reviewing a few documents, when the door suddenly swings open and Aria walks in.
She softly closes the door behind her, walking stealthily as her footsteps graze the hardwood floor. I don’t look up. Instead, I stare at the faint scuff marks left by Cortez’s boots when he walked out.
“Elio,” she begins, her voice soft but steady, “we need to talk.”
I glance up, meeting her gaze. Her dark eyes are full of something I can’t quite place: concern maybe, or doubt. “What’s on your mind?” A flick of my hand sends her back into the chair Cortez just rose from.
“Remember the list of mafia families I gave you the last time? I went to check in on my dad, and I saw him with it. He was ordering his men to hand over all information they’d gotten from the investigation on the second mafia family. He also said he has started on the Ezra-headed family already…” Her words hit me like a freight train. My mind races, piecing together the implications. With her father on our tail, if the NYPD connects this back to us, it’s… over.
“...by the end of today, at most, he should have enough information to go after the two mafia families.”
I cannot let her father go ahead with whatever leads he must have gotten regarding my family. Whatever all this is about, I have to end it as soon as possible.
“Aria, your dad cannot lay his hands on anything that would implicate this family.” There’s no prearranged plan. The words just roll off my tongue as they’re forming in my brain, “I need you to stall his access to these documents.”
One of her neatly carved brows jerks up in question, “Even if I wanted to, how am I going to do that? My dad doesn’t involve me with anything that has to do with his job.”
“You will spend the night at your father’s house.” Her lips part quickly, probably to protest, but I don’t spare her a chance, “Those documents must be destroyed.”
“What makes you think he wouldn’t trace it back to me?” Her tone is fierce now, her eyes shooting lasers at me.
“He won’t. Not if you send him a Trojan file.”
“What!” She pushes the seat backward and is on her feet in no time, “You want me to corrupt my dad’s system?”
I stand, “Daughter of Deputy Chief Karl Abruzzi, married to the dangerous leader of the largest mafia in New York. That’s the headline you’ll be seeing next if you don’t do that, Princess.”
“Oh…for the love of God!” Her hands flail helplessly in the air as she stomps her feet on the ground.
“Listen, this would give us some time to plan our next moves. I’m dealing with a lot right now. I don’t need your daddy breathing down my neck!”
If eyes could kill, I would be dead from her gaze.
She grabs her handbag from the desk, “Take a really nice selfie and send it to me. Cortez will handle the rest.”
Before she can respond, my phone buzzes on the desk between us. I had texted Ezra to let me know when it was okay for us to talk. He just texted back.
I grab my phone, already dialing. “I need a minute,” I tell her, brushing past her as I head into the hallway.
Ezra picks up on the second ring. “Elio,” he says, his voice calm yet commanding as always. Even after years of being out of his service, my back straightens immediately when I hear his voice.
“We’ve got a problem,” I say, my voice low. “The NYPD is closing in on the Frank Paterson case. They reopened it a couple of weeks ago and now, they have a DNA match.”
There’s a brief pause on the other end before he speaks. “You should have told me sooner, Elio.” There’s another brief pause. My mind is running several thoughts per second.
He then continues, “Don’t worry. I have someone who can take the fall.”
“Who?”
“An ex-con who owes me. He’s one greedy, desperate animale (animal). Promise him enough, and he’ll confess to anything.”
I feel a sliver of relief, though it’s fleeting. “You’re sure he’ll do it?”
“Positive,” Ezra says. “I’ll send you his profile. Send someone to pick him up. Make the necessary arrangements as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll send someone immediately.”
“Good,” Ezra replies. “This needs to be tied off fast.”
“But what are we going to do about the DNA match the cops already have? Especially since it matches with the new evidence they got recently? The button.”
Ezra is silent for a short time, but I know his smart brain is running several miles per hour.
“You have a smart lawyer, don’t you?” That wasn’t the question I was expecting Ezra to ask.
“Yes.”
“Then he’ll let the court know that the initial DNA has been compromised. Hence, no one can tell, without a reasonable doubt, if it represents the DNA of the suspect or not.”
Ezra’s got a point. If we convince the court that the initial DNA evidence has been contaminated?the sample could have been mixed up or tampered with during the initial investigation?it’ll be enough to cast serious doubts on the whole case. Case closed. And now that there will be a voluntary suspect who will plead guilty, nobody needs to worry about any other issues rising up later.
“I’ll speak to my lawyer and have it all sorted.”
He breathes, and I hear faint giggles of his daughter in the background. “Daddy, it’s tea time with my dolls already.”
I think he’s going to end the call when he says, “Oh, and Elio, good job. I knew you could handle the position.” There’s a hint of pride in his voice, and it tugs at my heart.
“Thank you, Capo .” Even though he’s not in the mafia anymore, he’ll forever be my boss. He made me who I am today…I owe everything to him.
When he hangs up, my mind is already moving to the next move. The Frank Paterson case is a loose thread, but Ezra’s plan will cut it clean.
When I return to the office, Aria is waiting, a mix of worry and curiosity displayed on her pretty face.
“Don’t worry, Princess! Everything is under control,” I tell her. She looks like she wants to say more but then simply nods and walks out quietly.
There’s this miserable feeling on my inside, like a wide chasm…as if something essential’s missing. Safe to say, I feel like a ship drifting out on the sea without a compass.
For the first time, I’m starting to question whether these blood-stained hands I have are worth the rewards. Maybe my life would have been simpler and more peaceful if my father had been a better person.
The image of me in a white coat stitching wounds instead of creating them flashes before my eyes, and I double over with laughter. Or maybe I could have been building bridges instead of raving them down in flames.
Maybe, I would have been addressed as “Doctor Elio” or another respectable occupation… one I don’t have to hide under layers of lies to protect.
My fingers press down on my eyes as I shake my head.
“What’s with the childhood dreams, Elio?” I grumble, pulling a stick of cigarette out of my drawer to clear my head. Wishing for a different life is only going to make me weak. Instead, I must face the one I’ve been given head-on.
For now, the storm Aria’s father is raining on me seems to be contained. But I know it’s only a matter of time before the next wave hits, especially since someone is out there, knocking my kings off their chessboard with their queens.