Chapter 31 - Gabriel
Isit in my car outside for a moment, having just left Sofia with Lydia. I am about to put on the biggest show of my life. Enzo's brother, Gio, called to tell me Luca has been killed—"whacked in our own warehouse."
The signature: two bullets to the head.
I need to show up and act shocked, just like the rest of the guys.
As I drive, I remind myself that Luca was a piece of shit and not a very good captain. I've had to clean his mess up more times than I can count, and Sofia—she was mine. He never should have tried to get in the middle of what's mine.
Still, with all this said, I can't ever let Enzo find out the truth. Despite our history and what he's done for me and I for this family, he couldn't allow me to live if word got out—he'd look weak, and no don can look weak.
No, no one in the family must ever know. A lot of things I'll take to my grave as a mobster's vow of silence, or as we say—omertà. However, this, this will be the biggest.
She's worth it. Her very presence ignites me, and if anyone ever touches her—a destroyer of worlds is what I'd become to them.
I pull up to the warehouse and see the men gathered around Gio's car. Enzo is nowhere to be found.
"What the fuck happened?" I ask, getting out of my car.
"Gabriel," Gio says and places his hands on each of my arms as if to shake me. "I'm sorry, your capo has been hit. Fucking Siberian got him."
The men move out of the way for me to walk over and see Luca lying right where I left him.
"Those sons of bitches," I say, looking down. "I'll kill every last one of them."
Gio nods. "You'll have your chance. Don't fucking worry about that."
Just as Gio starts ordering his men to remove Luca, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
It's Enzo.
"Hello?"
"You there?"
"Yes."
There is a long pause.
"I need you to come over right away."
"Let my brother take care of it."
I get a little nervous.
"Everything—" I say and am cut off.
"Come now," he says and ends the call.
I turn to look at Gio. "Enzo needs me. Said you can take care of it?"
Gio nods. "With a heavy heart. Those cocksuckers will burn in hell for this."
I shake my head and take one last look down at Luca. It'll be the last time I ever see him. And after today, no one will ever see him again; that's how it works.
No one ever finds a dead mobster's body.
I leave and make my way over to Enzo's estate.
As I enter Enzo office, he doesn't even acknowledge me. His elbows are resting on his desk, and he's rubbing his forehead as he stares at a laptop screen.
I take a seat and sit in silence. Every so often, he presses a key on the keyboard and then goes back to rubbing his forehead.
He looks troubled, and I can tell whatever's on that screen is something he wished he hadn’t seen.
Just don't let it be me dumping Luca's body.
I can't take the silence, so I clear my throat and speak.
"I can't believe they did this. The Russians," I say and lean forward. "Fucking Luca, dammit."
Nothing.
No response, just him pressing a key and locked in on the screen.
Something wasn't right.
Finally, without looking up, he gestures for me to come around and look at the screen. I stand, my heart in my throat, unsure of what I'll be looking at.
As I make my way around, I can see he is watching some type of surveillance footage. There are two clips stitched together, one with two people and another with three people.
"My god, Gabriel. I can't take this shit anymore. Look at this," Enzo says, his voice cold and detached. "This is a peace offering from the Irish."
The first time through the video, I scan to see if I’m anywhere. I let out a sigh as I realize I’m nowhere to be found.
"Again, please," I ask, and he hits the keyboard to replay the video.
As I watch closely, my stomach sinks when I begin to understand the magnitude of the betrayal
"Is that?" I ask.
"Yes. Yes," Enzo yells, slamming his hand on the table. "It's Luca's wife, Isabella. She's a fucking FBI informant."
"What the fuck!" I lean in. "But why? How could this happen. I thought —"
"The Irish delivered this to me along with this," Enzo says and hands me a letter:
We've had our differences and may have overstepped, but we are willing to make amends. As a peace offering and to show our desire to mend things, see the video on this laptop. Isabella Romano has some interesting friends. Maybe Luca, too?
"Shit, Enzo, I don't know what to say."
"They believe Luca was linked to the FBI, that he was playing both sides. What do you think?"
"He was known to run his mouth a lot. Tell people things. Maybe."
Enzo nods, "I've had suspicions, but I've keep it buried. Maybe he pissed off the feds and that's why he's dead."
I don't correct him.
"What should we do about Isabella?" I ask.
"Isabella's disappeared. We can't find her anywhere."
"You think the FBI got her?"
Enzo shakes his head, "I don't think so. She's not at her usual spots though. Why don't you head to Luca's house. See if you can find anything that may lead to her. We can't let her get away."
"Okay, I'll go now," I say trying to leave his office as soon as I can.
He doesn't say anything and I walk out to my car.
45 minutes later, I arrive at Luca's home.
I find the front door slightly ajar. I place my hand on my gun as I step inside, scanning the front room.
“Isabella?” I call out.
No answer.
I move cautiously, glancing around the living room. As I reach the bedroom, I see it. Clothes and other items haphazardly tossed around.
She left in a hurry.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath.
She’s really gone.
I look around the rest of the house, but it’s clear—she’s vanished without a trace.
I head back to my car and pull out my phone to text Enzo:
Gone. Left in a hurry. No trace.
Driving home, I can't believe that killing Luca might have saved the family from so much more than I originally thought.
With Luca potentially being a snitch along with Isabella, his death now feels 100% right to me.
Now, I just want to get home. Back to Sofia.
As I pull into the driveway, my mind is racing. I have a strong desire to tell her everything I just learned.
I find her in a room, curled up in one of my armchairs, reading. The sight of her there, so at home in my space, makes me happy.
She looks up as I enter. "Gabriel? What's wrong?" she asks, setting the book aside.
I hesitate for a moment, but the news about Isabella gives me a strange sense of vindication for what I did to Luca.
"Sofia," I start, my voice low and serious. "I have some news. It turns out Isabella, Luca's wife, is an FBI informant."
I watch as her eyes widen, her body goes stiff, and she sits up. I can see the conflict in her eyes.
"Wait, what?"
I shake my head. "Yes, and another thing," I continue, knowing I need to get it all out, "she's on the run, and Enzo is having people look for her."
"Look for her?" she stammers.
I nod. "Yeah, Enzo's furious, so we'll have to deal with that."
"What do you mean deal with that?" she asks hesitantly.
I look at her.
"If the Bonventis find her—they’ll kill her."