29. Dante
Chapter 29
Dante
I t’s the second day of the new year, and my brother and his family returned to Sydney earlier this morning. Arabella and her sister have gone into town shopping—since Lucia arrived with only the clothes on her back—and I’m sitting here impatiently waiting for a package to arrive after getting a text from Spencer Prescott.
Spencer: Happy New Year. I’ve finished reviewing the items you sent. A courier should arrive sometime today with the contents and a detailed report of everything I found. I hope you get what you are searching for.
Me: Happy New Year to you and your family, too. Thank you. I look forward to reading your report. Did you find much?
Spencer: I found a treasure trove of information, but none of it means much to me, but I’m sure it will to you.
Romeo is with me, and his pacing back and forth is starting to make me feel uneasy. “Will you sit the fuck down? You’re starting to leave an indent in my marble floor.”
When he pauses and glances at the floor, I chuckle at the gullible fool.
We don’t have to wait much longer before I get a call from the gatehouse saying the parcel has arrived.
Once it’s brought to the house, I grab a letter opener from the top drawer and rip the package open. Inside, I find Edoardo’s laptop, two phones, and three binders—one for each item sent. I’m impressed with Spencer Prescott’s attention to detail and professionalism.
“Let’s start with the phones,” I tell Romeo, handing him one of the folders.
The first few messages I read turn my stomach. They are what I presume were supposed to be flirty texts to his mistress but come across creepy as fuck. Honestly, it sends a shiver down my spine, but not in a good way.
I could ask what she even saw in him, but I know from reading these that the money and notoriety drew her in. It certainly wasn’t his charismatic charm.
I’ve heard him say some dodgy shit in the past, but this is next level. I flick past the following few pages because I can’t stomach any more. I’m not interested in learning about his sick depravities. It’s enough to give me nightmares.
I’m about ten pages in before I find something that has my blood boiling. It’s a text exchange with Stefano Rossi.
Edoardo: To follow up on our conversation last week, we need to discuss the shipment I seized. I’ve got the pallets stashed in a secure storage facility, but I’m concerned they will eventually become a problem. Giovanni is already looking into it, and although I was meticulous and made sure to cover my tracks by taking out the men I hired to help me pull this off, if it somehow gets back to him that I was in any way involved, I’m a dead man. I have a plan, though.
Stefano: I’m listening. What’s your plan?
Edoardo: I plan to distract him by having the second shipment he ordered to replace the last one also go missing.
Stefano: And how does that benefit me?
Edoardo: This time, send the tins with their original contents. You will take payment for the drugs as usual, but you will also get to keep them as a sign of good faith.
Stefano: And what if Giovanni finds out there are only tomatoes in the tins?
Edoardo: He’ll never know. He’s a blind fool who trusts me implicitly. I’ll have no problem disposing of the tin tomatoes, and I will blame both highjacks on the Mortellis. They have had a running feud since the beginning of time.
Stefano: This plan sounds good in theory, but do you honestly think you can execute it?
Edoardo: Leave that to me. I’ve been playing the long game with this stronzo for many years, and it’s all finally falling into place. When I bring the Mortellis into the mix, it will set him off and take the heat off us.
Stefano: What did he ever do to make you hold such a grudge?
Edoardo: He stole the woman I love.
Stefano: You’re doing this over pussy?
Edoardo: Caterina was more than just pussy. She was everything.
He’s right about one thing: my mother was everything, but hearing him talk about her in that way makes me want to dig him up and bring him back to life just so I can kill the fucker all over again.
Edoardo: While we’re on the subject of women, Giovanni told me he has no plans for marrying your oldest daughter. He feels like she’s far too young for him. I, on the other hand, have no qualms where age is concerned. The younger, the better. I’d be happy to take her off your hands once I become the new Don. Would it be possible to get a photo of her? Giovanni said she’s a beauty.
Stefano: I think I’ve heard enough. If and when you can pull this off, we will talk, but be warned: if this comes back to me in any way, Giovanni Mancini will be the least of your worries.
I lean forward in my seat, handing the open binder to Romeo. My hand trembles with rage as I do. “Read this,” I tell him.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growls as his eyes scan over the page.
I wish I wasn’t.
By the time we were through, I felt emotionally drained. Stefano and Edoardo exchanged many more messages, but in the end, when everything was said and done, Stefano told him he wasn’t interested in forming an alliance.
I guess I can be thankful for that, but I’m still livid that he kept all this from Papa. He should’ve told him what was going on behind his back from the very beginning. My father would more than likely still be alive if he did.
Stefano told me to look within when I first went to meet him in Italy. I now understand why. He alluded to the fact that it seemed like an inside job when he knew with all certainty it was.
I’m glad that cunt is dead. If he wasn’t, I’d be forced to board a plane to Italy so I could personally see to it myself. Breaking deals is seen as the highest form of disrespect in our world. It’s punishable by one way … death.
I pick up the glass beside me, swirling the ice in the scotch, watching it clink softly against the sides before bringing it to my lips. The smooth burn of the liquor slides down my throat, a momentary distraction from everything I learnt today.
Slumping back in my chair, I stare at the number I punched into my phone a few minutes ago, but I’m still in two minds about whether to make the call or not.
I blow out a long breath as I lean forward, place my glass on the desk, and press the call button before I talk myself out of it. This may get me nowhere, but I feel like there are things that need to be said.
The phone rings a few times before he answers. “Diego speaking.”
“Diego.”
“Who’s this?”
“Dante … Dante Mancini.”
“What the fuck do you want, Mancini,” he growls down the line. “I have nothing to say to you except you’re fucking scum.”
I roll my shoulders and move my neck from side to side, trying my best to keep my cool. I’m doing this for the future of my family. For my wife and the child she’s carrying. I don’t want to worry every time they step out of the house that a threat lurks in the shadows.
“You don’t even know me,” I grumble.
“I know enough.”
“Yeah, well, I could say the same since you and your men put five bullets in my back.”
“Yet you survived … such a shame.”
“It will take more than a bullet to bring me down.”
“What the fuck do you want, Mancini … an apology? Because if you do, you’ll be waiting a long fucking time.”
“I was hoping we could talk like men … as leaders of our families, but maybe I was wrong.”
He barks out a sarcastic laugh before bellowing down the line, “You killed my father, motherfucker.”
“And you killed mine.”
“What is that saying? An eye for an eye.”
“It was multiple eyes,” I grumble. “Some of my father’s best men died right alongside him that day.”
“I don’t have time for this. I’ve got places to be. Get to the fucking point.”
I blow out a long breath as I contemplate hanging up, but that will defeat the purpose. “I was calling to discuss, Edoardo.”
“Are you butthurt that one of your father’s men betrayed your family?”
“He betrayed both our families.”
“That’s not how I see it. He was the one who informed us who was behind my father’s execution. He even helped us gain access to your property so we could retaliate. ”
“He also told my father that your family was behind the hijacking of two of our shipments from Italy.”
“I have no knowledge of that.”
“I know. Edoardo was the one responsible and blamed it on your Famiglia . He encouraged Papa to get retribution by executing your old man.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth. I have the proof right in front of me.”
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Too late, I’ve already done that.”
“You have?”
“Yes. It’s the reason for my call. I had a tech guy go through his phones and laptop. His message threads with you were in there. That’s how I got your number. There’s nothing I can say or do to bring back my father or yours, but I was hoping we could put an end to this ridiculous family feud once and for all. I don’t even know what started it.”
“It started when your father drove mine out of Griffith because he was being a greedy cunt who wanted to dominate the market. It’s how we came to settle in Melbourne. My father never forgave him for what he did, but in the grand scheme of things, it was the best thing he could’ve done for our family.”
“I’m hoping we could come to some agreement.”
“I have no interest in working alongside you.”
“That is not what I’m looking for. I was hoping we could put this feud to bed. I have no beef with you. Like I said, I don’t even know you.”
“I have no beef with you either,” he agrees.
“Is it possible to call a truce?”
“Why? Are you scared we’re going to come back and finish the job?”
“You can try,” is my only reply.
I hear him sigh down the line. “I’ll think about it.”
“Okay,” I reply because I can’t ask for more than that .
As I go to end the call, I hear him say, “Dante.”
“What?” I ask.
“I appreciate you reaching out. It took some balls.”
Long after I ended that call, I was still unsure if I had made the right decision, but later that night, my phone dinged with a message.
Diego: I agree to the truce.
There was no further contact, but that was enough. It was all I needed. I’m a firm believer that you should be selective with your battles. Sometimes, peace is better than being right.
It doesn’t make me less of a man because I chose to be the bigger person and tried to put an end to the toxic drama. I’m sick of looking over my shoulder, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my family safe.