Caterina
After Carlo finds Danny in the garage and brings him up to speed, we pull up to Santo Duomo mid-funeral.
The church is over a century and a half old. With its Gothic architecture, it’s always come across as a smaller scale Notre Dame to me. Flying buttresses, a bell tower, intricate carvings on the exterior walls…
The three ornate, west-facing doors are sealed tight, but I know what’s behind them.
Inside, a full house to honor my father awaits. I imagine all the families are here to pay their respects. The Rossis, Leones, Nordis, di Nellis, and Giacomettis should all be in attendance.
It rips my heart right out of my chest to walk into my father’s funeral under these circumstances, but my appearance is crucial.
If I expect to serve as the family’s true leader and earn the trust of the men who risk their lives for me, I can’t default to Nino while I wait for a more convenient time to seize the reins.
Carlo, Frankie, and Danny, along with four capos from the last meeting Nino held and six enforcers that work under them, are all prepared to follow me into the fire.
Without a will, all I have is my word and the word of the beaten and bloodied executor, but it was good enough for them.
Hopefully, it’ll also be good enough for an entire congregation of mourners.
My newfound support system has watched Nino’s character devolve over the past few months, so it didn’t take much to convince them he killed our father.
I’m praying the attendees will come to understand that I’m destined to be the new head of the Ricci crime family with relative ease.
The executor, a thin man in his sixties named Charles Mori, got pulled into this mess through no fault of his own. He doesn’t want to see Nino at the helm any more than the rest of us, but he’s just my father’s estate planner. The man has never even held a gun.
A fact we all learned very quickly when Frankie handed him a weapon on our drive over.
He held steady through beating after beating, never giving up the location of the second will.
A simple speed bump considering the forged signature will be easy enough to prove.
We’ll deal with that later, along with the copy of the amended will, which is in Charlie’s office at his cabin two hours outside of town.
We’ll enter the church quietly, because none of us want to cause a scene if we can avoid one. The plan is to lay my father to rest and deal with Nino once the service concludes.
I pivot and nod at the gathering of loyal men behind me.
After they acknowledge me in return, we take the semicircular cement steps to the ornately carved French doors as a unit.
Danny and Carlo dart forward to open them.
We enter the century-old cathedral, silently filing past intricately carved saints, pillars, and rose-colored stained glass windows.
The ceilings inside the church, which must be fifty feet high, awe me every time I visit this place.
I can hear Nino at the pulpit, giving the eulogy.
That should be me.
My neck heats with rage that I strive to keep contained.
Turning, I motion for my men to split up. Half go in the left entrance, the other half go right with me. I bring Charlie, who really should be on his way to an ER, with me as well. Danny will drive him to the hospital after this.
As expected, the crowd is massive. While I can’t see everyone, I’m pretty sure that the heads of the other five Italian families are all in attendance, along with their extended families and men.
I flinch at the thought of standing under the spotlight.
No! Your flinching days are over. No backing down now.
The woman who dwelled in the shadows—obedient, subservient Wallflower Cat—is no more. But assuming command over my own family is one thing…and over half of the criminal underworld another. Let’s hope Nino shows our father the respect he’s due before we take the murderer down.
We all find seats in the back pews as we watch my brother manufacture tears from the pulpit.
He’s so focused on his performance that he didn’t even notice us shuffle in through the side doors.
As I make myself as comfortable as one can in a wooden pew, I remove my black cap. I won’t be needing that any longer.
Another voice—sweet and subtle—springs forth from deep in my subconscious. “Us women are meant to be seen, not heard.”
For the first time in my life, I smile and whisper back, “Not anymore, Mother.”
For a moment, I find myself bathed in her calming presence.
Nino’s mid-eulogy when he shifts from talking about my father’s wisdom, compassion, and sacrifice to state plainly that he’s honored by Eduardo’s choice to leave the family to him.
My breath hitches, and the capo beside me touches my arm.
I meet Sonny Mangone’s eyes, and without a single word passing between us, I understand that Nino won’t enjoy the spotlight for much longer. In just a few more minutes, the church portion of my father’s funeral will conclude.
I can do this. I’m empowered by my team, and my father’s spirit lives inside me. He’s giving me the strength to stay calm and collected.
I’m only missing Connor, though I know he’s on the way. Brody promised me.
Now I just—
Nino makes a horrible error in judgment.
“I’m sorry to inform everyone that my sweet sister, Caterina Lucia Ricci, is not here because she passed away earlier today.”
Shocked voices erupt, and women’s wails echo across the church. Marlene, Lora, and some other staff, I’m guessing.
How dare he torment everyone like this?
Nino sniffles into the mic and wipes a faux tear from his eye. “She…took her own life. A life without our father wasn’t a life worth living, or so she said in her last words to the world. Excuse me a moment.”
Nino ducks his head, and all I see is red as he buries his face in his palms to feign sorrow.
The little bastard is probably concealing a sinister smile and gloating over fooling everyone.
I can’t handle much more of this.
He wipes a hand down his chin and clears his throat. “It’s up to me to carry on the Ricci legacy….”
That’s it! It’s one thing to put on a performance over our father. It’s another thing entirely to announce my untimely death.
Sonny squeezes my arm. “This family is yours, Caterina. Go and get it. Now.” My father’s oldest comrade infuses me with all the confidence I need.
It’s go time.
Fueled by the love of two wonderful parents whose lives were cut short and a loyal team I trust will become my new family, I rise.
My men follow suit. Frankie and Carlo help Charlie into the aisle, protecting him.
With me at the helm, we march toward the altar in formation.
“Nino!” I hold my arms out wide. “Ta-da! I must be a zombie, because I’ve risen from the dead.”
The rumble goes eerily silent as two hundred-plus heads swivel toward the back of the church.
The clomping of our boots takes on a fast and furious rhythm as I storm the altar with Frankie and Carlo and Charlie in tow while Danny, the four capos, and six more enforcers line up center stage like the Tabernacle Choir.
Nino stares, his eyes wide and his face pale.
“Miss Ricci!” Marlene’s voice cries out over the crowd, jubilant and relieved. “You’re alive!”
I push Nino aside to grab the mic. When his fists ball, part of me wills him to swing at me in the church, in front of all our men and two-hundred-plus attendees.
I cover the mic with my hand. “I dare you.”
His fingers twitch, but he remains still.
I present him with my back and address the pews.
“I’m sorry to disrupt my father’s funeral. Thank you all for coming, by the way. I would have been here sooner, but I was locked in my room at the Ricci estate while the executor of my father’s will was being tortured in our basement.”
“Our father.” Nino shoves his mouth closer to the mic. “And she’s lying. Delusional!”
It feels good to push him aside.
“My father,” I repeat the words for all to hear, “would have been destroyed by my brother’s actions, were he here to witness this.
I apologize for this most untimely announcement and hope that my father and each of you will forgive me for this interruption, but I had no other choice.
” I meet Nino’s eyes. “My brother left me no options.”
The church remains so quiet that I could hear a pin drop.
I suck in a breath and continue. “Eduardo Ricci did not leave the family to Nino. In an amendment to his will, created on the night of his untimely death,” I flash Nino another glance, “he left the family to me, Caterina Lucia Ricci, his oldest daughter and the only child who loved him.”
“She’s a liar!” Nino fishes some papers out of his vest. “I have the will right here!”
“It’s a forgery!” Charles Mori does his best to speak clearly, but he’s exhausted, dehydrated, and probably scared shitless.
I assist Charlie by pointing to him. “That man is the executor my brother had locked in a cell and tormented for days.”
Nino yanks the mic from my hand. “She’s lost her mind! That’s why she was locked up too. I’ve been leading this family for months. No woman has ever been named boss!”
That’s not true. We’ve actually had a few female leaders in our history, referred to as La Madrina or La Dama de la Mafia.
The history lesson doesn’t matter now.
I can see some people in the crowd siding with me, while others visibly agree with Nino. Naming a woman crime boss is an unlikely, progressive play, particularly from a man as reserved and traditional as Eduardo Ricci.
Shit, they have me nearly convinced it’s a ludicrous notion.
Nino whispers in my ear. “I should’ve killed you myself, you fucking bitch.” He chuckles under his breath. “Doesn’t matter. This is your funeral too.” Nino gazes out into the crowd. “We need my sister removed! Immed—”
A mob of angry men—no, angry Irishmen—burst through the cathedral doors, stifling Nino mid-sentence.
Well, Father, at least we’re giving you a funeral no one’s ever going to forget.
“I have the authentic document with Eduardo’s signature right here.”
Connor waves the will in the air. Seeing him barge through those doors like a cowboy in a Western makes my heart flutter.
“Caterina has been named head of the Ricci family. Every word she says is true.” He points at my brother. “And Nino is not only the liar here, but he’s also the man who killed Eduardo. His own father. The only title he’ll ever hold again is murderer!”
Connor storms the altar, with Finn and a man I assume is Brody hard on his heels. An army of Irish Kings brings up the rear.
I have extended family as well it seems.
For a grown orphan, this is beyond a dream.
Just as my watery eyes meet Connor’s, mayhem breaks out in the church.
I seek out Danny. “Get Charlie to the—!”
Nino presses a gun to my back and drags me, stumbling, off the pulpit.