Chapter 28 #2
He rubbed his jaw, his eyes twinkling from the compliment. “I was a cocky SOB back then. Still am. Just ask my wife. However, I tried to keep a tight hold on every aspect of the operations both internally and externally. I had a feeling something was going on long before Valentino betrayed me.”
“Which is why you convinced my brother to work on your behalf to try and determine how deep the betrayal went.”
He seemed surprised, his eyes opened wide, but only briefly. “Lucian was a damn good soldier, someone I could count on.”
“Yet you assumed he was a traitor.”
“Looks can be deceiving, son. I needed for word to get out that I believed the treachery was coming from within.”
My laugh was stilted. “Because someone within the organization could have been working with Valentino to defy the alliance.”
“Unfortunately, yes. I needed confirmation. What I didn’t expect was the chain of events that followed.”
“You mean for so many people to lose their lives over a struggle for power.”
“Navarro, you’ve been in this business more than half of your life. There are always struggles for power and money.”
“Yes, but innocent people died. That’s not something we prefer to see happen.”
“You are correct, but often there isn’t anything we can do about it.
Lucian knew what he was doing. Where are you going with this?
I’m terribly sorry about your family. Don’t you know your father was my friend as well as someone who worked for me?
Lucian was like a son just as you’ve been. You already know that.”
“Did Lucian volunteer to try and discover the truth?”
He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes as he studied me. “If you’re asking if I ordered your brother into a dangerous situation, the answer is yes. But I can tell you that he was more than willing to do so.”
“To pay off the debt he owed you.” I allowed the words to fall, uncertain what to expect.
Rafael’s features softened and he walked closer. “Is that what he told you?”
“That’s what he muttered just before his death.” I was caustic with my words on purpose, only mildly surprised when his eyes clouded over.
“You don’t remember demanding I tell you if that was true the night your brother died.”
I took a deep breath. “I was angry.”
“Yes, you were, Navarro. Rightfully so. Son, I’m no saint.
I expect my men to follow orders just like Jago expects of his soldiers.
Including you. However, Lucian didn’t owe me anything.
The beauty of having an extended family is that you will go to great lengths to ensure their safety and keep them from endangering themselves.
There’s rarely a day that goes by when I don’t think about what Salvatore did to that boy and to many others. ”
He looked away and immediately hairs rose on the back of my neck. I’d been right in my assumptions. Another ache formed, this time in my gut. More lies told.
“Are you certain Salvatore was to blame?”
“You know he was. He was labeled the Brain. Remember?”
“There was no truth serum, Rafael. There never was.” I allowed the first bomb to drop, curious as to his reaction.
“What are you talking about? Of course there was.” He turned to me fully, his eyes narrowing. I could tell he was lying.
I pulled the vial from my pocket that I’d had tested. “No, there wasn’t. Was my brother tortured? He was, but his death didn’t come from something Salvatore had created in some lab. He was working on something entirely different, which you know about.”
When he started to become angry, I threw my arm out.
“I’m not finished. This was found in one of Eduardo’s warehouses. You knew that because you orchestrated our assistance in Mexico.”
“Son, what are you talking about? What is that?”
Hearing footsteps, I cocked my head. As expected, Jago strolled into the room.
“The game is up, Dad,” Jago said in a stilted voice.
Rafael huffed. “What game?”
“The compound in that vial was what Salvatore was working on twenty years ago, Pops. A chemical used to induce carbon crystallization, which in turn speeds up the process of making incredibly authentic synthetic diamonds.” Jago moved closer, taking the vial from my hand.
“A truth serum wasn’t used on Lucian. He was poisoned, but not by Salvatore.
It was one of Jamal Fassi’s men after he’d been tossed out of the Aldero compound. ”
Rafael was more rattled than I’d ever seen him. “What are you saying? That Fassi was around twenty years ago?”
“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Jago snapped. “No more lies. No more fucking bullshit.”
After placing the drink down, I pulled out the photograph I’d found in my father’s things. “Tell me who these men are at the alliance table, Rafael?”
His face paled and he purposely kept his eyes pinned on mine.
“Look at it, Pops. Or do I need to fill in the blanks?” Jago snarled.
We’d spent the better part of two days putting all the pieces together, waiting as a trap was set and we had the correct information. That didn’t mean confronting Rafael was easy. Far from it, but necessary.
“Goddamn the two of you. I demand respect.” Rafael knocked over his drink as he tried to place it on the table.
“We both deserve that same respect, Dad. Tell the fucking truth.”
The wave of tension was difficult for everyone. Finally, Rafael sighed, appearing defeated.
“That’s Jamal Fassi and his son, Farid who both you and Valentino invited into the alliance.” Jago had no emotion in his voice, his face pitted from exhaustion.
Rafael moved toward one of the chairs, suddenly appearing frail.
“Yes. We were in discussions about entering into the diamond business together. He’d purchased a mine and had come to Valentino first because of Salvatore’s work in complex chemicals.
He’d heard of Salvatore’s reputation in exposing carbon to specific conditions.
After seeing some demonstration, we were convinced what Salvatore created would reduce the time to produce synthetic diamonds in half and with a rougher base to begin with.
Plus, they could be passed off as real diamonds. ”
“Fake diamonds,” I stated, glancing at Jago. “What happened within the new alliance?”
“Greed,” Rafael answered truthfully. “That’s what fucking happened!
There were little things at first, rumors that neither Valentino nor I paid any attention to, but they kept getting worse.
People were getting antsy. Hell, some merchandise was stolen, a warehouse broken into.
Evidence was mounting that Aldero was waging a war against us. ”
“That’s exactly what was happening with Valentino. He lost several soldiers and blamed you, but Fassi had them killed.” Jago tilted his head, glaring at his dad.
“Fassi was pitting the two of you against each other,” I suggested.
“Yes,” Rafael said. “The formula Salvatore had been working on twenty years ago wasn’t perfected. There were issues, the compound too volatile to use. A few men died in the process. That’s when things began to unravel.”
“My father expressed his concerns to you. Didn’t he? He knew something wasn’t right, but you pushed him off.” My dad had been a good man, his loyalty to Rafael something he was proud of. But he also didn’t violate basic codes of decency.
“He did. Your father was right by my side when key decisions were being made. He warned me. He told me to have a private conversation with Valentino.”
“But you didn’t heed the warning.” I shook my head.
“Yes, I did, but in my way, which is why Lucian was sent to discover what he could, working alongside Salvatore.”
“Yet he didn’t have the opportunity to tell you the truth.” Reliving the horror was gutting me.
“You have to believe me, son. If I’d known I sent your brother into a dangerous situation that would get him killed, I would never have ordered him to go.”
“Fassi was worried, planting lies, and you bought it.”
Rafael lifted his head. “I had no clue Valentino hadn’t betrayed me. There were too many things that had gone wrong. When Lucian was killed, that was proof positive enough for me.”
The tension in the room increased.
“Fassi played both of you, Pops. He used your goddamn greed against each other and in doing so, lives were lost. But you were spared.”
“What are you insinuating, son?”
“I’m not insinuating anything other than lives were lost for what?
For fucking diamonds. You didn’t tell us about your unholy alliance.
You’ve watched us sit here for over a year trying and figure out what the fuck Fassi wanted.
What the fuck did you do to the man for him to feel such a need for revenge?
He got what he wanted, for fuck’s sake.”
Rafael jerked up, storming toward his son. But he said nothing.
So I filled in the blanks once again. “Because he found out you knew Salvatore was still alive and was working on the compound once again. The two of you had turned the tables on Fassi and he was none too happy.”
The light went off in his eyes.
Jago wrapped his hand around his father’s throat. “What the fuck did you do, Pops? You almost got all of us killed because of your continued greed. I should kill you right here. Right now.” He squeezed the man’s neck and I moved toward them.
“Don’t do it, Jago. He’s your father.”
Jago barely turned his head, still squeezing while Rafael refused to move. Huffing, he yanked his hand free. “You son of a bitch. Now long have you been working with Salvatore?”
Rafael coughed as he rubbed his neck. “Three years.”
“Three fucking years and you said nothing.”
“What was I supposed to say? That I was wrong? It took me months to convince Salvatore to work on the compound again after he accepted the truth about what happened. He had the goddamn formula perfected. You don’t know what it means.
The compound will revolutionize the diamond industry.
Ordinary rocks can be used. It’s incredible. ”
Jago burst into laughter. “Meanwhile, when the Fassi’s real diamonds came into the picture, you ensured we orchestrated being able to take them.
That set the tone for revenge that ramped up.
Imagine his surprise when he learned Salvatore was alive and working on the very compound you entered into an agreement for.
You turned the tables alright, Pops. You ended up playing all of us.
It took the bastard a little while, but Fassi tracked Salvatore down and placed the man’s two daughters in danger. Did you even try and warn him?”
“Of course I did!”
“Did you know he was threatened? That his daughters were threatened then one taken as collateral? He felt he had no choice but to work with Fassi so his daughters would be safe. That pissed you off. What were you going to do, allow Salvatore to be killed?”
“Hell, no!” Rafael was red faced.
“That’s why you convinced Eduardo, your own nephew to work with you on allowing Salvatore to create the compound in Eduardo’s warehouse. Fassi’s men were there to claim what had been promised a long fucking time ago.”
“Fine. I’ll admit it. I thought if you were there and Fassi tried to claim the compound, you could kill him.” Rafael was shaking.
“How much did you offer Eduardo to keep your secret?” I asked, doing what I could to curtail my rage.
“Enough to make him a very wealthy man,” Rafael admitted.
“Eduardo lied for you. You had him ask for our help,” Jago said. “I just don’t get it, Pops. Why not come clean?” When Rafael didn’t answer, Jago groaned. “You knew right after the tragedy twenty years ago Fassi was responsible, yet you said nothing.”
“The deed was done by then. There was nothing I could do to bring back Valentino and his wife or your family, Navarro. I did what I could to make things right. I had an empire to run. Imagine what would have happened if I’d admitted we were fooled.
I honestly didn’t think it would go this far.
And yes, I knew if you were in Mexico you’d be able to help Brooke. I owed that to Salvatore.”
“Yeah, you did,” Jago said, exhaling.
“This far,” I hissed. “The woman I’m going to marry almost lost her life in trying to protect her own sister.
Under pressure, her father left her clues, doctored pictures to make it look like I’d been the one to kidnap Brooke.
He knew she’d come after me. He knew she’d remember who I was from her past. Just like you remembered the incident that happened at the birthday party. ”
I was close to putting a bullet in the man’s brain.
“I’m sorry, Navarro. I did what I had to do to try and bring Brooke back. I know you very well. You proved me right by stopping at nothing to keep Fallon safe.”
“Salvatore never wanted to become involved in his old life. Why should he? He lost his wife because his own brother had talked him into becoming a part of the family business, something he’d worked hard to keep away from.
Somehow, you convinced him things would be different this go-around.
Or did you threaten him with exposure if he didn’t help you? ”
My God. That’s exactly what the man had done.
Jago and I looked at each other. The rift was wide.
“I hate myself for what happened. I never wanted Salvatore’s family hurt. Fassi was on the other side of the world. We took precautions. Everything was almost ready. We kept it secret.”
“So how did Fassi find out the past was being relived in the first place?” Jago asked.
“That I don’t know. I don’t. Once he had, Salvatore tried to back out, but things were already taking shape.”
“You had every opportunity to come clean, Pops. You’re dead to me. But you will atone for your sins.”
“Son, I?—”
“No!” Jago snapped. “Navarro and I have set plans in motion to lure Fassi to Barcelona, but you’re the man he wants to see. You’re the man who will bring him to a meeting. After that, you will not be in my life or that of my family. Do I make myself clear?”
Rafael looked beaten.
I took a deep breath and looked away. What the hell could any of us say at this point?
We were monsters through and through. No number of legitimizing operations would change that.
“Twenty years ago, you took in an angry young man, making him a part of your family. You helped him work through his anger, training him to use the rage instead of internalizing the pain and suffering. I respected and admired you. I wanted you to be proud of me since you were my second father. You betrayed all of us, Rafael. All your lust for power, your need to control Spain and beyond made you lose sight of what’s most important. ”
“What’s that?” he breathed, his chest heaving.
“Family.”