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Losing the law firm we’ve come to rely on has to be one of the reasons my father married Meredith. We need the law on our side.
But it means risking drawing attention from the authorities regarding our businesses in the meantime.
Illegal shipments or drugs and weapons can only go unnoticed within a well-regulated system.
Having Cosa break from that chain has resulted in weaknesses in our plan.
All it takes is one misinterpreted law or one poorly written statute and we’ve suddenly got a mountain of problems.
If he really wants to make a name for himself, he could even target our legitimate businesses.
Something as simple as having our liquor licenses revoked would make a dramatic impact on our lives and our revenue.
And if he decides to be a real asshole? He could casually mention a few of our missing persons cases to the police. Convene a justice task force to look into them.
Bottom line: there are too many avenues for him to go after us.
We can’t have that.
Something needs to be done. And it needs to be done fast.
It doesn’t take long for us to drive to our warehouses. We keep the most important of our business close to home. Things just feel more secure that way. Plus, it helps keep the territory locked down.
Or at least, it used to.
Enzo pulls to a stop, and we get out of the car. The others arrive at the same time.
The office of the warehouse is dimly lit and smells musty. There’s moisture from the docks seeping in the wooden cracks and everything in here feels tired and dated.
The inner circle sits around the table, clearly ready to get this over with.
“When does Luis get back?” Alec asks.
Tony looks exhausted. The skin beneath his eyes hollow and bruised. “Tomorrow,” he says.
“Everything okay in Florence?”
Tony, our cousin on Albert’s side, is in charge of our businesses back in Italy, an important job, especially for someone so young. But he and his twin brother Luis are the only ones of the next generation who can actually speak Italian, something Albert doesn’t let anyone forget.
“Yeah,” he lets out a strained laugh. He runs a hand through his hair. “It’ll all be fine. It’s me that’s struggling. As soon as the baby sleeps through the night, I’ll be back to normal.”
My father frowns and leans back. He’s always viewed caring for children as women’s work and I know he doesn’t approve of how involved Tony is with his children.
I look back at Tony. The exhaustion pulls the color from his face, and his hair lies haphazardly across his forehead, but there’s something in his smile I can’t stop looking at.
It’s minutes before I realize why I’m staring.
Fuck me, it’s fatherhood.
Tony’s wife Maria is his love match and he’s thrown himself into his family.
I want that. Need it.
Fatherhood. Having a family. A wife. I feel it from the depths of my soul.
Leading my own household is just a different side of the same coin when it comes to leading the Venittis. There’s a natural desire ingrained in us to aspire to raise a family of our own. To continue the lineage of power.
I’ve always known it was my fate. To start a family. The same way I’ve carried a gun and attended funerals.
