Page 203 of Lorenzo

Alessio’s gaze shifts toward Mario.

“And Greco blamed us.”

“Greco blamed Lorenzo,” Mario corrects.

Alessio furrows his brows and brings his gaze back to me. “You?”

“Me,” I confirm. “He hated us, but he held me personally responsible. In his mind, I was the man who destroyed his business.”

Diego pushes away from the desk. “Bullshit. His business wasn't that strong to begin with if you could destroy it that easily. It had just never been tested before.”

I glance at him. “Regardless.”

“Regardless, nothing,” he spits out. “It was business, Lorenzo.”

“I heard you.”

“I am making sure you remember it.”

I do remember.

That is part of the problem. At the time, Marcello’s anger barely registered.

I had seen it before.

Men always think their losses are personal when they are the ones losing. I had no reason to believe Marcello Greco would be any different.

“It was business,” I confirm. “Until it wasn't.”

Dante looks between us both. “What happened after Lakeview closed?”

The boys know most of this. They know what was in the news. They know what we had to do to take power in this town. They know the name Marcello Greco. But they don't know what went on behind the scenes.

We had decided when we came to Chicago that we would let them take a step back from the business side of things. Just for a little while. It was never going to be forever.

They were always going to come back in and take their places. And when that happened, they would be told everything.

We didn't know that decision was going to be forced on us. That was a miscalculation, and one we will never make again.

“Lakeview was not his only source of money, but it was one of the things holding his position together. When the company went under, he lost revenue. Then influence. Then access.”

“People stopped needing him,” Dante says.

“Exactly.” Ricardo nods at his son. “Everything around him started collapsing.”

There is always a point when power begins feeding itself.

The same thing happens when there is a loss of power.

One person stops returning a call. Someone else notices.

A favor does not get granted. The next person becomes less willing to offer one.

People who once treated a man a certain way begin calculating whether he still deserves the effort.

Marcello discovered how quickly respect disappears once people realize they no longer have to fear you.

“And then Angelo was arrested,” I say.