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Giordano’s eyes widened and then immediately narrowed. Massimo had a similar reaction.
“Are you sure?” Massimo asked.
“He admitted it,” Giuseppe answered, inclining himself to his brother. “Threat aside, in the heat of the moment,” Giuseppe continued. “He admitted that it was the Esposito’s that put him up to it, paid him, and then threatened his life.”
And the system’s been corrected?” Giordano pressed.
“Yes. They still have the ability to see inside our system, but it is repetitive. It will only show them the same thing over and over,” Giuseppe explained. “We took the added precaution of walling off our active system to make sure they don’t have access to it.”
“Go back,” Massimo interrupted. “Ricardo admitted that it was the Esposito’s that put him up to infiltrating our system?”
“He did,” Giuseppe affirmed.
“And you’re sure he wasn’t just giving you a name to appease you?” Massimo inquired further.
“He gave me the real name. It was the Esposito’s,” he continued. “I just know it was. I knew it was true as soon as he said it,” Giuseppe replied.
“Remember when we talked about them, Alessandro and Gabriel showing up at the reception?” Massimo asked, trying to trigger his father’s memory.
But he didn’t need reminding. “Yes, of course,” Giuseppe answered. “I mentioned even then that we needed to keep our eyes and ears open regarding them.”
“And we didn’t, and look what they’ve done,” Massimo uttered. He could feel anger starting to rise up inside him. he was immediately drawn back to the confrontation, the silent but poignant encounter they had at his wedding reception. He felt that same rage, that same anger.
“I’m going to kill them,” Massimo seethed. His whole face reflected just how furious he was.
“Not yet,” Giordano suggested.
“What do you mean? We have all the evidence we need that they sabotaged our system, that they have exacted revenge on us. What more evidence do we need to justify me taking their rotten lives?”
“I understand your anger and your frustration,” Giordano replied. “But we must be smart.”
“Smart? You want me to respond smartly?” Massimo challenged.
“Listen to Father,” Giuseppe added. “He has a point.”
“And what point is that?” Massimo asked, still brewing.
“We must be patient and develop a plan to exact retribution,” Giordano replied. “We must move slowly, intelligently, and with stealth.”
“What about our allies? Should they be brought into the fold of this newfound plan?”
“Quite possibly,” Giordano surmised.
Massimo listened to what his father had to say. He tried to listen with an open mind, but it was still clouded by everything he felt.
“We will reach out to our allies, convince them of our plan, and bring them on board.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Giuseppe agreed.
When the meeting was adjourned, Massimo had made a decision that he would confirm for himself and then decide if he was patient enough for his father’s plan.
Francesco and Celestina sat on the terrace, enjoying the mid-afternoon air. She was still angry with Costanza for her failure to give her a straight answer, but Celestina was good at playing along, going along to get along. Still, she struggled with the weight of the question. She still didn’t know where Valentina was. And it still troubled her.
“Valentina, didn’t you hear my last question?” Francesco asked, sitting down his cup. He’d been speaking to her, and she’d been responding, but not like she was truly vested in the conversation. Now he knew she was distracted where ordinarily she was attentive.
“I’m sorry,” Valentina replied, trying to pull out of the fog she was in. “What did you ask?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Francesco replied. He fell silent for a moment. He wanted to ask Celestina about a situation, but he had been so busy as of late he hadn’t had the chance. Now seemed like as good a time as any.
