I think about the text once again demanding that I dismantle my empire or there would be more bloodshed. I can’t let everything my family has worked so hard for disappear but I also can’t lose anymore family members. The Capuano Family has always been strong. How is it possible that we are this vulnerable?
I try to swallow the lump that’s growing in my throat. I look over at Bruno who is sitting in silence. He stares at Matteo.
“Bruno, I can’t do this any more. Maybe I’m not the right person for the job.” I clasp my hands.
He sits up straight in his chair, surprise crossing his face. “What?”
“I’m the worst capo ever. A queen is supposed to protect her empire,” I whisper. “Instead I’ve allowed everyone I care about to get shot at, poisoned, or almost die.”
Bruno looks like he can’t even believe the words coming out of my mouth but he doesn’t reply.
“I told them not to leave,” I babble. “Now Matteo is full of bullet holes and Lucia might be…” I can’t even say the word.
“Don’t talk like that.” Bruno interrupts me.
“I let my father down. I’m supposed to be the fucking Queen, yet all my pieces are falling one by one.”
Bruno grabs my arm. “Cipriani Capuano, you’ve been doing this job for almost fifteen years and now you want to doubt yourself? All these years you’ve been victorious against external warfare but when it becomes internal you want to give up?”
Tears blur my vision. “I’m not good enough. Every time I close my eyes, I see Gigi on the floor of that train car, Nonna laying with half a muffin in her hand, and Matteo shot. Lucia is a prisoner somewhere with the people who want me dead. All this happened to them because of me. They were targeted because of me. And if I don’t dismantle the empire they won’t stop until everyone I love is dead. If they die, a part of me will go with them. I’m ruthless when it comes to my enemies, but when the people I love are being attacked, I can’t handle it.” My throat burns and the tears spill over.
“Cipriani Capuano,” Bruno scolds me. “If you don’t stop talking crazy, don’t make me knock some sense into you.” He pulls me into a hug, his arms holding me steady as I crumble. “Don’t you see? That’s what these people want you to do. They are playing on your values of loyalty and love for family.”
I rest my forehead against his chest. “It’s too much, Bruno,” I whisper. “It’s too much. If Dad was here, he would know what to do.”
Bruno pats my back. “Not necessarily. Your father was a decent capo, but he allowed his emotions to start wars. You, Cipriani Capuano, are the best capo I have ever served under. You’re level-headed and calculated. You always have a plan Athrough Z before you do anything. No matter what happened all these years you never gave up. Quitting is not in you. You wouldn’t still be here if it was.” He pulls back and stares at my face. “I think you’re hesitant because you know this is an inside job. Only someone who’s close to you would be able to attack the people you care most about undetected. I think a part of you is scared of who it is because you know you’re incapable of harming someone who you consider your family.”
I don’t respond and look at the ground.
“Farfalla, listen to me.” Bruno commands. “When you find out who the real person is behind all of this, no matter who it is, no matter what they meant to you, I need you to promise me one thing… Look at me.”
I meet his gaze.
“Promise me you’ll destroy him, even if it breaks your heart. Do it for your father, for Gigi, for Nonna, for Matteo, for Lucia, and for me. For all of us who are still standing even when we were supposed to be six feet under. Destroy him even if it guts you. That’s the hardest decision a capo has to make when the family is involved: kill or be killed.”
I wipe my face. “Madeline is the one who’s behind this. I’m sure of it. She used to work for the Marconi’s. She’s involved in a lot of shady dealings where she can get others to do jobs for her. She probably wants to take over our territory and form her own empire.”
“Madeline isn’t acting alone, I can guarantee you that. Sometimes the biggest suspect is merely a puppet with a puppeteer no one ever saw coming.”
Before I can reply, my phone vibrates on the windowsill.
I reach forward and unlock it with shaking fingers.
It’s a voicemail from Dominic.
“Cipi, come to the Winchester offices now, you’re never going to believe this.”
Chapter fifty-one
Whoever is the chess master in this sick game, they’re removing the pieces.
The puppeteer is eliminating his puppets.
My only suspect is dead.
Madeline Toma slumps sideways in her leather desk chair. She looks like a discarded porcelain doll. Her head is tilted with her chin pressed into her collarbone. One arm dangles off the side of the armrest while the other rests in her lap. Her crimson acrylics match the blood that is everywhere. Even though her eyes are closed, her face is frozen in shock.
A silver letter opener juts out of her chest. It’s buried deep like someone put all their effort behind it.
