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Michael puffs on his cigar and blows out a cloud of smoke, "What do you think?" His lips twitch.
"I think that you already knew that our brother was an undercover cop," Seb offers.
"Che cazzo!" Luca glances from Michael to me, then back to Michael. "I'll be damned," he shakes his head, "you knew,fratellone?"
"Fuck me," Massimo says softly, "why am I not surprised?"
Michael glances around the room, "I made enquiries. I had to find out why it was that a brother we never knew we had, had chosen this moment in time to turn up in our lives."
"So, you knew all along?" I move around in my chair trying to find a more comfortable position.
"I had enough information to deduce that you were undercover. However, you had covered your tracks well enough that I couldn't fit all of the pieces together," Michael retorts.
"I’m guessing, then, that the only reason you offered me your seat on the board of Trinity is because you knew I would eventually turn it down?"
"What?" Luca straightens, "You don't want to be involved with Trinity?"
"I may have left the force, but I am a cop at heart. I doubt the heads of the Kane Company and Bratva would be comfortable doing business with me. Besides, I am setting up my own security agency. I won't be able to do justice to Trinity."
Luca gapes at me, then he turns on Michael. "You knew this would happen," he says in an accusing tone. "You knew Axel would choose to distance himself from Trinity. That's why you chose to offer it to him?"
"I had an inkling." Michael leans back in his seat, a pleased look on his face, "The profit sharing among us would never have been affected, regardless of who sat on the board, but it was about trust. By giving Axel a seat at the table, I was extending a gesture of trust."
"You knew it would go a long way in binding him to the family?" Seb speculates.
"I had hoped," Michael confesses.
"And here I am," I chuckle.
"Stacazzo,"Luca rubs the back of his neck, "so what now? Who's going to take on the stake in Trinity?"
"That's for the five of you to decide," Michael addresses that remark to Luca, Seb, Christian, Massimo and Adrian.
"You're leaving the decision to us?" Luca's gaze widens. "Is this another of your tricks, Don?"
"No tricks," Michael laughs, "I figure it's time to delegate more so I have more time to spend with my wife."
"Cazzo!"Luca reaches for his glass of whiskey and drains it. "I'll be damned. Although I suspect this is another of your short-term moves for long-term gains."
"Only time will tell." Michael's grin widens. "One thing I didn't see coming? Freddie." He turns to me, "What’s his gig? Why did you go undercover to work with him?"
"We had information that he partnered with your father, and on the crime that defined his career, so to speak. I wanted an in with his gang as a way of getting more information on you guys," I reply.
Michael stills, his gaze narrows on me. "Are you saying he partnered with our father on the kidnapping of the Seven?"
He is referring to the kidnapping of seven boys in England which had made waves many years ago.
Silence fills the space. The men watch me, their cigars forgotten. I puff on mine and wait for the ash to build before I finally tip up my chin. "Freddie Nielsen was the mastermind behind that incident. He approached your father with the idea, as he needed the manpower and the organization to pull it off—"
"All of which, our father had in excess," Michael concedes.
"The two of them were involved in the crime that made headlines around the world," I add.
"A crime which ensured that no one would dare challenge our father for a very long time," Michael's jaw tics.
"Not until you came along, that is," Seb jerks his chin in Michael’s direction.
"And thank fuck for that," Luca adds. "Not that I didn’t respect our father, but he would never have given up his position. I wager, he’d have killed all of us, if it would have guaranteed he could maintain control."
