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“Pronto,” Marco greeted. “What do you have for me?”
“I have emailed over all the properties I have found under the name Alessio Barbieri. There are a lot. You may want to riffle through them and rule some out. He has five residences in the South as well as several businesses. His main residence seems to be in Catania though I couldn’t get a clear visual. It looks to be a vineyard of some sort, so I will keep digging on that.”
“Grazie, any recent sightings of him?”
“Si, in fact, he was seen boarding a private jet yesterday morning. Elenora was with him. I can’t get any details on where it was travelling, but they came from Catania. That information is so tightly locked up. Who are these guys? They aren’t amateurs.”
“No, they are not,” Marco sighed as I stared at his strong side profile. “Grazie, Dal. Keep me updated on anything else you find.”
The call ended and I leaned my head against Marco’s shoulder, a feeling of genuine gratitude that this man was in my life right now. As we pulled up to the entrance of the house, I unclipped my seatbelt and turned to him. Sani and Raya jumped out of the car and raced inside, leaving us alone.
“I think it is best that we keep our relationship to ourselves for now,” I said carefully as he gave me a small smile of understanding. “We need to focus on Elle and I don’t know how Giovanni will take it.”
“I agree. I would like to speak to him man-to-man when you are ready,” he nodded, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. I smiled, before climbing out. We hadn’t exactly talked about being an official couple and we still didn’t have sex. But I was in a good place with Marco and the thought of telling Giovanni made me anxious as it could change things.
I inhaled a deep breath as I looked up at the mansion with the beautiful vines and flowers snaking up the structure. Marco indicated for me to go first as he followed behind me and I made my way towards the living room where I could hear Gio and Liv happily greeting Sani and Raya home. I strolled into the room with an air of authority and a cold glare as the room turned icy and fell silent.
“Mamma,” Gio smiled, though he looked at me with uncertainty. He was trying to judge my mood. Whether I was vulnerable and emotional or downright pissed. He quickly caught on as his smile faded.
“Children, go and play in your rooms please. I will get Lucinda to make you a snack,” I said calmly as Sani and Raya ran from the room, eager to get back to their toys. My eyes scanned the faces of my family. Gio, Liv, Max and Cami. Each looking extremely uncomfortable and avoiding my direct gaze.
“Mamma, I know you are angry…” Gio started with his hand up and took a few strides towards me. My harsh glare stopped him in his tracks.
“Angry?” I replied, “No, Giovanni. I am not angry. Angry is when you fail to tell me that the Leones had started doing business with the Barbieris, breaking the peace treaty contract that I,” slamming my hand against my chest, “created. Angry is when you fail to mention one of our men was nearly beaten to death. Those things I can look past. Waiting five days to tell me about Elle? I am livid beyond belief.”
Olivia gulped and cast her eyes down at her hands and Max shuffled awkwardly in his seat.
“Elenora asked us not to,” Gio said quietly, holding my gaze. I froze. My eyebrows pulled down with a deep frown.
“What?”
“It was the last thing she said to Olivia before she left her in that trunk. She didn’t want to worry you and she knew we would get her back.”
“But you haven’t got her back, have you?” I roared, losing my calm demeanour that I was trying so hard to keep in place.
He huffed, running his hand through his dark hair, just like his father always used to do in times of stress. I felt Marco step forward from behind me, gently placing his hand on my lower back. I closed my eyes, allowing his warmth to travel through me and release the tension in my body.
Having regained my composure, I stepped forward and sat down on the sofa next to Cami, looking up at Gio to take a seat. He did so, and they all waited for me to begin.
“I want to hear it all again. From the beginning and don’t leave anything out,” I ordered.
Gio started again from the top like he had on the phone yesterday, explaining Veril, burning the club, the kidnap, Alessio Barbieri being behind it all and taking Elle back to the South. Handing over Venice. The fuck up with the shipment and the video. That was hard to hear again. The amount of business we had already lost. Gio, going to the commission for support from other families in the North and Enzo, murdering Riccardo in cold blood. Listening to everything a second time was not any easier and actually just made me more enraged. What a shitshow!
“You should have never gone to the commission, Gio,” I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “They are full of snakes and not one of them will back you in this without it coming back to bite you. You just put an even bigger target on your back. If it was only about the Leones then yes, it was what needed to be done, but with the Barbieris involved,” I shook my head and Gio snapped. He stood up from his chair in fury.
“What the fuck was I supposed to do, mamma? We are backed into a fucking corner and we can’t win against them alone!”
I glared up at him. “You negotiate. You find out what they want, what the price for Elle’s return is and you meet them halfway, Giovanni.”
“They wanted Venice. I gave them Venice!”
“Which was your first mistake! That wasn’t for her return,” I shouted, standing up to match his anger. “You immediately went into defence instead of attack.”
“They were threatening Elle’s life, mamma!”
“Which is why you negotiate! You request a meeting. You sit down with Alessio in person and get him to lay out all his demands on the table. You show strength with negotiation, not with muscle! You do whatever it takes for him to give Elle back unharmed and then you deal with the war after.”
“There is no reasoning with the likes of the Barbieris! They are power-hungry, ruthless bastards who take whatever they want without consequence! Just look at what they have done to the South! They have complete control. They answer to no one. They believe they are gods!”
