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“It is good to be back in the South,” mamma breathed in the humid air as she lowered the window a fraction in the back of the car.
“When were you ever in the South?” I asked in surprise. Since the peace treaty eleven years ago, no Buccini had set foot on Southern soil.
“Years ago. Diego had once invited Sal, Vinny and me here to discuss an alliance. I had just had you and they had just had their daughter, Isabelle. Diego proposed a marriage alliance,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“Between me and Isabelle?”
“No! He wanted his first-born son to be betrothed to our first-born daughter.”
I nodded in understanding, “He wanted to unite the North and the South under the Barbieri name?”
“Si. That is why it had to be his son. I refused, of course. What kind of mother would I be to marry my unborn daughter off to a stranger? That was of course the beginning of our rifts with the Barbieris. It was clear back then that Diego had ambition even bigger than his ego. He wanted to rule all the South and was on his way to achieving it. His dream was that his heir would rule all of Italy and he was trying to use us to do it. He knew we were the most powerful family in the North. By uniting the two families, he would have it all. His family’s name would go down in history. He has always been a man of pride.”
“That’s crazy,” I sighed, running my hand through my hair.
“What is?” She turned to regard me.
“That it has come full circle. Elle and Alessio were almost betrothed before they were even born and now, she is at his mercy as he uses her to take the North. Clearly, he is just like his father.”
She nodded, her mind drifting off with her own thoughts on the matter. My phone started ringing and I answered it quickly when I saw the caller ID.
“Marco?”
“Pronto, Boss. Alessio is on the move. He has two cars, the first has himself and two soldiers and the second has his right-hand man Fabricio and a few more soldiers. No sign of Elle.”
“She’s not with him?” I frowned, as mamma’s head whipped around when she heard Marco’s voice through the phone.
“No. I’ll stay put outside the estate in case I catch sight of her.”
I rubbed my chin. “Okay, Grazie. Call me back immediately if you do.” I hung up as mamma hit my arm impatiently, wanting to know what was going on.
“The first sign of a lie,” I growled. “Elle is not with him. He is on his way to meet us without her.”
“And he definitely said she would be there?” Mamma asked, her frown lines creasing around her eyes.
“Si. I knew it. My gut was telling me this wasn’t genuine.”
“Let’s not jump the gun, Gio. Just because she is not riding with him, doesn’t mean she isn’t coming.”
“I won’t sign anything until I see she is safe.”
“I agree.”
My phone started ringing again and I answered Marco immediately.
“Boss, she had just left the estate in a black SUV with another following behind. Shall I follow?”
“Si but keep your distance. You can’t get caught spying now, it will ruin everything.”
“Understood.”
He hung up and mamma’s foot started tapping against the floor, causing her knee to bounce restlessly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just have a bad feeling,” she muttered, her brown eyes darting around the car. “Marco is putting himself in a lot of danger here, Gio. I hope you appreciate what he is doing for this family.”
“Of course I do. He is one of my most loyal men though. He is doing his job,” I stated. Marco was the best man for this because he knew Elle and she trusted him. But if I had asked any of my men to do this, they would have. Loyalty is everything in the Buccini clan.
