Page 243 of Forced Vows

My brother steps behind him, grabs Lorenzo's head and breaks his neck. "Lorenzo Ricci will have no funeral and no gravestone to mark his burial. He will return to the nothing he chose to become by breaking his oath to the Cosa Nostra."

Angelo activates the cover mechanism in the floor and as soon as there's a big enough opening, Severu kicks the dead capo over the edge.

The splash of his body landing in the chemical soup that will obliterate the man from existence is the only sound in the room.

"We are Cosa Nostra," Sev shouts.

"We are Cosa Nostra," we all shout back.

"Betray la famiglia and that is your fate." He points to the still open floor.

Salvatore isn't the first to step forward this time. It's Dario Ricci.

He kneels before Severu without being told. "I pledge my loyalty and my life."

Sev puts his right hand out, the one he wears his don's ring on. Dario touches his lips to the ring and then his forehead, sealing his vow.

The rest of the capos follow suit. This time, both Angelo and I join them, as does Pietro.

Soon, Sev will participate in a similar scene, but with the other dons of the Cosa Nostra as he is accepted as our godfather.

And I will become don.

As it should be.

The End of An Era

Don Caruso lays on his bed, completely still. Tubes and wires are keeping him breathing and alive, but the time has come to release him from this mortal coil.

Dons from two of the other five families are here as well. We don't congregate like this, but this is an extenuating circumstance.

Sev has unanimous support to step into Don Caruso's shoes after his death.

Other dons are already calling him for advice and even permission to do certain things. Every Cosa Nostra don in the United States will cast his vote for Sev when the time comes.

There is one capo here, the man that our godfather has named as his successor as Don of the Lucchesi Family.

No one speaks. Everyone's eyes are on the still man in the bed. The doctor stands ready for Sev's nod.

But my brother steps up to the bed, lifts the near lifeless hand, and bends one final time to touch his forehead to the godfather's ring.

The other dons follow suit. Only then does Sev nod toward the doctors. There is utter silence in the room when the woosh-woosh of the ventilator stops. Then comes the flat beep indicating the stopped heart of a once great leader.

Sev walks out of the room without acknowledging anyone else. I follow watching his back.

The vote happens less than 24 hours later, and my brother is named Godfather of the American Cosa Nostra.

Don Caruso's funeral will be this Saturday, but the five days of viewing the body beforehand will be used as an opportunity for Cosa Nostra dons and their underbosses to come and kiss the ring.

Severu's ring. My brother, the godfather.

A New Don

We're in the back room of Nonna Agata's, a restaurant as old as the Genovese Famiglia in New York.

Painted stucco walls are adorned with paintings of Sicilian landscapes in traditional ornate wood frames. Dark wood molding runs along the floor and ceiling, just like it did a hundred years ago.

For that same span of time, this is the place where the Genovese have named their dons and capos. The history of all those who came before me sits heavy in the air.

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