Page 37 of The Mafia's Seamstress

“She’s right. Anders won’t be the only ones wanting war,” Dante said. I glanced at him, surprised he agreed with me.

“The Anders are working on something. They came into your shop. They spoke to Lucia. Who can I say stood her ground,” Luca pointed out. I gave him a small smile. Michael and my avô glanced at each other.

“What do you want, Lucia?” Michael asked. I stared, taken aback by the question. What did I want? I wanted to avoid a war. I wanted our land to be rightfully ours. I wanted to work in peace at my shop.

“For you to rip that agreement,” I said.

“Lucia!” my avô exclaimed. “The Costa’s have been fair with us throughout these years. They’ve protected us.”

“Everyone still thinks it’s a part of our territory. You giving it back won’t ruffle any feathers,” I said. “It won’t cause anything,” I corrected myself for him to understand. My avô stood up and Michael waved at him to sit down.

“There’s more,” Michael said, motioning for me to continue. He watched me carefully. I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully.

“The Anders haven’t seen the Portuguese mafia in years. That’s why they thought it was so easy to break into our shop. That’s why they thought it was so easy to speak to me. The next time they won’t be as kind. I’m suggesting we rebuild the Portuguese mafia and continue working with you guys to ensure the Americans stay in their little corner,” I said. Michael rocked his head back and forth in debate. My avô stared at me, a mix of shock, worry and amazement.

“She is very much like Anna,” Michael commented with a smile.

“I knew this attitude of yours would come back to annoy me,” my avô said. I looked at Dante and Luca who offered me proud smiles.

“In all honesty I think you’re correct Lucia. If word were to get out that we had control of the Silva territory it would signal to the other clans of a possible war. Men become greedy when they see others that have more,” Michael said, leaning back in his chair. “I would rather have word get out that the Silva clan is back in full force. The Anders have something planned,” he said. I nodded.

“You’re right as always querida,” my avô said, placing a hand on top of mine. My body hummed at the praise. This was going swimmingly.

“One condition,” Michael said. I swallowed as I stared into his steel gray eyes. Well I thought it was going swimmingly.

“The Portuguese mafia needs a leader,” Michael said. I stared at him in confusion.

“My avô is back,” I said. My avô chuckled. I stared at the men.

“The Silva family has never been a patriarchy,” my avô said. My heart banged against my chest. There was no way he was suggesting what I thought he was suggesting. “I didn’t run the clan, meu amor. Your avó did,” he said. My jaw dropped. I pulled my hand back.

“There’s no way I could be in charge,” I said. Dante scoffed. I felt Luca’s hand on my shoulder.

“Do you not remember putting our men in their place?” Luca said. My avô raised an eyebrow in surprise. “In front of Dante and Michael?” he added.

“She’s a natural leader,” Dante said. Michael nodded in agreement. I shook my head. There was no way I could do that.

“What men will follow a woman’s orders?” I asked. Sure I handled Dante’s men but that didn’t mean they were happy about it. They looked ready to kill. The only reason they didn’t was because of Dante.

“My men will follow you,” Dante said. “I’ll make them,” he stated.

“Or else,” Luca said. I looked at my avô. Could I do this? Could I lead a group of men? But wasn’t this my legacy? I would only be taking back what was rightfully mine.

“I knew one day this would happen. You always held the same fire as your avó. You can do this if you choose but you don’t have to,” my avô said. For some reason his last line left a bad taste in my mouth.

If I let the Costa family continue to have control then that would mean giving up what my grandparents had built. I would be letting what my avó had started disappear into the wind. They built Loba Vista. They took care of it. And now our name no longer carried weight. We were just a seamstress shop.

Someone murdered my avó. Someone forced us to retreat into hiding. But I had the strength and power to bring us back. I took a deep breath before meeting Michael’s eyes.

“Burn the agreement. The Silva’s are back.”

CHAPTER 14

Family Secrets Revealed

THE TRUTH CAN GIVE YOU POWER IF YOU WIELD IT RIGHT

Michael easily agreed to absolve the agreement my avô had made. I watched the papers burn in the fireplace. Turns out he had kept them safe.

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