Page 25 of Capuleto

"You're telling me we killed civilians over your stupidity! God damn it..."

"I didn't know they were going to die!" she excused herself. "And Massimo has already taken care of it."

"Massimo?"

"You weren't here, I needed someone I could trust."

"Of course, and besides letting him screw you, you served our heads up on a fucking platter."

"Don't talk like that! I was scared, I didn't know what to do or who to turn to. I didn't think..."

"That's the crux of it, mother, you don't think!" I shouted. I hated that her poor decisions dragged us through the mud.

"You don't need to react like that. You don't have to worry, your father-in-law sorted everything out and promised me..."

"He promised whatever, I don't care about that. What you gave him is a fucking grenade he can detonate at his convenience."

"Now we're family! He's not going to do anything that would hurt us. It was just a small favor."

"A favor he'll be delighted for you to return."

"I don't have to put up with your impertinence, no matter how hard you've had it. I deserve some respect, I am your mother and I am older than you."

"One cannot demand what they do not give. If you were so concerned about Sarka, you should have returned to Saint Petersburg and taken care of her, as was your duty." Her lips tightened.

"My life is no longer in Russia. I've already told you that." With that statement, she said everything she was holding back.

Both of us were very agitated when the door to the terrace opened and a child with a sullen face emerged, looking at me from a distance.

12

Creating plans

IF my father was angry, my uncle was even angrier.

I once read in an article about the mafia that what characterized it was not its will to get rich from drugs, human trafficking, or arms dealing. Nor was it gambling, extortions, kidnappings, or the fraudulent awarding of government-dependent businesses. What really distinguished a mafia from any other criminal organization was its intention to supplant the state, to corrupt it, and to give orders.

In my family, we were experts. We had created our own state, with very personal rules and regulations. We were accustomed to dealing with other mafias with whom we shared territory.

In Italy, for example, the 'Ndrangheta dominated Calabria; Cosa Nostra, Sicily; Camorra, Naples, and Sacra Corona Unita owned the region of Apulia, or what amounts to the heel of the boot that made up our country.

Sacra Corona Unita didn’t grow with drug trafficking; it was born with it, and the Montardi were the main representatives. The family that settled in the same neighborhood where Uncle Giuliano had his residence. At first, they were just another family spending their summers there, until they decided to move in permanently and give my uncle more headaches than he should have.

It was said that the four Italian mafias were among the most violent, however, the Calabrian mafia had gained several points for its "extreme ferocity."

The motto of the 'Ndrangheta was: "Do not fight anyone unless you plan to kill them."

If there was something that differentiated us from the highly hierarchical and vertical Cosa Nostra, it was that we operated horizontally, or in other words, a clan of clans. We helped each other, supported each other, and that was why Don Giuliano and my father worked side by side when things got tough.

Calabria was structured like a Gruyère cheese; it was the region of the world with the most underground bunkers on the planet. Many leaders of other groups, dedicated to crime, had relied on Don Giuliano’s hospitality to hide in my uncle’s region. This way, he managed to owe him more than one favor.

If we wanted to take down Cheng, we would need an extensive network that covered the entire territory and thus encircle his school of fish. From there, we would exterminate them without mercy.

In the video conference we were holding, my uncle suggested delivering a decisive blow to the Chinese distribution and a frontal attack on their most profitable businesses.

A red night in which the Costa del Sol would be stained with blood. For this, we needed multiple forces, in addition to knowing when the next shipment of the drug distributed by the Asians for export to Europe would arrive.

"I'm going to send you one of my best men, I had to take him out of Calabria for a while because he had the CNI sniffing his tail. He's Spanish, his name is Álvaro San Juan, and if anything characterizes him, it’s his ability to infiltrate any type of organization and attack from within."

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