Page 141 of Assassin's Obsession

"Is it done? I thought the plan wasn't to talk to Angelo until tomorrow."

I grab the phone from my mom before she he has a chance to answer and let my grandfather see me as I am. Death. His future.

"It's not done, but it will be soon." I tap the icon to flip the camera so he can see the other side of the room where Severu has Don Barone kneeling in front of him.

"Your don has been found guilty of conspiracy to assassinate the godfather," Severu intones.

My grandfather's mouth works but he holds back his invectives. He knows he's caught and he's trying to work out how to get out of this without losing face.

It's not going to happen.

Severu looks to me with a question. I nod my head.

He leans down, whispers something in Don Barone's ear and then snaps his neck, dropping his body to the floor like the piece of trash it is.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Don Messino screams. "You can't kill my men. This is war."

Severu walks around the dead don and glares straight into the phone's camera. "You declared war the minute you tried to arrange my assassination."

"Fuck you, Severu!"

"Eloquent," Severu mocks, but his tone is as deadly as anthrax when he says, "Barone acted againstmeand I am the fucking godfather of the Cosa Nostra in America. The five Families answer tome. Boston answers tome. Chicago answers tome. Nevada answers tome. New England answers tome. Detroit answers tome. None of those dons answer to you and they never will."

"They don't know what you're really like."

"Don't they? Those dons would all expect what I'm going to say next. I wonder if you do?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I have men in place ready to take you and all of your top lieutenants out," my brother from another much better mother says. "You have one chance to avoid that."

You've got to love the quality of a good video call. I can see the color leach from my grandfather's face.

"I don't believe you," he tries to bluff, but his voice lacks any conviction.

"Declare a truce right now. You tell your other dons that Barone made the grave mistake of trying to kill the American godfather and out of abject remorse, he killed himself. Unfortunately, you have nobody to bury because he jumped from a cliff into the ocean."

"Róise would say that has pathos," Miceli approves.

"Why the—"

"Don't. I have no fucking patience for your bluster. You have no honor and I afford you no respect. You tried to have anothergodfather killed in a vain attempt to hold onto power that you lost when Don Caruso decided to back me instead of your choice for the next godfather."

"You're an upstart! The De Lucas never even had a don in their family before your grandfather."

"But hewasmade don and Iamgodfather, old man."

"Only because you killed your own men that opposed you."

This is new. "What the fuck are you talking about?" I demand.

"Everyone knows Severu killed his loyal consigliere when the man tried to put a brake on his grasp for power," Perla says contemptuously.

"That's not even close to what happened," I tell my mother with a frown, but I'm not about to tell her what really went down.

That was Genovese Family business.

"Where did you hear that fairytale?" Miceli asks silkily.

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