Page 24 of Angelo

"Not really," Alessandro answered. "As far as I know, Aberto prefers to lay low. In the past, he let my father handle the blood and gore."

Interesting. Her head continued to churn with conspiracies. Elyse sensed the darkness seizing her heart, but she didn't push it away. She embraced it. "Maybe the De Leóns can no longer be trusted, but wecantrust in them to fuck us over. I have a feeling that Aberto is smart enough to enlist others to do his dirty work. We may never find the blood on his hands. If this is the case, I doubt we'll need to pivot too much from our original plan. We simply need to play him like he's playing us."

He eyed her with curiosity. "This game sounds fun. Go on.Per favore."

"Aberto and Domenico both want to becapo. We should set them against each other instead of Domenico and Carlo. Let Aberto take down our enemies for us, one by one, thinking that we still trust him."

Alessandro's eyes flickered with understanding and then with cunning. "Wecan use my father's funeral to set the stage for their battle."

"How so?"

"As you have stated," he reminded her, "with so many heads of clans in attendance, it would be the perfect opportunity for amafiosoto remove some rivals and destabilize othercoscas. Aberto already believes I am not a threat. That is why he even dared to take my life. We must embolden him some more. He needs a nudge to show his true colors."

"What kind of… nudge?"

"We must target one of his men. Piss him off and fuel the rage until he loses control. Then, hand him a gun and watch as he pulls the fucking trigger. The others will have no choice but to fire back."

"Dios," Elyse whispered under her breath, "your father's funeral might turn into a bloodbath."

Alessandro smiled like a dark angel. "Dio, I hope so."

"Wouldn't that put us in the line of fire, though?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Who said we will be attending?"

Elyse's brow shot up as it dawned on her.This funeral was going to become their Trojan horse. She asked, "What about my grandfather? He's planning to attend the funeral. Should we warn him?"

Alessandro nodded. "Benedetto needs to know about our plans."

After learning about Renata's death, Elyse felt wary about allying herself with Benedetto. He seemed like the kind of man who would chooseCosa Nostraover family in a heartbeat. "Can he be trusted?"

"We have no choice but to trust your grandfather. For now, Aberto can be replaced. But, without Benedetto, this shit would be suicide."

Anxiety made her wince. They were being forced to put all of their eggs in the Graviano basket. Not by choice. Out of necessity. Building a relationship with Benedetto had never felt more important.

Reservations about getting too close to Benedetto thrummed away, but she forged on, "I'll be going to my grandfather's place tomorrow. I assume you still want to come?"

"Sì."

"It'll be a good opportunity for you to fill him in on what we have planned."

Brown and blue-gray eyes gleamed. "Let the games begin."

The next day, Elyse arrived with Alessandro at her grandfather's residence. Benedetto Graviano's villa was located in Monreale about thirty minutes south of Palermo. The town sat atop Monte Caputo, overlooking a fertile valley, known by locals asLa Conca d'oro, or the Golden Shell, where orange, olive, and almond trees were grown in vast quantities.

The old house occupied a large and spacious property. With its traditional terracotta-tiled roof and aged stone walls, there was nothing particularly unique or showy about her grandfather's home. It was, however, surrounded by a stunning inland vista of mountains and valleys.

As Elyse approached the main courtyard, the mid-morning sunshine felt warm and pleasant on her skin, but, with every step she took, an uncomfortable tightness grew in her chest. She grew restless and uneasy. Elyse couldn't pinpoint why she was feeling this way.

Alessandro glanced over toward her. He seemed to sense her unrest. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," she replied with a quick smile. "Just feeling nervous."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed her palm. "I am here."

"Thank you," Elyse murmured, giving him a squeeze in return.

They rang the doorbell. An older, stern-faced housekeeper named Matilde came to receive them. She was blonde, like Malina, but her snippy countenance was nothing like Malina's steady, calming demeanor. With a slight ache in her heart, Elyse wondered when she would be able to see her friend again. She wanted to bring Malina back to Palermo as soon as possible. Away from Carmen and Valentina and the threat these Rizzo women posed against them.

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