Page 49 of La Dolce Vita

Nico closed the door after he held it open for Umberto to join them.

Lorenzo tucked his sunglasses into his shirt pocket. He sat down in the chair nearest the window and crossed his leg. "Why am I always considered a liar before I even speak?"

"Do you want me to answer truthfully or should I become the liar, too?"

The men all shared a laugh except for Lorenzo. Dominic chuckled as he headed toward Giovanni's desk. There he picked up the phone and sat behind the Don's desk to make a call. Giovanni chose to sit near the large window where his cigar box and lighters rested on the coffee table. Everyone waited for Lorenzo's sly comeback. Instead of responding Lorenzo plucked a cigar and lit it.

The clan bosses' power structure had changed. Giovanni remained the boss of all bosses, but territory divisions and business deals within the legal world of the Italian parliament had put a leash on every man in the clan. Lorenzo was still underboss. He was what a clan boss like Giovanni would consider his left hand. Though Giovanni reigned in Lorenzo's power after the arrests of his men and the kidnapping of his wife, he still valued Lorenzo's methods. Dominic remainedconsigliere, and his topcapuswere now Nico, Renaldo, Carlo, and Umberto who had recently been promoted. As for the foot soldiers, they were down half the men they had after the war with the Triad. Giovanni had stopped accepting new recruits to high-ranking positions. He was closing in his organization for a new singular purpose. And every man under the gun needed to be focused. It was why Carlo's disappearance for the past month had agitated him. He heard the whispered rumors among the men about this trip to America. Carlo was unstable after the death of his brother. They'd all seen the change in him, so he allowed a temporary break to clear his head. It proved a mistake because the first thing he did was hop on a plane for America.

"I asked you a question," Giovanni said. He plucked a cigar and joined Lorenzo in a smoke.

"Is it crucial that we discuss this now?" Lorenzo exhaled a long stream of smoke up toward the ceiling. He uncrossed his legs and slumped down in the chair.

The room went silent. Only the mumbled conversation of Dominic with the person he spoke to on the phone could be heard.

"It's the American woman. Shae," Lorenzo said. "He had a thing for her. Now that's over."

"Isn't it always athingfor an American woman?" Giovanni scoffed. "What is it with you men andAmericanwomen? Aren’t there enough women in Italy to satisfy you?"

"I love my Cecilia, boss, and she's not American," Nico stretched out his massive arms with a big satisfied grin.

"I like American women, just don't see them often," said Umberto. "Maybe I should go to America next. Bring me back one."

"Mannaggia!It has shit to do with American women!" Lorenzo sat upright. "Carlo went to visit her for a little pussy and to clear his head, a vacation that you approved, Gio, after all, the shit he'd been through. When he was there the woman Shae told him of her problems. He offered to help. He made things worse. It's over. The relationship and the situation. Carlo is headed back home from the United States. And his head is clear."

"When does he return?" Nico asked.

"He should have already been here," Umberto volunteered. "I spoke to him a few days ago, he didn’t sound good. Like he had been drinking. He was talking strange too…”

“He’s always drinking,” Lorenzo said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's fine."

Umberto shrugged. “He said he was boarding a plane, but I don't think it was to come here."

Giovanni frowned. He glanced over to Dominic. "Check into it. I want him home."

Dominic nodded.

"He has had time to deal with the death of Ciro. His head is straight. I assure you," Lorenzo said. "Can I speak freely?"

"Don't you always?" Giovanni asked.

Lorenzo sat forward. "I know you had your reasons. I know this. We all do. And if I weren't in a cage after that motherfucker stole away Mirabella, I would have been at your side with a machete in hand. Not because you're my Don, but because you are my brother. Know this, Gio. It's the truth. I have to be honest about the other truth. What you did. What you had to do matters more now than who Carlo fucks in America."

The facts were redundant. He was well aware of consequences. The men, except for Dominic, remained silent and listened.

"You killed Father Nicosia. Everyone knows it. A fucking priest, Gio."

"Excommunicated," Giovanni said.

"He was a priest!" Lorenzo dropped his head and shook it as he made the sign of the cross over his chest. "Our territories are divided. We give the clan bosses more power than they deserve, and everyone exploits it. Santo is dead. Domi killed Santo? Yourconsiglierehad to shoot the man I should have put a bullet in." Lorenzo spat. Dominic glanced up and then returned to his conversation. "And worst of all, the Mafiosi should be crushed under our boots now, Giovanni, instead Armando gloats over our Donna's rescue. I heard he showed up at Catalina's birthday party. So, he just walks around our clan like he owns the place? The clan bosses don't know the women are related to him, but if he keeps doing this they will. You've stopped the collections from him as repayment. What happens to our family when the truth comes out about our wives?"

"Che cosa è questo?If you have a point to make then say it," Giovanni replied.

"It's not a point. It's a plea. The biggest one I can make. I'll get on my fucking knees if I have to, but you need to hear me. We need to strike back and reclaim what is ours. We need to be the men they fear, not the ones they negotiate with. Your strength is our legacy. The bloody legacy earned thanks to the destruction of the Calderones and Mottolas, and now the Triad. What is the future if we don't spill Mancini blood in the name of the brotherhood?"

"The future is whatever the boss says it is," Umberto replied.

"Stop wagging your tongue before I gut you and cut it out of your fucking throat!" Lorenzo seethed. He narrowed his eyes on Umberto. "Don't ever speak to me like we are equals."

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