Page 114 of Devil's Property
“Look at it, Pops. Or do I need to fill in the blanks?” Jago snarled.
We’d spent the better part of two days putting all the pieces together, waiting as a trap was set and we had the correct information. That didn’t mean confronting Rafael was easy. Far from it, but necessary.
“Goddamn the two of you. I demand respect.” Rafael knocked over his drink as he tried to place it on the table.
“We both deserve that same respect, Dad. Tell the fucking truth.”
The wave of tension was difficult for everyone. Finally, Rafael sighed, appearing defeated.
“That’s Jamal Fassi and his son, Farid who both you and Valentino invited into the alliance.” Jago had no emotion in his voice, his face pitted from exhaustion.
Rafael moved toward one of the chairs, suddenly appearing frail. “Yes. We were in discussions about entering into the diamond business together. He’d purchased a mine and had come to Valentino first because of Salvatore’s work in complex chemicals. He’d heard of Salvatore’s reputation in exposing carbon to specific conditions. After seeing some demonstration, we were convinced what Salvatore created would reduce the time to produce synthetic diamonds in half and with a rougher base to begin with. Plus, they could be passed off as real diamonds.”
“Fake diamonds,” I stated, glancing at Jago. “What happened within the new alliance?”
“Greed,” Rafael answered truthfully. “That’s what fucking happened! There were little things at first, rumors that neither Valentino nor I paid any attention to, but they kept getting worse. People were getting antsy. Hell, some merchandise was stolen, a warehouse broken into. Evidence was mounting that Aldero was waging a war against us.”
“That’s exactly what was happening with Valentino. He lost several soldiers and blamed you, but Fassi had them killed.” Jago tilted his head, glaring at his dad.
“Fassi was pitting the two of you against each other,” I suggested.
“Yes,” Rafael said. “The formula Salvatore had been working on twenty years ago wasn’t perfected. There were issues, thecompound too volatile to use. A few men died in the process. That’s when things began to unravel.”
“My father expressed his concerns to you. Didn’t he? He knew something wasn’t right, but you pushed him off.” My dad had been a good man, his loyalty to Rafael something he was proud of. But he also didn’t violate basic codes of decency.
“He did. Your father was right by my side when key decisions were being made. He warned me. He told me to have a private conversation with Valentino.”
“But you didn’t heed the warning.” I shook my head.
“Yes, I did, but in my way, which is why Lucian was sent to discover what he could, working alongside Salvatore.”
“Yet he didn’t have the opportunity to tell you the truth.” Reliving the horror was gutting me.
“You have to believe me, son. If I’d known I sent your brother into a dangerous situation that would get him killed, I would never have ordered him to go.”
“Fassi was worried, planting lies, and you bought it.”
Rafael lifted his head. “I had no clue Valentino hadn’t betrayed me. There were too many things that had gone wrong. When Lucian was killed, that was proof positive enough for me.”
The tension in the room increased.
“Fassi played both of you, Pops. He used your goddamn greed against each other and in doing so, lives were lost. But you were spared.”
“What are you insinuating, son?”
“I’m not insinuating anything other than lives were lost for what? For fucking diamonds. You didn’t tell us about your unholy alliance. You’ve watched us sit here for over a year trying and figure out what the fuck Fassi wanted. What the fuck did you do to the man for him to feel such a need for revenge? He got what he wanted, for fuck’s sake.”
Rafael jerked up, storming toward his son. But he said nothing.
So I filled in the blanks once again. “Because he found out you knew Salvatore was still alive and was working on the compound once again. The two of you had turned the tables on Fassi and he was none too happy.”
The light went off in his eyes.
Jago wrapped his hand around his father’s throat. “What the fuck did you do, Pops? You almost got all of us killed because of your continued greed. I should kill you right here. Right now.” He squeezed the man’s neck and I moved toward them.
“Don’t do it, Jago. He’s your father.”
Jago barely turned his head, still squeezing while Rafael refused to move. Huffing, he yanked his hand free. “You son of a bitch. Now long have you been working with Salvatore?”
