Page 36 of Memento Mori
Giuseppe was a clown, stuck in the glory days of the old mobster movies of the seventies who believed polyester suits, and tasteless gold jewelry made him a true gangster. No matter how ridiculous the man was, he had his benefits. Something I reminded myself of every day, especially when he opened his mouth. He’d been a made man for the Rizzo’s for more thanthree decades, a soldier even longer, so he thought he had a place to speak when he had none.
“You will wait as long as I fucking say so, Giuseppe.”
He gave me an intense glare, but the hatred in his small eyes was comical. However, he quickly masked it. Giuseppe for as long as I could remember hated me and my father. He believed neither one of us deserved the title of Don, although the family was forged under my bloodline and the challenging work organized by my family, first in Italy and now in the States. Little did he know once he was no longer valuable, he’d be discarded alongside whoever this traitorous bastard was.
I looked down at my limited-editionLouis Moinet Acastawatch, admiring the beautiful hand engraved wedding gift from my father and gauging the time. There was only one person missing. While the men in the room became more and more annoyed by the wait, I savored the sweet taste of the cigar on my tongue.
The door opening, then closing, and the sound of her heels clicking against the hardwood floors brought a smile to my face like always, and harsh glares from some of the others in the room. As always.
Despite her angelic features, Aaliyah’s beauty was anything but innocent. Her flawless obsidian skin, whiskey-colored eyes, and blood-red stained lips hinted at a darker side. She was deadly. Deadlier than any man in this room, including me. And by the fire blazing in her eyes, she was out for blood.
She settled nicely into her role as Donna. The men close to me absolutely adored her. They would gladly defend and lay down their lives for her. She cared about them, and their families’ well-being, and would often take the time to visit some of the lower-ranking soldiers and their families, just to make sure everything was in order, and they didn’t lack for anything. She took care of her family because that was just the type of woman she was. A true Donna in every sense of the word. Yet, many members of the other families dismissed her, not giving her the respect she deserved. Many of the men in this room when it came to Aaliyah shared the views of the other families. But they all underestimated my wife. Underestimated her intelligence, and the power she held.
The tension in the room thickened—almost to the point of suffocation, but I savored it. They all should be concerned. She came bearing gifts. Now with her arrival, their laughs shifted to confusion and anger. Their bodies became rigid, no longer relaxed.
Good!
I rose from my seat, leaning in to greet my wife with a tender peck on her luscious lips. All the men done the gentlemanly thing and rose to their feet as well, whether they wanted to or not. Abasi raised Aaliyah to be a trailblazer, not a follower. She demanded respect. You gave it to her willingly or she would take it.
Today she would take it.
“Gentlemen,” she said when she took her seat next to me after kissing Alessandro on the cheek.
“Donna,” the men in the room called out in unison before taking their seats.
“Excuse my candor, Don Rizzo, but I thought this was a meeting of theFamiglia. Why is she here?” Dante asked.
The piercing look he gave Aaliyah did not escape the notice of either me or her. She slid the folder over to me on my desk. Her eyes remained locked with Dante refusing to give him the power he felt he had over her.
With a tilt of my head, I directed all my attention towards Dante Messina. Dante was another one of the older made men who didn’t approve of Aaliyah. Of course, many of the older men felt I didn’t deserve my position as the head of this family once I introduced Aaliyah as my future wife. He was among those who wanted a purebred Italian woman as my wife, preferably his daughter. It was the same nonsensical reason my father abandoned the love of his life, my sister’s mother. But I refused to follow down the same path of misery and my father refused to let me.
Fuck tradition.
I chose the woman I loved over one of the most archaic traditions of the mafia. It was time for everyone to move on and let go.
My father’s love for Aaliyah was so strong that he treated her like another daughter. In fact, he became close friends and business partners with Abasi before his untimely death. What makes them think anything would change? Whether my father approved or not, Aaliyah was and will always be this family’s Donna until I breathed my last breath.
Alessandro’s laughter echoed, filling the room, and capturing everyone’s attention. He took a sip from his rocks glass. Fury blazed in his eyes. Uncle Agostino passed away a year before our father, now Alessandro was myConsigliere—my most trusted advisor and closest confidant other than my wife. One thing these men should know about us Rizzo men was we were fiercely protective of our women against whatever came against them, including the disrespect in this room.
I held up my hand keeping Alessandro from advancing on Dante after Aaliyah squeezed my thigh putting an end to Alessandro’s impending assault. If it wasn’t for her restraint, I would’ve let my brother put a bullet in his head as an example to not disrespect my wife.
“Your Donna is here, because your fucking Don wants her here,” Alessandro seethed. “You disrespectful motherfucker!”
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room, creating an atmosphere of anticipation. Alessandro was the calm one.
Since Laney’s passing, his temper was more upfront. And when it came to Aaliyah and our sister, all bets were off. He’d rather kill you, than listen to anyone disrespect them.
I heard the whispers from some of the men, some of the higher-ups had been plotting against my wife before our marriage and even more since the death of my father. What these dumbasses failed to realize, I had eyes and ears everywhere. Many of those beneath some of the men who were a part of the organization longer than me, had no trouble spilling their guts when it came to Aaliyah. Rest assured, those who conspired against me and my wife would face swift justice.
“I understand many of you in this room have an issue with me,” she said her tone sharp while surveying every man in the room with the confidence of the Donna she was. She looked every one of them in the eye—not afraid of the power they held, because she wielded more.
Beauty was what these men saw in Aaliyah and the way she carried herself. The years of charm school Abasi had her attend had turned her into a prim and proper lady. But they failed to see the viper laying beneath her prim and proper ways ready to strike.
Abasi Sefu was no fool. He understood how the men of this world would see Aaliyah, since there were few women who held any power and those who did, remained silent and out of their husband’s affairs. This was not Aaliyah, and it wasn’t what I wanted for my Donna. She ruled beside me, not from behind.
Abasi used her striking beauty as a powerful tool. Used her to close deals when a woman’s touch was needed. Sure, she was a genius, but above all, in this world her beauty was invaluable. And to them beauty like hers only equated to one thing—sex. However, Aaliyah was so much more. She had a very keeneye and made sure I understood coming into this meeting there wasn’t any doubt someone in this room sold us out and interfered in my business.
“But what you all will soon come to understand is,” she stood, walked to Dante, and pulled her handgun placing it against his forehead, “I, Aaliyah Rizzo the daughter of Abasi Sefu, the Donna of this family, could give two shits how you feel about me, Mr. Messina. Any of you.”
