Page 38 of Memento Mori
Hopefully, this unexpected visit had nothing to do with our traitor, although it most likely did. So far, this was the only business transaction that had been impacted. And we uncovered a plot to have more upcoming shipments seized. We stopped those shipments, immediately rerouting them through other carriers without anyone in the family’s knowledge.
Only those in the higher ranks, the men sitting in this room, knew about those shipments. Aaliyah uncovered a plot to take me out by getting me tangled up with the Feds.
“Gentlemen are there any more questions?” When no one spoke, I continued. “All information is to be brought to me personally, and not discussed with anyone, including others in this room. Do you understand?”
They all looked around curiously, but everyone nodded. I was sure Giuseppe wouldn’t keep his mouth closed regardless of the order and that was what I hoped.
“Thank you for your time and patience gentlemen, hopefully we can get this minor glitch taken care of. Make sure you keep me informed of any developments.” When they rose, I stood along with them as they exited my office. I turned my attention to my wife and brother as soon as the door closed. “We have guests.”
“Who?” Alessandro asked, buttoning up his suit jacket and downing the last of his whiskey before setting the glass on my desk.
A scowl formed on my face as I glared at him. He chuckled, picking it up and taking it to the mini bar in the corner of the room near the window.
“The Feds. Franco took them to the back office. Get Chantal on the phone and tell her I need her to get here as soon as she can. I don’t know what the hell is going on but I’m sure this is about to get nasty.”
“This could be what’s coming,” Aaliyah said, threading her hand with mine as we walked to the door.
“That’s my thought as well. Alessandro, make sure you stay close. I may need you.”
“Always, bro. I’ll make this call to Chantal, handle some of my business, then I’ll meet you back here so we can come up witha plan,” he said then exited the office going in the opposite direction of me and Aaliyah.
“Who do you think has their hands in this, Antonio?”
“Dante. I’m sure he gave the information on the shipment to whoever wanted it. But he needs someone more powerful to pull this shit off. I don’t think it’s another family, but it’s definitely someone who has some connections.”
“I’ll do some digging when the Feds leave and see what I can uncover. Do we still have someone on your mother?” Aaliyah asked. “Maybe her and Dante are working together. It would make sense since they couldn’t kill me to shift focus onto the businesses to take you out.”
“Yes. I have one of my best men in Italy on her. But I wouldn’t put anything past her at this point. She was furious when I exiled her to Italy. If Dante’s loyalty is to her, she could definitely be helping him.”
Chapter Fifteen
? THE SINS OF THE FATHER
Antonio
Pushing the door, I entered my private office situated at the back of the house. As we walked over to greet them, both men rose and extended their hands.
“Gentlemen, I’m Antonio Rizzo, Jr., and this is my wife Aaliyah.”
“I’m Special Agent McGuire and this is Special Agent Grasso.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Aaliyah said.
We exchanged handshakes, but I couldn’t ignore the intense glare from one of them, like he had something to say but decided against it. Then, his eyes filled with lust when he fixated on Aaliyah. I clenched my jaw to suppress my jealousy, knowing it wasn’t the right moment.
“Ah, Grasso,” I said, trying to get the agent’s attention away from my wife. “Your family is from Campania, no?”
“No,” Agent Grasso responded, his stare meeting mine.
I acknowledged with a nod, even though I was certain that his family was from Campania, whether he realized it or not. And the way he still glared at me, his hate for me was obvious, although I had no idea why.
The thing about Italy was the Cosa Nostra controlled Sicily, the Camorra controlled Campania, and the ‘Ndrangheta controlled Calabria. Agent Grasso, like most of us, had ties to the criminal world. My family just owned up to it while others liked to play the upstanding citizen despite those criminal ties.
We’d always be Cosa Nostra.
I sat at my desk while Aaliyah joined me, pulling up a chair.
“How may we help you, gentlemen?” I asked.
