Page 119 of Single Malt Drama

Tommaso flipped through the pages before pegging Lazio with a glare. “You stole from us, led me to believe my sister was dead, and turned my daughter into your personal guard dog.”

Sophia hung her head at the accusation.

I held my breath and waited for her to spill her guts. She was the one person who could potentially save Gabe’s ass.

Vittoria whispered into the younger woman’s ear.

Sophia nodded once, cleared her throat, and stood. “I thought I was acting with your blessings. I did what I did because my uncle told me the Fratellanza wanted the Marchionnis pushed out of New Orleans…by any means necessary.”

Lazio looked as if he’d swallowed his tongue.

My father’s voice filled the room, strong and proud. “There is your proof my son and I were justified in breaking the Omertá. We did what was necessary to protect our territory!”

It’d been so long since I’d heard him shout, he took me by surprise. I turned to find him sitting taller than he had in months.

Vittoria turned and stared at my father as if she’d only just recognized him. Tears filled her eyes, and his too. He winked, she smiled, they drew shaky breaths. The long-lost friends seemed to have an entire conversation in those precious seconds.

Tommaso winked at me before turning to the others. “I motion to dismiss the charges against the Marchionnis. They were justified in breaking the Omertá.”

Remembering Nico’s advice to take advantage of the situation to flush out our enemies, I leaned forward to get a better view of the Ricci and Salvo family capos. Both men nodded their approval. While they didn’t smile, neither seemed upset by the turn of events.

I turned to whisper a thank you to my wife but was stunned into silence.

Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her shoulders slumped. She’d been through a lot in the previous forty-eight hours. I needed to wrap things up and get her someplace quiet as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Nico wasn’t the only one who needed a break. My father broke out into a coughing fit that silenced the room. He shouldn’t have come, but once he’d learned that Vittoria had agreed to speak to the Fratellanza, there had been no stopping him. He’d insisted it was worth the risk to see Pietro Lazio get what he deserved.

Only that hadn’t happened yet. Since Vittoria had walked in, everything had devolved into shouted accusations and tearful confessions. For Lazio’s part, he sat ramrod straight, taking it all in—or more likely, looking for an out. I needed to bring the meeting back to order before it was too late.

Releasing Nico’s hand, I stood. “Because my family was targeted, I have the right to ask for justice.”

All eyes turned to me—that was, all eyes except Pietro Lazio’s. He’d evidently found something interesting to stare at on the tabletop.

“Speak your mind.” The capo of the Salvos sat back and folded his arms. No surprise. Nico had warned me he’d sided against us when Gabe had made it clear we wanted out of the mob.

“My brothers, and the Marchionni Corporation, will no longer be considered part of the Cosa Nostra.”

Abruzzo and Salvo shook their heads but remained silent.

Pietro Lazio took the opportunity to drop a freaking bomb. “What my son-in-law isn’t telling you is that they have already liquidated the vast majority of their holdings. They can’t support our operations even if we demand they remain. He is a capo in name only. The Marchionnis seat at this table is forfeit.”

My heart stopped. Gabe had ordered me to sell off any business supported by illegal activities. Had he known doing so would put us in serious hot water with the other families?

Once again, Leo stepped forward and saved the freaking day. “Actually, we’ve moved the businesses out from under Marchionni Corp and put them under a shell company owned by my mother.”

Nico sighed. I didn’t need a crystal ball to know what she was thinking. For every step toward freedom we took, someone pushed us back three.

I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. Ma and her freaking meddling had saved our collective asses, but she’d locked me in tighter. “Does anyone have any objections to my first proposal?”

They remained silent.

I took that as a good sign. “Anyone else want to throw accusations at me, or may I move on?”

Tommaso Abruzzo grinned. “By all means.”

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