Page 95 of Carnal

Jacopo states, "As were the Marinos."

"Excuse me?" I seethe, still wanting to kill Biagio as soon as possible for putting his grimy hands on Pina.

Papà taps my kneecap under the table, not flinching.

Jacopo's sinister grin widens. He holds what resembles an old handbook in the air. "If we're following rules, we need to follow all of them."

The air in the room turns stale. It's so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Sergio accuses, "We don't need to play games, Jacopo."

"Oh, I'm not." He opens the handbook, and a bookmark falls out. "It's all highlighted here."

"What is?" Sergio asks, taking the book from him.

Tully answers, "It's the original handbook from when our fathers created the rules."

Biagio grabs a breadstick, sits back in his chair, grins, then shoves half of it in his mouth.

"So what?" I blurt out.

Papà digs his nails into my knee.

I avoid looking at him. "It's very clear no one is to touch other families' women. Dante stated from day one Pina is a Marino."

"Yes. That's in there. But so is rule fifteen-twenty-eight-A," Jacopo declares.

"Which is what?" Szymon interjects.

"Read it," Jacopo instructs Sergio.

He clenches his jaw, scanning the page. Time seems to stand still until he reads, "Any man, for whatever reason, caught aggressively confronting an enemy family gets an automatic one-month suspension."

"That's right!" Jacopo exclaims, jumping up. He points to the TV. "You all saw the Marino men aggressively confronting my son."

"You have to be kidding me," Brody mutters.

Papà claims, "My sons were protecting Pina. If Biagio hadn't—"

"It doesn't matter. The rule clearly states 'for whatever reason.' So I'm fine with my son taking his punishment, but the Marinos must also," Jacopo declares.

The room turns silent. Everyone seems to be staring at Sergio. I grip the edge of the table to stop myself from lurching across it and pummeling Biagio and his father in the face.

Sergio continues to stare at the handbook then finally looks up at Papà. "The rules must be adhered to."

Papà nods. "Agreed."

Sergio says, "Your two sons and the other men in the video will need to take a one-month suspension."

"That's bullshit," I blurt out.

Papà glares at me. "It is the rule." He turns back to Sergio. "However, I ask the council to support your recommendation. Biagio should have a three-month suspension."

"I second," Tully declares.

"Third," Szymon calls out.

"My son should receive the same punishment as the Marinos," Jacopo suggests.

"Agreed," Biagio states.

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