Page 93 of Sins of the Son

He gave the leather portfolio a slight shove. It slid across the table to me. “Not much. Ask me if the head of the American CIA has a mistress or if the King of England prefers butter or jam on his toast and I can tell you, but finding out the inner details of a vicious school prank seven years ago?”

My fingers curled into a fist. “It wasn’t just a fucking prank. They gave her a concussion. They almost broke her nose. They threatened to rape her. They locked her in a dark room with barely any air and left her there. And they did all of it claiming they were following my orders.”

“No one is questioning the severity of the attack. Or its aftermath. The problem is, because it happened between teenagers and wasn’t reported to the authorities, for all intents and purposes, it is considered an ugly prank. Boys will be boys and all the bullshit that goes with it. In other words, there is no paper trail. No documents. No emails.”

“So you didn’t find anything?”

He smirked. “I didn’t say that.” He nodded toward the file. “I think your instincts are correct. Romolo Castiglione’s assets disappeared right before his divorce and yet his lifestyle remained the same. My people traced them to several shell companies linked to the Agnello crime family.”

I frowned as I flipped through the file in front of me. It was filled with land documents, building plans, and permits all listed under foreign companies. “The Agnellos tried to get a foothold in the region last month through a warehouse owned by Renata’s father, Bruno Moretti.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Owned on paper only.”

I leaned back. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“No. I only wish I hadn’t destroyed the file my father prepared for Bruno and Renata before her and Enzo’s wedding. I’d have more information for you.”

“You thought you were doing the right thing. We both know your father would not be using that information to help me right now.”

“Oh, he’d be helping you. For a price.”

“Yes, and that price was usually your soul.”

Sebastian shrugged. “Business the old-school way. So as far as I can tell, Romolo Castiglione had connections to the Agnellos. I believe he helped finesse paperwork regarding land purchases and other money laundering bullshit. At some point, Romolo’s divorce made him a liability because he moved most of his assets overseas to hide them from his ex-wife. This caused problems because with the current political climate, the government isn’t allowing foreign companies to purchase land and development properties as easily.”

I rubbed my forehead. “So Romolo introduced Bruno Moretti to the Agnellos.”

Sebastian pointed to me. “Exactly. For a price, Bruno allows the Agnellos to use his name, reputation, and company to purchase property around the Abruzzo region. It’s the new McMafia. They don’t just want a piece of the drug and gun trades. They want real estate and legitimate development projects for the long-game money. There’s more political power in owning land, especially land in the resource-rich Abruzzo region.”

I shook my head. This was why the cap rate appraisal Milana did on the project Romolo was bringing to me was so off. The figures were based on inflated numbers and false investors to hide the money chain.

I sighed. So Enzo’s father-in-law was mixed up in some dirty land investment deals with the mafia.

And possibly Renata, since we still didn’t know her level of involvement in her father’s business dealings.

Sebastian continued. “Before he did everyone a favor and blew his damn head off, you told me Romolo referenced a man he was afraid of. I think that mystery man is an enforcer for the Agnellos. The man charged with keeping both Romolo and Bruno in line. In order for this scheme to work, significant amounts of money have to be transferred into their names for the sales transactions. The Agnellos will not let tens of millions of euro leave their hands on trust alone.”

“And you think that man was the second man who attacked Milana all those years ago?”

Sebastian nodded.

“It makes sense. The way Romolo reacted to my accusation, the man was clearly connected to both his past and present. In order to keep Romolo and Bruno in line, the man would have to remain close, which means he would have to be someone who wouldn’t raise suspicion. A local.”

Sebastian’s brow knitted. “Problem is, we can’t find out his name. He’s a ghost.”

The man could be anyone.

Eventually, the Agnellos were going to become suspicious over Romolo’s disappearance.

If Sebastian was able to draw a straight line to Milana, then so could they.

As if reading my mind, Sebastian said, “I’ve already reached out to your father. I’m sending him some men.”

“We have our own security.”

“Mine have bigger guns.”

I couldn’t argue with that. If Italy ever went to war, I half suspected they would come to the Diamantis for arms.

---