There was no bomb, not even a shot was fired, only the cameras that fell for twenty seconds.
My men — all well-trained — failed to explain how they managed to rescue the prisoners. Embarrassed, they looked at each other trying to understand how someone had passed them without leaving a trace.
But I was happy because my trap had the desired effect, and the attack showed that the person responsible for rescuing the prisoners knew our weaknesses. The traitor was sending a message and wanted to make sure that I understood.
I was close to discovering the enemy, but he was very close too, and that advantage was not mine.
Whoever took Irina knew about the trackers I put on her, the watch, the wedding ring, and even the microchip I put on her shoulder; they were all on the bed beside a small gold dagger studded with small precious stones.
Where Vincent was, an equally valuable dagger had been carefully placed over the handcuffs that once held his wrists and legs.
I never saw these jewels, but I knew that whoever left them there, did this as a clue for me to follow their trail. I carefully kept the daggers, intrigued by their meaning.
Sitting on my office chair, I wondered ... Why didn't my parents' killer kill me when he got the chance? The house was dark and the cameras turned off, there was nothing in its way to stop him from killing me. The bastard just added fuel to our cat and mouse game.
— Reinforce security, I don't want anyone entering or leaving without my knowledge. And also hire new men; I want Jullius to approve them before they reach me. — with a slight nod the head of security left to carry out my orders.
— I sent your message, son. He agreed to meet him in a safe place.
— Were you careful?
— Clean as usual. Son are you okay?
I looked at Jullius, who was looking at me with concern.
— I'm a little confused. It is worrying to discover that someone close to the family is behind all the carnage that is plaguing the Commission. But the anger I am feeling is greater than this anguish
— Just don't let her change who you are, my son ... otherwise everything will be lost and all your parents' efforts will have been in vain.
— I already lost this war, godfather. Even when I kill all these traitors, I will still have lost.
— You will be alive, and you will have me and Genna, and your grandfather, we are your family, Ricco. You will win, but do not let hate dominate your heart.
— So I already lost a sponsor, because I no longer have a heart.
Without wanting to argue, I left the office for the bar; I needed to numb the whirlwind of feelings that consumed me. I poured myself a double shot of whiskey and a glass of liquor for Jullius, who sat on the sofa facing the window and looked out at the sea, lost in thought.
— Sit down, Ricco. The time has come to learn some details of this struggle between the Commission and part of its family. — Jullius caught my attention, and I obeyed sitting next to him.
After getting all my attention, Jullius continued.
— When Vincenzo became a man, his first mission was to prove his loyalty to the family by killing a man who had betrayed the Commission, just as you had to do; and reluctantly his father did the job. He never liked the mafia and what the coins represented, whenever he could, he avoided activities and only went to meetings because his grandfather forced him. His uncle Vitto, even though he was not of age, was the first to arrive and offer himself for the missions, and he was often warned of his excesses.
When Vitto became a man, he became involved in a mess that culminated in the death of someone important. Marcello Venni, his grandfather, to avoid a scandal agreed to his father's departure from the Commission. It was Vincenzo out of his blood for the rest of his life.
— Why was my father punished if Vitto was the one who committed the crime?
— Blood for blood, son. Either that or your father would have died in the Italian prison because what they did was life in prison.
— I do not understand, why did my father not take the case to the families and did justice with his own hands, taking his place?
— When the commission was convened, the families reached a consensus that punishing Vincenzo would prevent a war from being decreed against the Titolari. Then Marcello made a deal, the Venni family would leave control of the Commission in exchange for their father's freedom.
— It was Vitto who should have received this punishment, not my father.
— Yes, but Vincenzo chose to protect him despite everything; and it cost his freedom and his family's empire. Vitto did not like it when his grandfather announced that the Venni would leave the command of the Commission, said he was a Venni and would not bow to anyone. His uncle wanted war, so his grandfather sent him out of Vennidt for a few years.
—But if my father gave up everything he had, including the family legacy, to spare Vitto's life, why was he killed?
— The Commission was slow to decide whether to comply with the demands imposed on Vincenzo and ended up refusing. The holders of the other four currencies decided that the tradition would not be broken. With the resignation of his father and grandfather, his uncle was a natural holder of the currency, but the Commission decided that Vitto's attitudes did not correspond to the responsibilities of the position; although his uncle was an adult man and a member of the Commission, he was impulsive and irresponsible ... — Julius paused for a moment as if deciding whether to tell something important or not — After a few years without an avenger, the Commission decided that the coin must remain in your family when the next generation is born. Since the appearance of the Titolari di Segreti, the Venni has been in charge of the Commission, and the coin holders do not want to break the tradition:
— Sanguinem intus no fuori. — I said with disgust. — My uncle's mistakes cost my parents' life.
— Actually, your father never wanted to be part of the mafia, and when he heard that his mother was pregnant, he despaired. But no one in their right mind says no to the Commission, and his father was forced to prove his loyalty to the blood.
— I don't understand godfather ... How does this have to do with what is happening now?
— Rafael was a good boy, at least he was for most of his life. But he got involved with whoever shouldn't; drugs, women, and parties turned him into someone else. He was with Vitto when the governor's son was killed. His father decided to protect him, just as he did with his brother. However, the Commission always knew what really happened that day, and Rafael had to pay for what he had done.
— My father collected the debt. — completed the sentence.
— Yes, Ricco. I never saw Vincenzo as devastated as he was that day. But he had no choice, he was his friend or his family; so your father did what he had to do.
— Who was this Rafael, godfather? Why have I never heard of him?
— He was my son.
The shock that shook my body was not enough to express my astonishment. Did my father kill my godfather's son?
— Don't be surprised, Ricco. My son was dead anyway, and his father gave him a dignified death, even though he suffered for it all. If it weren't for Vincenzo, Raffaello would have died in prison or at the hands of the people with whom he was involved. Genna and I ran out of the ground, but we didn't blame your father; Rafael had the destiny that followed with his bad choices. And your father was devastated by all this.
— Why did Grandpa give it to you? My father killed his son. I asked, still perplexed by the new information.
— I helped Marcello raise the boys ... and as I said, his father was different, he was more human than all of us.
— How old was your son?
— Eighteen, the same age as Vincenzo. But unlike his father, Raffaello did not make good choices in his teens and sealed his death sentence by going out with the wrong people. Even with a gun to his head, my son did not regret his choices, instead, he sneered at Vincenzo. — he said while analysing the liquor.
Jullius took the rest of his drink and leaned back in his chair, so he could look me in the eye.
— Your father had honour and courage, he was a made man; and even if he did not have the leadership of the Commission, the first coin would be his heir. — Jullius continued — Not long after, the people involved in the agreement made by his grandfather started to die, his father was one of the first ...
— Aldo's parents were then killed. — I completed it because Aldo was also on his first mission at the ceremony in which I became a man. — The second coin is from Aldo ...
— Because of the deaths the commission decided not to perform the ceremony until the culprit was caught because many of us were mysteriously dying. His initiation with Aldo and Jimmy had been an exception.
— Why didn't you tell me this story before if you always had your suspicions?
— As you said, they are just suspicious. Only his parents knew who he was, but Vincenzo died without telling us anything and his mother never brought it up again. I put the loose ends together, but I couldn't accuse without evidence because it would put a target on our back. Your father made me promise to take care of you and your mother in case something happened to him; and we had everything ready to leave Vennidt, but the Commission stopped us because you belonged to them, and you would be separated from us if we tried to escape.
— What has changed for the elders to agree to our flight to Brazil?
— When Grazzo and Sorrentino, two elders, were attacked, the Commission agreed to their departure from Vennidt. They realized that the keepers and their secrets were at risk. Unfortunately, Sorrentino still carries the aftermath of that attack, but Grazzo was not so lucky and died before being rescued.
— But before we left Venni, the killer reached us, my mother managed to hide me, but it cost her life. — the memories of that day returned to my mind.
— Yes ... that night I was at the service of your grandfather, arranging the last details of the escape, and when I returned Marcello told me what had happened. At dawn that same day I took you and Genna and left the city without looking back; and you wouldn't have come back if the new Commission hadn't called you back.
I tried to assimilate everything, fitting the new pieces into the puzzle. The killer was someone my parents knew and keeping it a secret cost not just their lives, but that of many others. And if everything my godfather and Vincent said is true, that someone is not going to rest until I'm seven feet underground.
— Why didn't Grandpa give him everything when I came back? Vitto was always big and bad enough to defend himself and, whether he wanted to or not, it was his right to take on the family name since Dad had refused the legacy.
— Out of fear. But in any case, the Commission would not give the power of the coin to its uncle, the members and the holders did not trust his character, and his grandfather feared that he was a target because the heirs of the five coins and the members of the Commission were at risk. — Jullius took a deep breath trying to dissipate the turmoil of emotions from the memories. — Marcello made it appear that Vitto refused the coin, as that would make his uncle a coward and not a traitor, and thus kept him alive.
— For a while Grandpa's plan worked, there have been no attacks during the past few years. And no one but me and the high—ranking Commission members know who has the coins, so killing me is not in the killer's plans. Until he finds out who the coins belong to, I don't risk dying.
— You are being watched for this, he knows that you or the Commission would not reveal this secret. He was waiting for the right moment to act, and even if the attempt to reach all of us using Irina and her cousin has failed, he will not give up; you must probably be desperate, so sooner or later you will catch it. Now it's time to wait for the next step, it's revealing itself and you're going to get it, so we'll all be avenged.
***