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CHAPTER SEVEN

RHEYES

My father was sorting a small case when I joined him in the family business meeting room.

The case was between two of our lieutenants…Salvatore and Enzo, and it was because there were a lot of differences in their accounts and records which have been affecting the family business.

My father was already seated along with other senior members of the family, while Salvatore and Enzo stood across from each other like two dogs waiting for a signal to bite. One would expect a normal form of enquiry, but my father's methods were not like others. If he had two men who needed to be checked for who was being dishonest, he would simply let them go at each other. Then as their emotions rose in the course of their arguments, they would easily spill pieces of the actual truth without meaning to.

It had never failed to yield results, and it was a method I hoped to perfect and use one day as Don. At the signal for them to speak from my father, Salvatore and Enzo immediately went for each other's throats.

“You're nothing but a filthy liar, Enzo!” Salvatore screamed, his voice shaking with anger. “It is obvious that you have been stealing from your own family. The shipping numbers from the docks have not been adding up for over three months, and it's very clear that you know why.”

Enzo's face went red at the accusation. "Watch your mouth, Salvatore. I've been running that route for six years... Six years, you hear me!? How dare you accuse me of stealing just because we've suffered a few losses?"

"Oh shut up, Enzo,” Salvatore snarled at him. “Even a dumb fool like you should know that when losses remain constant, it becomes a pattern, and patterns like that  in our kind of business are caused by sneaky rats."

I sat silently beside my father, watching the drama unfold and watching his reaction also. He had not said a single word since I got in. He was still waiting to find out who was really guilty before making the final decision. 

After an hour of watching the two men tear each other apart, my father finally signalled them to be quiet, and absolute calm returned to the room. 

He folded his hands together and looked at Salvatore first with a stern expression.

"How much money did we lose?"

"Forty million, Don. Maybe more, if he keeps skimming into next month," Salvatore replied confidently.

My father's eyes moved to Enzo. "And you? What do you have to say?"

Enzo was trembling a little unlike Salvatore when he spoke, and I couldn't help but lean in to hear him and watch his body language.

“Salvatore is lying against me, Don Donati,” he snapped. “He’s doing all this because he wants my route… He has been eyeing it for years. This is a setup!"

My father nodded slowly as if he was actually thinking about it, but I knew him better than that. I knew when his mind had been made up and when his questions was just to confirm what her had already decided. He wasnt considering who was telling the truth or not anymore, but simply calculating how much money was involved and who would make sure he started seeing that money

"Salvatore," he said calmly. "How many buyers do you control on the east docks?"

"Twelve, Don Donati," came the bold reply.

"And Enzo?"

"Four," Enzo admitted, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead.

My father leaned back in his chair, and the candlelight he always insisted on using for this kind of meetings made his face look older and colder.

"Twelve buyers," he said to himself. "And forty million dollars is nothing compared to twelve buyers."

I watched Enzo's face slowly change, because he understood what was coming before my father even finished the sentence. His mouth opened wide, and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out.

"Don Donati, please," he begged, dropping to his knees. "I have served this family loyally since I was sixteen. I have a wife. I have children…"

My father had brought out a stick of cigar and was lighting it now, passing the box to the other family heads who had also been watching in silence. 

"You should have thought about your wife and children before you decided to touch money that wasn't yours, Enzo.”

The words were blunt, cold, and without any sign of mercy. He waved two fingers toward the door, and two guards immediately came forward and took Enzo by the arms.

"We'll discuss this further," he said, though everyone of us in the room knew that there would be no further discussion. Enzo knew it too, and I could see the look of horror in his eyes as the guards pulled him toward the door.

"Don Donati, please, I swear on my mother's grave, I didn't…"

The door shut behind him and his screaming, and the room was quiet again.

Salvatore let out a breath and bowed himself before my father, already moving on and no doubt thinking about how he now controlled sixteen buyers instead of twelve.

I sat there, staring at the door Enzo had just walked through, and I couldn't help but smile a little. This was the life of a mafia family. It was never about right or wrong in this…it was never about the truth. It was all about what kept the money moving, and a man's life was only worth as much as his usefulness in making money move.

One day, I would be the one sitting in that chair. I would be the one deciding who went home to eat dinner with his family, and who went to await a further discussion that would surely never happen.

I had to develop a thick skin to be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility, and anyone I loved, anyone who mattered to me, would be nothing but a weak spot for enemies to attack me.

My mind went back to the look on Calista's face when she told me to go to Lui, and the way my hands had trembled against her ankle. She was already a liability to me, and I had to make sure my father didn't notice it.

I didn't get far after the meeting before I heard my name.

"Rheyes."

Lui's soft voice came from the staircase where she was standing, looking as if she was going to faint again if I didn't come closer.

“You should be resting since you don't feel so well,” I told her, hoping my lack of interest wasn't obvious in my tone.

"I couldn't rest," she said softly, moving even closer toward me. Her eyes were glassy, and her lips were trembling just enough to make her look fragile. "Not after what happened, Rheyes. Everyone saw you on your knees for her."

"Lui…" 

"I'm not angry, Rheyes" she said quickly, cutting me off, though her tone made it quite obvious that she was lying to me. "I just... I need you to understand what this looks like. To the family, and especially to the guests coming to our engagement party."

I said nothing, simply standing there and listening to her even though my patience was now as thin as paper.

"People are already whispering, Rheyes," she went on, gently wrapping her hand around my arm. "I need you to be seen with me more often. You should be dancing with me and looking at me the way a groom is supposed to look at his bride… Even if you don't mean it, but just for appearances at the gala."

The eyes that had been glassy only a few seconds ago suddenly brightened, but there was a coldness behind all that fragile softness.

"Fine," I said, pulling my arm free from her. "I'll be there."

"Promise me."

"I said fine, Lui."

She smiled, not completely satisfied with the response, but she let me walk away.

Just as I was about to turn towards the direction of my room, a strong hand suddenly grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I found myself staring into my father's hard face, wondering how he'd managed to follow me without making a single sound.

He leaned very close, and his voice was so low that not even a guard standing a few feet away would have been able to hear him.

“The Lanchi girl seems to have a smart head on her shoulders, son, and I suggest you take her little advice. I'm sure you know how much this marriage means to our family, don't you?”

I nodded, unable to do anything else in that moment.

“Good boy. Now fix the other girl problem before the wedding,” he murmured, tightening his grip on me.

"Or I will fix it for you…permanently.”