𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀

XI

D

The next day.

"Is everyone here?" I asked as I looked around the large driveway filled with cars. Today, the members of our inner circle would discuss matters relating to both business and the Famiglia.

Only made men were allowed to sit in on these meetings, which meant many of the men who were soldiers and enforcers would have to wait outside until its conclusion.

Leo who stood beside me shook his head. "We're just missing Roberto, other than that we have mostly everybody."

"Any idea where he is?" I questioned and Ricardo, who stood adjacent to me, shrugged his shoulders.

"I called and he hasn't answered." Ricardo chimed in. "I sent Sergio to go and check on his place a few minutes ago. He'll get back to me when he finds out what happened with Roberto." He informed me.

"The meeting started an hour ago, he knows this." I sighed. My father refused to wait for Roberto, instead choosing to proceed with the meeting, saying, "I am not responsible for your brother's lack of punctuality. The meeting continues as scheduled."

My father remained inside with his caporegimes and the other higher ups, along with Matthias who had returned from his mission in New York and our family accountant and business manager, Trentino Cosswald.

Matthias had yet to report his findings as the meeting began with the discussion of finances which was Mr Cosswald's expertise. I'd left the meeting, much to my father's disapproval, shortly after Mr Cosswald reported the status of our accounts.

"All we can do now is wait. We should go back into the meeting so we don't miss out on Matthias' findings. I'm sure his mission in New York was interesting." Leo spoke up and I let out a low hum in agreement. "Besides you need to tell the Don about your plan in relation to Vincenzo—I hear things are going well for him and that could be a threat to the Famiglia."

"I'll wait out here for Sergio to return. No point in me coming with you guys in case he calls." Ricardo said as both Leo and I were about to retreat to the inside of the Manor.

"Keep us updated and I'll tell you if you missed anything of importance." I replied before stepping back inside with Leo following behind.

By the time Leo and I returned to the meeting, Mr Cosswald was still talking. The room had fallen silent for a moment upon our arrival before Mr Cosswald continued his report.

I could feel the heat of my father's disapproving stare as I took my seat adjacent to him. "I see your brother hasn't arrived." He lowly pointed out.

"Sergio's been sent to check on him. He'll be here soon." I replied, the latter being a lie. Whatever Roberto was up to was a mystery to me.

My father only scoffed before turning his attention back onto Mr Cosswald.

"Considering the past events which include Damien's arrest and the scrutiny of the Famiglia, I think it would be in our best interest to settle things." Mr Cosswald said.

"Settle what things in particular?" One of my father's caporegimes asked.

"Well, the multitude of business fronts that we have are successful, including our latest addition; Loretta's restaurant and Aldo Ricci's flower shop, but we need more. However attaining more comes at the price of more attention from the police and the media." Mr Cosswald explained. "To alleviate this, we should double the bribe we pay to them every Thursday." There was a murmur of disagreement following Mr Cosswald's offer.

"The boldness of the police force these past few days has caused issues for our business fronts and we've all bared witness to it. The loyal customers stopped coming to Loretta's following Paolo's murder—the AAC too, once a hub for men of your occupation, was left crippled due to police activity."