“You’re saying Aldo didn’t really think I did it either?” Then why the fuck did I lose Elena? Lose seven years of my life?
My father leans forward. “Son, Aldo wanted you dead. You and Umberto. Me as well, but we outmaneuvered him.”
“How is that? I was sent away. Umberto was killed in prison. How did we outmaneuver him?”
“You’re alive, aren’t you? And if Umberto hadn’t died in prison, Aldo might still be alive as well, but…” He gives a small shrug and sips his coffee.
I feel like I’ve entered a netherworld. I wonder if maybe my father isn’t on his game today, after all. “Are you saying you killed Aldo?”
“I believe the official cause of death was a heart attack.” He gives me a smile. “So you see, Son, all is well. It’s best if you don’t bring up something that has no bearing to La Corona, to this family today.”
“It bears on the respect I get.”
He waves my statement away. “You were young. And of course, there is no proof.”
I’m so pissed I want to throttle someone. “So you’re saying Aldo set us up and when I wasn’t there, I became his scapegoat?”
“Well, there’s no proof of that either, but I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the truth. Aldo knew Umberto was challenging him. Gathering support. Knew at least the Monti family was behind him. Aldo couldn't risk a direct move against him, so he let the Feds do his dirty work."
“But you don’t know that for certain?”
My father wipes his mouth with his napkin. “Do I have evidence? No. Do I feel it in my bones that I’m right? Yes.”
“What if you’re all wrong?” I lean forward. “I’m the one paying the price, Dad.”
“Umberto paid the price, Son. You’re just whining.”
Mother fucker.
All these years, my father has allowed me to take the rap for Umberto’s demise.
And because of it, Elena believed I betrayed her father, betrayed her.
"Does Dominic know?"
My father blows out a breath. “I haven’t said anything to him, but he’s not stupid. He knew his father. I’d be surprised if he didn’t suspect it. It’s why you’re back and not at risk of his revenge.”
“Not his, maybe, but some of Aldo’s men still work for him. And Dad, I’ve seen how they look at me.”
“If you’re a coward and too afraid to lead, let me know.”
“And what?” I snap, feeling hurt and betrayed by my father. “You’ll hand it over to Marco? What is it about La Corona that you’d rather have other people’s sons as your own? You handed me to Umberto while taking in Marco.” I rise but lean over the table. “I’m not a coward. But I can’t run this business without the respect of the other families, with a target on my back. I won’t be a pawn in your game anymore. I won’t take the fall for whatever the fuck you and Umberto were doing.”
I turn to leave.
“You seem not to realize you're a playmaker now, Son. Not the pawn.”
He’s right. And it’s time to make my moves to win back the life my father, Umberto, and Aldo have stolen from me.
"I need to go."
"Luca." My father's voice stops me at the door. "Be careful how you use this information. The dead should sometimes stay buried."
Outside, the bitter cold air bites at my face, but I’m too focused on what my father has revealed to me.
That bastard Aldo Vitale.
He didn't just frame me, he destroyed his brother, orphaned his niece, and tore apart what Elena and I had.
