“It's almost like someone is trying to ruin them from the inside out. Starting with Mrs. Ferraza’s murder, or maybe even before that with Umberto Vitale’s murder, there seems to be an effort to ruin La Corona from the inside.”
His eyes narrow. “Go on.”
“I have reason to believe someone is working to destabilize La Corona's unity, possibly orchestrated by someone looking to weaken their collective strength."
I hold my breath as Blackwood considers this. It's not entirely false, just not my real motivation.
"And how does this help us nail Vitale specifically?" he presses.
"I think it’s possible that Aldo Vitale started it all in hopes of coalescing all the power under him. And as his heir, Dominic could be continuing that quest.” My stomach roils at the betrayal I feel for tossing Dominic under the bus like that, which is crazy.
I shouldn’t have any loyalty toward Dom.
Then again, what I’m saying is a complete fabrication to cover my ass.
“How does Rocco fit in?”
“I was thinking someone else in La Corona has seen the same pattern and perhaps took Rocco as a warning.”
His head see-saws as he takes in my theory. “So who called you to find the boy, Agent Ricci?”
“What better way to make it look like someone else took Rocco than to call the FBI? Plus it’s well known I’ve been looking at the Vitale family. It’s a way to give me an excuse to bring him down. La Corona gets their revenge using the FBI.”
He laughs. “I’ve never known the mafia to be so clever. Normally, they just kill anyone in their way.”
But they don’t, I realize. Not that they don’t kill, but rarely are they rash. These families haven’t maintained three generations of power by being impulsive or stupid.
I’m reminded of Dom’s comment about family, and how no one understands how important it is to them.
It’s why I’m able to concoct this lie without Blackwood questioning it. The truth is, while a rival family might have kidnapped Rocco, no one in La Corona would have.
By the time of the kidnapping, Rocco was known to be Luca’s son, a Monti.
“Maybe the last generation. You have to remember, except for Don Ferraza, the rest of La Corona is a new generation. They operate differently. They’re less flashy. More strategic.”
Blackwood studies me for a long moment. I maintain eye contact, though my palms are sweating.
"Interesting approach," Blackwood says, leaning back in his chair. His fingers steeple beneath his chin as he watches me."I've always appreciated your ability to think outside the box, Ricci. It's what makes you one of our best. It’s why I put you on this case."
I nod, relief washing over me. "Thank you, sir."
"But I need concrete results, not theories. Focus on actionable evidence against Vitale. His attempts to take over La Corona aren’t what we need to put him away. We need evidence. Tax fraud. Money laundering. Murder. That’s what we need."
"Understood, sir." But I’m unsettled at how uninterested he is in a kidnapping and murder within La Corona.
Granted the murder was years ago and considered closed.
But what the file says and what Dom says are different. Dom believes an informant killed her. Ernie Abruzzo.
Could he be the redacted name in the report I’ve been trying to get?
"How's our other approach working?" His eyebrow arches slightly. "The more... personal angle we discussed?"
My stomach tightens. The honey trap. The suggestion he made that I'd dismissed as inappropriate but now, ironically, have fallen into on my own. But how does he know? Is he having me followed?
"Vitale is arrogant," I say, keeping my voice cool and professional. "He underestimates my intelligence. Thinks he can charm his way into information without giving anything away himself."
Not entirely untrue. Dom does try to charm me, and he does deflect my questions. But there's more complexity to him than Blackwood could ever understand,
