“No,” he gasps out. “Just—please don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt my Beth. You’ll promise me, won’t you?” He’s reaching out blindly with his other hand. “Promise.”
“Alessandro,” I whisper, and at last he moves, sitting heavily in the seat and taking Wilson’s other hand. “I won’t hurt her,” he says thickly. “I promise you. She will have my protection. And I’ll tell her how faithfully you looked after this Family, even when we didn’t deserve it.”
Wilson is dead seconds later, a last, rattling breath before…nothing. And Alessandro and I are still there, holding his hands.
“He poisoned himself?” I choke out, reaching for the tea.
“Don’t,” Alessandro says sharply, pulling the cup away from me. “I’m sorry you had to see this, Teddy.” He stands, folding Wilson’s hand into his lap and beckons for me. “Come on. Let’s give him his peace.”
He takes my hand again as we exit the room, but I can’t resist glancing back over my shoulder before the door closes. “What did Wilson mean, that he was sorry about the note?”
“Come, and I’ll show you.”
He leads me to the study, and I stare at the stain on the desk and wonder—is there no end to death in this place? It’s almostcursed.
“I thought it was strange at the time,” Alessandro says, pulling it out of one of the desk drawers. “See for yourself.” He pulls it out of one of the desk drawers, and I read it.
KEEP AWAY FROM TEDDY MACCALLUM.
—With compliments
“It’s a PacSyn company,” he says, pointing to the logo. “I think this arrived the same morning my father died. You see the holes there in the top? A bank check was also on his desk, a bribe from the Pacific Syndicate; I think it was attached to this paper— ‘With compliments.’ Perhaps my father tucked it away in the drawer, here, or Wilson found it later. Added his own message, to throw suspicion away from himself.”
“He asked me once,” I whisper. “He asked me…if I needed his help. He was willing to sacrifice himself to help me.” I clutch at Alessandro. “You’ll keep your promise to him, won’t you? You won’t hurt Beth?”
He reaches out to touch my cheek with a faint smile. “I’m a man of my word,topolino. Beth—Lina Lamond—or whatever she chooses to call herself—will remain unharmed. I’ll make sure she keeps her house, and the stipend my father originally planned. In honor of her grandfather’s service, though she need not know that.”
That makes me feel a tiny bit better. But still…”What are we going to tell her? About her grandfather’s death?”
“A heart attack,topolino.” Alessandro pulls me close. “We’ll tell her it was a heart attack.”
CHAPTER55
SANDRO
Several dayslater I call the senior administration into Redwood Manor again, and tell them that I have dealt with my father’s killer.
They stare at me blankly, the four of them—Lombardo, DiPietro, Montanari and Rizzo—until Lombardo says, “Who was it? You can’t tell us that, and not let us know the name. Who did this terrible thing?”
“That’s between him and God. He’s dead. You have my word on that.” I see the comprehension in Lombardo’s eyes. Wilson’s death has already been announced, a private funeral held—though his granddaughter was there, along with Teddy and me.
I asked Lombardo to arrange and pay for the funeral costs on behalf of the Family.
“Enough,” I say firmly, as the others begin to mutter. I stand, and they fall silent. “I’ve had enough of this. I should have demanded your oaths from you the day my father died. This family is weak. Sickly. I intend to lead you with discipline, and that starts now. My word should be good enough for you, and if it’s not, there’s the door. Any man here who won’t take his oaths to me today should leave. Now.”
They don’t even dare to glance around each other.
Lombardo is the first to say it. “Of course we’ll swear to you, Don Castellani. As you say, the matter is at an end—and there’s no question that you are your father’s heir.” He rises from his chair, only to bend over my hand, kiss the ring, and say the traditional oaths.
Once Lombardo has set the example, the rest follow quickly. It’s as easy as that.
And yet I do feel changed afterward. I had the ring, I had the name, but it’s not until now that I truly feel that I am Don Castellani.
Once we’re all seated again, I tell them, “There will be two more additions to the senior administration.” I push the button under my desk, and the door opens. Jack comes in, Julian with him.
Predictably, the men immediately begin to complain. But this time, to quiet them, all I have to do is put my hand gently on the desk, expanding my fingers, reminding them who wears the ring.
“It cannot be a surprise to anyone here that I want Jacopo as part of the inner circle—again. He was your peer once before. Now he is again. He’s done valuable work for this Family, and I’m honored that he has accepted my invitation to the senior administration. You will give him the same respect.”
