She laughed. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Cosimo. We all know you were raised with certain expectations, but Gino was taken from us far too soon. We believed you would have another ten or fifteen years to prepare. You are not ready. Treason would be placing someone in that seat before he is equipped to lead.” She flattened her palms on the table and gave me the condescending smile she had used on me since childhood. “I don’t intend to hold the position forever. Just long enough for you to grow into the role.”
“And what makes you more qualified than me?”
“I ran this family alongside Gino for thirty years. I have also served as CEO of Ferraro Holdings for the last sixty days.”
“Yes. And as far as I can tell, the only thing you’ve accomplished in those sixty days is carving Ferraro Holdings into pieces and distributing them among the men sitting at this table.”
Some of the capos bristled, appearing surprised. They hadn’t expected me to know.
Neither had Vita. A faint tension appeared in her posture.
I arched a brow. “Did you honestly believe I wouldn’t find out?”
“What I’ve done,” she said after a beat, “is create stakeholders. I gave the men who built this family the incentives they deserve.”
“What you’ve done is jeopardize the reputation of a legitimate private company by putting men with criminal records on its board. We all know that arrangement can’t last. A company with Ferraro Holdings’ profile won’t survive that kind of scrutiny.” I turned to address the table. “Which means she would have found a way to take those shares back eventually.”
The mood in the room curdled.
“If my father could see this, he’d be turning in his grave at how cheaply some of you allowed yourselves to be bought.”
George cleared his throat. “Cosimo, Gino always trusted Vita. We’re all trying to do what’s best for the family.”
“Are we?” I shifted my attention to Mother. “Is she? How well do any of you truly know this woman and what drives her?”
Her jaw tightened. “And what about your motivations, Cosimo?” She angled herself toward George. “Consider what he has been doing while his father’s killers have not yet been held accountable. He abandoned his post and went on a honeymoon with his wife.”
“It wasn’t a honeymoon,” I said. “It was a working trip. My wife will have to forgive me for the distinction. The trip turned out to be highly informative. I even met someone who I invited to be present for this conversation.”
Alarm flashed in Vita’s expression, but she quickly hid it away. “What are you talking about? This is a family matter.”
“Exactly.” Sardonic amusement tugged on my lips. “Rom?”
My brother rose and went to open the door.
“This is Dominic Santoro,” I said, as Dominic stepped in.
Gasps sounded around the table. Three of the capos pushed back from their seats, their hands moving toward hips instinctually before they realized that weapons had been left outside per protocol. Vita went very still, and for the first time since we’d sat down, fear cracked her composure.
“Relax,” Rom snapped at the capos as he pulled out the chair beside him for Dominic.
“What the hell is going on, Cosimo?” George asked, his voice low. “Is this the man responsible for what happened to Gino?”
“No,” I said. “His mother is. But by the time you hear him out, I think you might have a different perspective on the entire situation.”
George’s frown deepened.
“Let’s start at the beginning.” I looked at Vita. “Mother, anything to say before I begin? After all, one could argue that the reason my father lies in the ground is because of the blood feud you started thirty years ago.”
The color left her face. I watched with satisfaction as the realization that I knew everything washed over her.
I smiled. “Like you said, this is a family affair. Since Dominic is our half brother, it’s only right he’s present.”
“Your half brother?” one of the capos called out, stunned.
I told them the full story.
“It is a shameful moment in our history,” I said once I was done. “A man refusing to protect the mother of his child. Rena Santoro had to watch her family be slaughtered around her, while my father—at Vita’s behest—refused to intervene.”
