Page 32 of Love & Power

“Sure, I was wondering what I was going to do while I waited,” I shared.

“The rest of you should come too,” Frediano added, leading us out of the dining room.

I followed along as he led us into the right half of the house, past the kitchen, and down a flight of stone stairs into a wine cellar. Jace let out an impressed whistle at seeing the rows of wine racks filled with various bottles. Some looked like they might have been here since the monks left while others seemed brand new.

“You might say wine has always been a hobby of mine. When I find a brand or type I enjoy, then I make sure to stock up,” Frediano mentioned, pausing to smile at his collection. “That’s not what I wanted to show you, though.”

Pulling out an old iron key, he unlocked a wooden door, pushed it open, and flipped on lights showing another flight of stairs. I glanced at Ryker beside me, wondering if he was feeling as suspicious as I was about following the old man down the creepy steps.

“There’s eight of us to his one. I think we’ll be able to handle whatever happens,” Ryker reassured me. “Would it make you feel better to hold my hand, Tin-Tin?”

Scowling, I batted away the offered hand, causing him to smirk, but he accomplished his goal in getting me to relax. “Asshole,” I muttered, placing a hand on the railing and descended the ancient crumbling steps.

Reaching the bottom, I realized Frediano had led us into the catacombs he’d mentioned before. We were in a central connecting point with three tunnels leading in various directions.

“The center tunnel will take you out to the rented plots of farmland, and to the left is access to the main road with a shed that holds a getaway car should it be needed,” Frediano said as he entered the right-hand tunnel, leading us down it a short way. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

I didn’t spot it right away with the tunnel being so dim, but there stood a vault door painted to match the tunnel’s stone, camouflaging it well. Frediano pulled open a small metal flap revealing a keypad which he typed in what I guessed to be a fifteen-digit code. The keypad turned green, and he leaned forward allowing for the retinal scan to read his eye. Only then did the thunking sound of the door opening begin. Twisting the wheel, Frediano disengaged the final four rods locking the door in place and pulled it open.

“Welcome to the Raffa historical vault,” he announced, stepping aside to let me see in. “Within this room is all the information we have since the Raffa Family began in the criminal industry five generations ago. I’ve also taken the liberty to collect all I could about the past three generations of the Caprioni name as well, figuring you would like to have it.”

Stunned, I entered the vault that would make any museum proud. The massive space seemed to go on and on, stuffed full of documents, paintings, artifacts, maps, and so much more. I walked over to a wall of drawers numbered and labeled with names and dates. Pulling one of them open, I found journals, various sheets of paper, and personal information such as birth certificates.

“Holy shit, this is incredible,” I said in awe, pulling out a journal and flipping through the pages to see it was a log of business transactions. “How in the world did this come to be?”

“One of your great uncles married a historian who had taken it upon herself to learn all she could about the Raffa Family. He was supposed to kill her to prevent our secrets from being discovered, but they fell in love. So instead of her working behind our backs, we put her to work for us. Learning from our mistakes is what propelled us into becoming the third of the five families,” Frediano answered. “Since this was created, it’s become a rite of passage for the heir of the Raffa Family to study the information here and ensure their predecessors’ history is added to the vault.”

I replaced the journal and closed the door to face my grandfather. “So when you die, it’s my job to add whatever I can about you into the vault?”

“Yes, but I have what’s important and must be protected written in my will so you won’t have to worry about missing something,” he assured me.

“Wait,” I cut in, my brain stuck on what he’d just said. “You have a written will that lists what important information you need me to collect? Please tell me you did it in code or something.”

Frediano gave me a look like I was being intentionally dense. “Astin, surely you don’t think I’m that much of a fool. There are two wills, one is drafted by lawyers to ensure all legal steps are taken to keep the government from looking into it. The second is something I’ve personally put together that deals with the less-than-legal side of the Raffa business. Within that will is where you’ll find what to include in the vault, along with many other important things in case you didn’t take over before I died.”

“This should reassure you, Asta. It’s another level of proof that he hasn’t been lying about his intentions to have you inherit the Raffa Estate,” Atticus pointed out.

He made a good point, and there was going to come a time when I was simply going to have to accept my grandfather wasn’t the villain I’d always thought he was.

“Here, let me show you something,” Frediano suggested, changing the subject and leading me over to the back wall.

Turning the crank on one of the moving file cabinets allowed me to see the one behind it. Instantly, I knew what he wanted to show me as a large frame hung from a rack with a picture of my parents and Casimira on their wedding day. There was another of my mom holding me after I was born, beaming at the camera. My gaze came to rest on a photograph of me as a toddler in a garden with my mom planting aster flowers. I looked so proud brandishing my shovel, and the adoring look on my mother’s face was almost too much.

“This whole cabinet contains everything I have of your mother. Notes she sent me, pictures of her life, things her mother and I kept from her as a baby… it’s all here. I even have some of her sketchbooks from college,” Frediano detailed. “Your father even sent me things to keep safe for you since he couldn’t bear to have reminders of Natalina in the house.”

I quickly wiped away the tear that dared to slip out before turning away from the images. “Thank you for showing this to me, but I’m not sure I’m ready to dive into this just yet.”

“Of course, I only wanted you to know it was here for you whenever you choose,” Frediano said, moving the cabinet back into place, hiding the happy moments from view.

“Lady Astin,” Boykov called from outside the vault. “I’ve been alerted that all the staff is here and ready for you.”

Taking a deep breath, I shook out my hands, pulling my emotions back from overwhelming me. “Thanks, Ralph. I’ll be right there.”

fourteen

The staff dining area was in an offshoot of the kitchen with two long tables with enough seating for about twenty people. None of the staff were sitting. Instead, they stood in a single line along the wall. Men had their hats off holding them in their hands while the women fussed with their clothes, trying to brush off any dirt or stains from work. When I entered the room, everyone stood at attention.

“Hello, everyone. Thank you for gathering so quickly. I know you all have lots of work to attend to,” I greeted in Nepreeian. “I’m sure you already know who I am, but I’m still going to introduce myself properly. My name is Astin Caprioni, Don of the Caprioni Family, granddaughter of Frediano Raffa, and newly appointed Don of the Raffa Family.”