Page 73 of Love & Power

“What the actual fuck is that about?” I blurted. “Why would she do that?”

“My mother believes my father was too weak, and that’s why he was going to run away with Ced’s mother and leave this life behind. When she learned of my plan to take over the family, she decided this was the perfect way to prove that I was nothing like my father. If I take the easy way out of this, in her mind it will prove I’m just like my father,” Dom explained.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried not to lose my temper hearing this bullshit excuse. “Look, Dom, I don’t know the relationship you have with your mother, but I’ll tell you right now, if she can control you that easily, you don’t deserve to lead the De Santis Family.”

The room crackled with tension at my words, but I didn’t care. If we were allies, then I wouldn’t lie to him or pet his ego when it was clear he was behaving like an idiot. Dom just sat there holding my gaze, neither of us backing down. We didn’t know each other well, but I got the sense that if Dom ever became my enemy, he would be a worthy nemesis.

“You make a valid point, even if I don’t agree with you entirely. When my father betrayed her by deciding to turn his back on the Family, it broke her. It had nothing to do with him having a mistress… pretty much everyone in the five families has one. No, what drove my mother to the edge of sanity was the gauntlet she survived to be named his wife. My father was to be the next leader of the De Santis Family and not just anyone could be accepted to fill the role of wife,” Dom shared. “The hazing from the other wives and those who resented her for getting chosen went on until I was born. She had now performed the most important part of her role, giving the Family an heir. Once it was announced she was pregnant, a magical switch was flipped, and everyone loved her. Then my father had the audacity to decide he’d rather walk away from it all.”

There are not many women in the world who wouldn’t be jaded and scarred from that kind of ordeal. However, I still didn’t see how this meant she could control how her son took over the family.

“If you don’t put your mother in her place now, what’s to stop her from doing something like this after you’re in charge?” I questioned. “Let’s say you do things her way, but down the road, you make a choice she doesn’t agree with? Do you plan to cave to her wishes again? I’m not saying this to be a bitch, but trust me, I get what it’s like to have a deep need for your parents’ approval, but a problem like this doesn’t get better with time.”

Dom nodded, but I didn’t count that as him agreeing to do what I said, more that he understood what I was saying.

“I want to see this plan of yours worked out on paper down to the last detail before I make my decision,” he decided. “Although, I should ask if I choose not to do it this way, does that mean I’ve lost your assistance?”

As much as I wanted to tell him no, that I would help him either way, I wasn’t sure it was the truth. “Let’s cross that bridge once you give me the chance to prove this is the better plan.”

“Fair enough,” Dom conceded. “Then it’s going to be a case of laying all our cards on the table.”

“Seems like it,” I agreed. “You should be prepared, though. I’m full of surprises.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Dom remarked with a grin. “Ivy wouldn’t choose to be friends with a person who was predictable.”

twenty-eight

After breakfast, Gramps led our group into a large conference room, where we started to strategize. In order for me to plan this out, I needed some information only Dom and Cedro would know, such as the location of their main estate, venues that wouldn’t raise any questions for hosting an event, and how big the head of the snake would be that I needed to chop off. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get everyone to show up at the party, but as long as the players who would cripple the Families attended, that was my goal.

When it came to the Accardi Family, Gian Accardi was the head of the family, and his five sons made up the key leaders I needed to take out. The pompous bastard had named all five boys from various wives and mistresses after the Greek gods. I had to acknowledge his dedication to keep the Family secure with so many heirs. What I didn’t approve of was how it took three wives to do it.

When the first wife, Nella, didn’t give him any children, he took a mistress, Serena, who gave him three sons. Serena’s reward for having so many boys was to become the second wife. Feeling that three sons weren’t enough, Gian had two more with his mistress, now wife number three, Alessa. These sons happened to be closer to my age, impressive for a man who was now in his eighties.

“The sons you need to worry about are Zeus, Hermes, and Aries,” Cedro shared. “Apollo and Poseidon are just backup heirs who haven’t gotten much attention. They’ve been trained and educated but think of them like the guys who sit on the bench all season while the main players take care of business. They have to train just as hard and know everything there is to know but don’t get any real practice.”

“Right, but if their siblings are killed, then it would bring them into the game,” Jace pointed out.

Dom and Cedro exchanged a look that told me they doubted that would happen.

“Gian has had an iron grip on the Family for years. Only his first three sons have the specific knowledge of how the Family is run. When those three are out of the picture, it’s going to be a war zone,” Dom explained. “The crusty old man has kept those two sons in hiding much like your father did you, Astin. No one knows what they look like, which means anyone could walk to the front of the line spouting some bullshit about being one of the two heirs. So unless they had a plan in place for bringing them forward, I don’t see this being an issue.”

Understanding where Dom was coming from, I turned to Von. “Since you’re going to be in charge of cleanup around here, I’m going to make this your problem. The Accardi Family can never rise from the ashes. You feel me?”

Von rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Oh, I feel you, all right. If their own internal war doesn’t finish them off, and I need to set off a nuke to ensure they stay dead, that will just be the icing on the cake.”

Bear signed something that had Von laughing. “Yes, I did hear there was a game called hide-and-kill, some crazy bitch named Two Tricks came up with it. This would totally be the perfect time to try playing it.”

“Hide-and-kill?” Hound asked, perking up at the name.

Von nodded like she was trying to impersonate a bobblehead. “Yeah, you know like hide-and-seek, but the ones you find don’t become it, they become dead. I never really understood the original way of playing the game… it didn’t seem like it was all that exciting. However, if you get to hunt down those who are hiding and take ’em out, that seems way more my kind of game.”

“Huh…” Hound grunted. “You’ll have to let me know how it goes.”

Dom cleared his throat, pulling our attention back to him. “Sorry to interrupt, but I only have so much time I can be gone without being noticed. I would like to cover as much as we can now in person so there is no risk of information being leaked, especially with an idea that I’m not one hundred percent sold on.”

“Mama’s bitch,” Luca coughed into his hand.

Rolling my eyes, I decided to rein in my boys and get us back on topic. “While Gian preferred to keep his control tight, I know the Leoni Family didn’t follow suit. Seeing how Bosco is valued with all his traps and tricks, he managed to turn his Family into more of a spy network for Gian. Tell me something… do you think the Leoni Family could exist without the Accardi? That question is open to whoever might have an answer.”