August
The drive was without incident, although I had no doubt that Drummand had summoned various police officers and that they were preparing for a raid. The ammunition I had should be enough to cease the brazen activity. I laughed at the concept. If what I suspected was about to happen did occur, there would be ripples from here to Chicago, a shift in the operation of both the Feds and the two local police departments.
There were numerous cars located in my father’s driveway, several of which I didn’t recognize. I didn’t bother to wait for the housekeeper, letting myself inside and immediately heading to my father’s office. The door was closed, and I could hear loud voices, angry tones. Within seconds, I was able to recognize the second voice.
Carmine Francesco.
My father had called him. To have a meeting here and now meant a culmination of betrayals on several levels. I threw open the door, the box under my arm.
“You have to stop this madness, Gio,” Carmine exclaimed. “You have no proof.”
“No proof? I protected Margaret for years, her honor and her love for you,” Giordano half whispered. He shot me an angry look, his chest heaving.
Carmine sagged against the desk, extreme sadness crossing his face. “You don’t know what it was like. She was everything to me but refused to stay with me. I would have given her the world.”
“She didn’t want to be your mistress, Carmine. Just like she wanted nothing to do with the life I led. She was a truly sweet and amazing young girl, manipulated by her family. They wanted to get her far away from anything having to do with organized crime or bad influences.”
“Then what about Sasha?” I issued the words with no inflection, only a knowledge that the secret had nearly destroyed her life and had her mother’s.
Both men looked in my direction, a questioning look only on Carmine’s face.
“Sasha?” Carmine finally asked.
“Your daughter.”
The silence was telling and as the information settled into Carmine’s mind, his entire face went slack.
“You didn’t know?” I asked, moving closer.
“No. I had no idea I had a daughter. Margaret was…” Carmine exhaled then walked toward the window, planting his palm on the glass. “She was the true love of my life.”
I noticed the way my father’s eyes flickered. The reason he hadn’t trusted Carmine was that he actually believed the man knew about his daughter, but he refused to care about or acknowledge her. I had to admire Giordano on several levels. There was a code of honor, even for the damned.
“We both loved her,” Giordano said quietly. Sighing, he took the box out of my hand, taking his time as he glanced through the papers. “Margaret was terrified that something would happen to her. My guess is that Drummand forbid Margaret from saying anything.” He looked through the information and I could see how much the news affected him.
“You knew all along?” I asked my father, still attempting to accept the news.
He nodded. “I knew she had a daughter, but I never knew anything about her or who Margaret ended up marrying. We met before she was even engaged, but we were just friends then. I fell in love with her over time, her gentle demeanor chipping away at the hardened man I’d already become. By then, I knew your mother and I loved her as well. Anyway, Margaret’s parents arranged a marriage, something she never wanted in the first place, but they were from cultures similar to mine. Arranged marriages still occurred even twenty-five years ago. By then she was pushing me out of her life. I wished I would have kept in touch with her. I just…”
“Then how did this happen if she was already taken?”
“Margaret just happened to be in Chicago, purchasing her wedding dress. I shouldn’t have touched her, but she was so young and beautiful that I had to have her. I was obsessed with her, refusing to allow her to say no. She fell for my charm, not having any idea who I was. For one glorious weekend I was allowed to be a man and not a mob leader.” Carmine clenched his fist. “Does Sasha know?”
Exhaling, I finally shook my head. “She knows nothing yet since she was in an accident.”
“What? I have to go to her!” Carmine came closer. “Is she all right?”
“She had some internal bleeding, but she will be fine in time.” My answer was succinct, even though I didn’t know the full prognosis.
“Did you find out who rolled Bruno’s car?” Giordano lifted a single eyebrow.
“Jo-Jo, but I have no doubt ordered by Drummand. Plus, there are other… issues that must be dealt with sooner versus later.”
His face turned beet red, his mouth pursing. “Cocksucker. Did you take care of the problem?”
“Being handled now. What about Drummand? From the information left by Margaret, it seems Drummand found out about Sasha a few years ago. That’s when he truly made both their lives miserable.”
“He knew long before that, son,” my father managed.
I snorted. “He was terrified you were going to tell Carmine.”
“Exactly. I didn’t know this until I talked with Margaret yesterday.” Giordano finally looked in Carmine’s direction.
“She’s… alive?” Carmine placed his hand over his heart. “I went to her funeral.”
“A product of Drummand’s evil,” I answered.
Giordano walked closer to his old friend, gripping his shoulder. “She’s safe. I’m certain she’d love to see you.”
“And I’d love to see her again. You know, I told my wife about her years ago, the affair not something I was proud of, but she understood.” Carmine rubbed his jaw. “If I’d known about Sasha, I would never have left her in the hands of that… man. What are we going to do about him?” He hissed the question.
“I know exactly what we’re going to do,” Giordano stated, glancing from Carmine back into my eyes. “However, you’re not going to be a part of this. Going to get messy.”
“I’m already a part of this.” If my father thought I was going to vanish, he had another think coming.
“Drummand Morales grew up in my neck of the world, August. His father actually worked with me for years. We ran the streets of Southside under my father’s direction. Now, as you can imagine, the good senator certainly doesn’t mention that in any of his propaganda pieces or interviews. In fact, he ceremoniously disowned his entire family heritage, taking his mother’s maiden name before moving to New York when he was barely eighteen. This is old business.”
I knew better than to go against them, especially if they were working together. However, this was far from over in my book.
Giordano finally smiled, crossing his arms. “I had a chat with a few buddies of mine, including the lieutenant governor. He filled me in on what the Feds have been investigating. The shit is really going to hit the fan and in several states I might add.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. My father’s influences were far more powerful than anyone realized. “And?”
His smile widened. “Let’s just say that with Carmine’s help, I think we can solve several ‘issues’ as you call them. You need to take care of your fiancee, assuming that there will be a wedding in the future.”
“If she’ll have me.”
I knew there would be no additional comments, no laid-out plans detailing exactly what they were going to do. They would simply handle the situation in their own manner.
And New York would never be the same.