Secession: A Mafia Boss Series, Installment #2

Chapter 5 ~ The Ask

~Victor POV~



Nicolai had done the last thing I wanted and that was to ruin Caden and Gia’s wedding. My men quickly restrained him and though he stared me down, he went with them without putting up a fight. The guards escorted Nicolai toward the mansion, heading to the north wing of the Estate to the basement. I had three holding cells there. Though I rarely, if ever, had used these holding cells before, especially for mafia family business, I nevertheless had it built when we broke ground on the Estate about ten years ago, just for those rare occasions when an enemy was too stupid to come after me here.

I turned around and found Aunt Lita slowly regaining consciousness, sitting down on the chair Lorenzo had placed her, surrounded by Gia, Sofia, Ed and Caden. I heard Bella announce to the wedding guests to make their way to the tent that was 50 yards away for horderves and drinks. She instructed the wedding planners, Melissa and Tom, to usher them in. Carmen quickly said she would go and assist them. Once all the guests were from ear shot, Sofia hurriedly comes up to me and angrily asked, “Did you know about this? Did you know that Nicolai was alive?”

I glared at her but chose not to say anything. Instead, I gave a knowing glance to Ed, signaling for him to take Sofia, and he gave me a slight nod in confirmation. I knew that anything I said would not alleviate or calm the stress of this moment. He placed a hand on Sofia’s shoulder before saying, “Honey, this is not the time. Let’s take care of your mother and then we can get answers later.”

Sofia's eyes softened toward her husband before turning to her mother. I told Lorenzo to bring Aunt Lita to her room. Lorenzo nodded his head and gently lifted Aunt Lita in his arms to head back into the Estate. The family and Sofia, carrying baby Ari, followed in toe.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I knew who it was. As I turned around and found the warm, loving eyes of my wife. She asked, “What can I do, baby?”

“Exactly what you are doing, Bella. When everything cools off and the shock wears off, asked Caden and Gia what they would like to do with the wedding guests,” I said deeply, looking her in the eyes, saying more with my eyes than I could say out loud. I then added, “It’s going to be a long night. I’ll be with my men. Keep everyone upstairs. There will be a few more guards up there, but you’re safe. Nicolai came alone.” I saw Bella's eyes widen, but she knew I could not say anymore, especially not out here in the open.

Bella nodded her head in understanding. She took a deep breath and said, “Ok. Stay safe. I love you.”

I cupped her hands and kissed them before responding, “I love you too.”

Tony pulled me out of my embrace with Bella and whispered in my ear that there were some new developments. I took a deep breath before saying, “Gather the men in my office. Ask Lorenzo to join us as soon as he can pull away.”

My close security advisors, Tony, Kaleb, Sebastian, Frank were all in my home office crafting a plan with how to respond to Nicolai. Now that he was out of the shadows meant he could not be pulled back without some tactful skill, especially as the family and greater organization knew of his seemingly miraculous rise from the grave.

I began, “Who knows about this news?”

Tony quips, “The better question is who doesn’t know about this news. It seems that Nicolai broadcast his presence to all of our rivals and allies before coming in here.”

Sebastian, my head of defense and interrogations, retorts, “It’s even worse than that, Vic. Nicolai has signaled to rivals that he is amenable to an alliance to bring you down if he is not brought back into the fold.”

I got up from my chair, aggravated. I angrily pulled off my suit jacket and threw it on the leather chair next to Kaleb. “What the f**k! What is it to keep me from going down there now and putting a f*****g bullet in his head?”

Frank hesitantly uttered, “We don’t know what deals he has already made, Vic. It f*****g sucks, I know. Especially dealing with that prick, I still have nightmares about how he bullied me as a child. I would love nothing more than to kill that fucker---"

Lorenzo walked into the office and an awkward silence ensued.

He looked around and glared at Frank before saying, “What! Keep talking Frank. I think you were at “You would do nothing but kill that fucker” or is that the kind of s**t you say behind my back now.”

Frank remained silent but did not appear to be backing down from Lorenzo.

I cut in, “You see how this f*****g asshole has us fighting among ourselves now. That s**t CAN NOT HAPPEN.” I looked at all my men in the eye before continuing, “We have to be smart. This is what he wants us to do. Start questioning each other’s loyalties. Make no mistake, Nicolai’s end game is to sit as the head of this family… My Kingdom! Well, I am not going to let him have it. I have lost too much, sacrificed too much to let this delusional, jealous f*****g prick waltz back in and take my birthright.”

I saw all my men nod their heads in affirmation. After a long while, I asked Lorenzo, “How is the family?”

He took a deep breath before answering, “As you can imagine. They are in shock. Bella and my sisters are with my mom now. She is doing much better. Elsie got them some food and tea. Caden is saying our goodbyes to the guests. Some of them have started to drive off the Estate.”

I shook my head in understanding. I hated how Caden and Gia’s wedding was ruined because of this threat, and I couldn’t help second guessing myself from keeping Nicolai’s presence from Aunt Lita and the family.

Lorenzo asked, “Vic, what do you want to do with Nicolai?”

Before I could respond, I heard a door knock. The door opens, and my Aunt Lita walks in. She looked like she had aged years since I last saw her a mere hour ago. She looked around the room before saying, “Nephew, can I have a word with you?”

I gave my men a head nod, and they all made their way out of my office. Frank made sure to close the door behind him.

My Aunt Lita looked at me and gritted out, “How long did you know that Nicolai was alive?”

I calmly responded, albeit curtly, “Aunt Lita, it's none of your business how long I have known. I can sympathize with what you had to go through, but the decisions I make in my organization as head of this family is none of your concern.”

“My son is my f*****g concern,” she spat out, narrowing her eyes, challenging me.

I angrily retorted, “Nicolai is the one who has made himself an enemy of this family. If he puts my family, the same family that you are a part of, by the way, at risk, I do not have to get your permission or anyone’s permission to neutralize the threat. I suspect Uncle Vito had to make the same decision six years ago.”

My Aunt’s eyes widened as she finally started putting the pieces of this sorted mystery together. Her gaze quickly turned to a glare before I said, “I am not your opposition, Aunt Lita. Nicolai is! He threatens our very existence and everyone we hold dear to us. His vision for this family is an anathema to our survival. Have you asked yourself what Nicolai must have done for Uncle Vito to exile him?”

Aunt Lita shifted in her seat in annoyance. “We both know your uncle can be a devil--" she spats out before I cut her off.

“That he, maybe, but I know for fact that he would never knowingly bring you pain, so instead of blaming everyone for Nicolai’s punishment, why don’t you find out what he did first,” I asserted.

“I don’t need to find out anything, nephew. I’m not stupid and you are not either. Nicolai’s death happened right when you ascended to your throne as the head of this family days after a botched assassination attempt,” she said, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

“So, if you suspect Nicolai is capable of spilling Bernardi blood, my blood, why the f**k should I keep him alive now, I said venomously.

Aunt Lita’s eyes softened, probably realizing that this conversation was not heading in the right direction. She slowly utters,“Because I can bring him back into the fold. Nephew, I’m not a woman who begs, but I’m begging you to give me a chance to bring him out from the wilderness. If he is still plotting against you, it’s better to have him close then away from you.”

“And what if you can’t? What if you can’t bring him back from the wilderness?” I asked and she cut me off.

“Then I will do what I’ve always done. Put this family first,” she said firmly while looking at me in my eyes.

I contemplated my aunt’s proposal. I knew that Nicolai would never allow himself to live in my shadow, so this fantasy of him returning back into the fold as this loyal soldier was a fallacy. But as of now, my aunt was correct, I needed him close and not neutralizing him at this very moment would give my aunt some time to clear her mind and heart about who her son was and is and that was that he is a threat to the family. I knew she was smart enough to come to that conclusion on her own.

After a while, I slowly nodded my head in affirmation before I said, “I will give you this ask, Aunt Lita, but if at any time Nicolai becomes a bigger problem than he is now, he will not be the only one that bears the weight of his sins.”

I caught a slight glimpse of fear on my aunt’s face before it was covered up with her usual tough demeanor. She answers, “That would only be fair—-"

“I could give a f**k about fair,” I spat back.

My Aunt chuckles, “Be careful nephew, you are sounding more and more like your father every day.”

“No auntie, I’m much worse,” I said ominously.

I then pulled out my phone and dialed the number. When Lorenzo picked up, I gruffly commanded, “Bring Nicolai to my office.” I hung up without waiting for a response.