La Sposa (10 page)

Zia smiled.

Mira forced a smile. “Well he’s agreed to
reclaim my company. I’m happy about that.”

“
That’s because there’s something
in it for him. Right?” Zia asked.

Mira chewed on her bottom lip. She
nodded.

Zia nodded. “I know you were a powerful woman.
I see it on the television. I read it in the papers. You and your
friend came to Italy for something different than you found. If you
want to run your company and become this,” she waved her hand
gesturing around the sewing room. “Then like anything in your
marriage your husband doesn’t understand, you must convince him it
is not a threat to him. Understand? Let him think you make pretty
dresses for fun,” Zia grinned.

Mira chuckled. “Don’t worry, he already thinks
that.”

Zia laughed.

Rosetta walked out and the women froze. Mira
couldn’t believe how beautiful the dress’s bodice appeared with the
addition of the hand sewn in lace and beading.
“Sei
bellissima!”
Mira clasped her hand over her mouth.
“Sei
bellissima!”

Zia pointed at the raggedy hem. “But you are
not finished.”

“
No, it’s not done. Almost. Let’s
work on the hem and train. Step over there, Rosetta.” Mira
instructed. Mira whirled around and gathered the material needed
and hurried over. Eve raced after her, crying for attention.
Thankfully, Zia took hold of her daughter and lifted her into her
arms. Mira’s hands trembled. She was so excited.

“
It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve
ever worn.” Rosetta said, smoothing her hand down the front. “You
are amazing.”

“
Thank you.” Mira dropped to her
knees.

“
I would have loved to have a
daughter to see her wedding day.” Zia mused, bouncing Eve on her
hip.

Mira glanced up with pins in her mouth. She
spit out a few. “Do you have any kids, Zia?”

The old woman’s eyes sparkled with happiness.
“My boy’s name was Arturo. He was a good handsome boy, just like my
Rocco.”

“
Was?” Mira asked, pinning the hem
where she’d sew in the seam.

“
He died at eleven. It was a
terrible accident. The pain of it nearly killed me, and my poor
Rocco still blames himself,” she said, touching Eve’s hair and
stroking her face. The little girl hugged Zia’s neck and pressed
her cheek to Zia’s. “Children are a gift from God. When you can see
your body grow with life and give birth to a little person, it’s as
close to heaven a woman can get in this life. We as mothers are to
protect them. Make sure they come first above all the others, even
our selves. To lose a child is the worst thing a mother can
experience. That’s why being a mother is the most important job.
Yes?”

Mira winked. “Yes.”

The door flew open. “Mira!!
Sono
felice
—” Catalina exclaimed. Everyone looked up. Catalina
glared directly at her cousin, her face burning red with rage.
“What the hell is she doing here?”

*****

“
While in Bologna, it was agreed
that Calderone’s assets now belong to us without any protest from
Bonaduce or the
Ndrangheta
.” Giovanni informed both men.
“The paperwork was drawn by the attorney handling the Calderone
estate. Since there are no living heirs, the discussion concluded
rather quickly.”

Dominic was the only one who wore a look of
surprise. “What did the
Ndrangheta
want in return for their
generosity?”

Giovanni reclined. They referred to their
organizations without naming the men who ran them. Bonaduce was
just one of three that led the
Ndrangheta
. The approval
would have to be unanimous for Giovanni to take over territory in
the Northern townships. He locked eyes with Dominic. “I agreed to
allow the Bonaduces access to our shores. They requested approval
to conclude business deals they have with the Nigerians and
Russians, who are both enemies of ours. So we will need to be
careful.”

“
Incredibile!
The Russians
killed Tomosino and now we are to suck their dicks?” Lorenzo spat
in disgust.

Giovanni laughed. “I will trust you and Carlo
to decide how friendly we will be during this transition. You want
to lead cousin. Lead.” He glanced to Dominic. He didn’t want to
explain himself, didn’t feel the need to, but there would come a
time when they’d both have to understand that his desire to
legitimize the family was even stronger now. Bella had presented
him the key this morning with her business. It would be the first.
Flavio was negotiating deals out of Sicily with America. The
Nigerians, Russians, and Albanians were here in Italy. He wouldn’t
waste time in trying to eradicate them. Instead, he’d become larger
than them all. The Irish would deal with no one, not even the
Sicilians, only him. That was his leverage. Gun trafficking was his
business. But all of the other shit they could have. And he needed
a legitimate way to make it happen.

“
Are we still in business with the
Irish?” Dominic asked. The young protégé had a way of reading
Giovanni’s thoughts without them being voiced. A valuable talent
for a
consigliere
, a title he no longer held.

“
Yes. We are very much still in the
gun business.” Giovanni switched his attention to Lorenzo. “I want
you to return to Milan. Caruso Capriccio has died. He and Don
Calderone were in deals with me before Giuseppe and the war turned
everything to shit. Now that Caruso is dead, his debt belongs to
his son.”

“
David?” Lorenzo asked.

“
Yes. You and David have unfinished
business. There are some warehouses in Milan that he hasn’t signed
over to me. I want those warehouses. Silvio Negali sent me the
total value. They will serve us well.”

“
Are we going to send our product
there? Instead of Napoli?”

“
No. Bella intends to bring her
company back to Italy and sign it over to me. We’ll need a place
for the manufacturing offices. Milan is perfect. This is all to be
legitimate, Lorenzo. Silvio will assist. Find out who the third
player is in this Capriccio mess and neutralize him.”

“
Che cazzo?”
Lorenzo
frowned. “Third player? I thought it was David Capriccio we are
dealing with?”

“
Silvio will explain. There are
some legal matters that Caruso battled with before he died. Can you
handle it?”

“
I’ll leave tonight.”

“
The wedding?” Dominic asked. “The
wedding is in two days.”

“
I’ll be back in time for the
wedding.” Lorenzo headed to the door. “We’ll talk again soon,
Gio.”

Giovanni waited until they were alone. He then
looked to Dominic. “You and I have a lot to discuss.”

“
Am I to be
consigliere
again? I know it’s a position of trust, Gio. Give me the
opportunity. I can prove myself. You’re making moves to legitimize
the family again. Giving the
Ndrangheta
access to our
territory, even if it is limited, it’s risky. You need me on this
one, Gio.”

“
No. I will tell you what I need.”
Giovanni opened the drawer and removed a tiny velvet box. He set it
on the desk. He tapped a finger on the closed lid. “This is what I
need.”

Dominic frowned. “I don’t
understand.”

“
Me either. Last night, when I
returned home, I found this in Bella’s makeup bag.” He opened the
lid. “It’s a child’s bracelet. The one I had retrieved after a
purse snatching two years ago. Take a look at it.”

Giovanni rocked back in his chair. Dominic
rose and reached for the box. Their eyes met. He removed the
bracelet and fingered the lettering.

“
Turn it over. Look at the
clasp.”

Dominic did. He held it up at the light and
squinted. “Del Stavio?”

Giovanni narrowed his eyes. “Bella doesn’t
know anything about her parents. All she knows is her junkie mother
died after her birth. And that her father gave her that
bracelet.”

“
Del Stavio?” Dominic
frowned.

“
Exactly. Last night, I couldn’t
recall the insignia, but it came to me when I woke. How the hell
did the private jeweler to the Dons of Sicily make a bracelet for
my Bella?”

“
Did you ask her?”

Giovanni considered questioning Mira. But he
knew she wouldn’t deceive him. Her innocence in this was solid.
Still, the mystery burned at his gut. The five Dons of Sicily used
Del Stavio only until his betrayal of one of them put a bullet in
his skull. Which made the jewelry priceless to men like him.
Something as personal as a child’s charm bracelet had to be
requested by one of them. But why would a black American orphan
have such a rare lavish gift bestowed upon Sicilian
children?

“
This makes no sense, Gio. Are you
sure she doesn’t know its origin?”

He slammed his fist on the desk. “Don’t
question her loyalty. You of all people! I said she doesn’t
know.”

“
Of course, Gio. I wasn’t
questioning her. It’s just, well it’s rare to have an American
given something out of the inner circle. Especially a bracelet like
this one. And she is… she’s different than us. For her to receive
this as a child, it’s strange.”

Giovanni relaxed. “I agree. That is why we
will solve this mystery. You want to earn my respect, then start
here. Take Catalina after the wedding and go to America. Catalina
will spend her days in the dress company doing whatever errands
Bella wishes. You will find out who Bella’s mother was and who her
American father is. Don’t return from America without this
information.”

“
Where do I begin the
search?”

Giovanni considered it. “Santo can be of use,
he has family and contacts in the States. I’ll speak with Bella.
Get the name and dates of what she knows of her family. She is
going to give you her proxy. Right now, she trusts a man named
Teddy. That will change. The proxy will provide the proper end
roads with her attorneys to pull up everything on her
past.”

“
Okay. Maybe it was a gift to her
American father when she was born. It’s not uncommon to have
something like this done for an associate. A black man wouldn’t be
part of the Sicilian mafia, but he could be made an associate. He’d
serve as a go-between to keep the heat off the actual members of
the
Borgata
.”

Giovanni nodded that it was plausible. “In
America, blacks are sometimes given jobs in the Mafioso. It’s rare,
but I hear it happens. However, this feels different to me. When
Bella first came to America she had the backing of Mancini. He put
her in my business. That old Don never interferes with my business.
Now this? I don’t like it.”

Dominic nodded. “Neither do I.”

*****

“
Why is she here?” Catalina
seethed.
“Vattene!”

“
What is wrong with you?” Mira rose
to her feet.

Rosetta wore a teasing smile on her full lips.
“She hates me,
Donna
. Always has.”

Catalina pointed at the dress Rosetta wore. “I
was going to help you. Me. You said I could, why let her try on
your dress? She isn’t worthy.”

“
Enough!” Zia shouted. Even Eve
went still. “You two are cousins,
famiglia
! Enough of this
bickering and jealousy, it ends now. Catalina,
apologize.”

“
What? Me? Why should
I?”

“
Apologize now!” Zia
demanded.

She looked to Mira with shock, and then to
Rosetta with disgust. “
Cheido scusa
.”

Mira felt a headache forming. She had little
time or patience for this. Catalina disappointed her with these
tantrums. Here she was trying to groom her to be a strong ally, and
she could barely be in the room with a rival?

“
Rosetta, please take the dress
off,” Mira said in an exasperated tone.

The young girl nodded and stepped down
gingerly to undress.

Catalina approached Mira. “Forgive me. I was
surprised. Rosetta is, ah, we don’t get along.”

“
I have no time for this, Catalina.
I have to finish this dress.”

“
I can help,” Catalina
chirped.

“
Me too!” Rosetta insisted before
going into the changing room.

Mira closed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t need
the aggravation. I have delicate work to finish.”

“
Let them help, Mira.” Zia
volunteered. “It’s time they learned to work together. After all,
we are family.”

Mira glanced around at the women in the room.
This was her new family? Oh how she would miss Fabiana. The girls
stared at her with hopeful eyes. She relaxed a bit. “Okay. I can
use the help. But no fighting. This is a joyous task. We’re making
my wedding dress.”

“
Yes! We can do it, can’t we,
Catalina?” Rosetta said sweetly.

Catalina forced a smile. “I’m sure we can
try.”

*****

Dominic rose from his chair, a bit hesitant to
leave the conversation empty handed. In his heart, he hoped for
more with Giovanni. This errand seemed so menial compared to all
that they would need to do if the
Ndrangheta
was moving in
on the territory. Still, there were no end roads. “I’ll go and make
some calls to Santo and our attorneys. I need to know who this
person Teddy is that I will work with in America.”