Chapter 48 Betrayal
"Yes. This transcript told us everything we need to know. Other than that, my informants told me the Ricci are indeed involved with the Romanos, and their alliance is real, not fake. Do you remember the attack on the port a few months ago? That was the Ricci's doing, not the Romanos. They sent people who are not directly linked to them to attack us," Dante says.
Everything seems to be going down in a spiral once the relationship between the Ricci and the Romanos has been confirmed by one of many Dante's informants. Once my father came back from his quick discussion with Fabio, he immediately go to my room to discuss the matter with Dante and me. Now that their cooperation has been revealed, we have no choice but to make a new plan.
"So, it's confirmed. The Ricci is not our true ally anymore," my father says.
"Unfortunately, no," Dante says.
Now, the Ricci's intentions are clear. With their involvement with the Romanos, there's a high chance that they want me to marry Antonio for their future plan, which is to take over my family's business. If my father dies, then I'll be the sole inheritor and heiress to the business. After that, once they kill me, there will be no obstacles left for them, which also means that it'll be easier for them to take everything we have and claim it to be theirs and split it with the Romanos.
I'm so stupid to fall in love with Antonio. I should've been more careful. However, I'm glad that I get to know about his family's true intention now. It's better to know the truth now than later even though it kinda hurts. It'll be difficult for us to escape once Antonio and me are tied together through a marriage.
"How long have they been working with the Romanos again?" my father asks.
"About 3 to 4 years now," Dante says.
Three to four years? That was a long time. How could my father not notice this anytime sooner? I bet he did notice there's something wrong going on, but he's just in denial about it being true because he's been working with the Ricci for so long. Our lesson for today: Never trust anyone fully even though you've known them for years.
"So, about the Algerians, the Ricci is actually working together with them along with the Romanos?" my father asks.
"Yes," Dante say.
"Fuck. I knew something was wrong the moment he asked for access to our ports. He was doing just fine with his own ports in the north, and then he asked to use our ports for some shipments out of nowhere after so many years. How could I be so stupid?" my father asks himself.
See? My father knew something has been going on. He just refuses to believe it. If only he could be more logical instead of following his feelings, this could've been prevented. Even though we'll lose our connection to other European countries if we break our alliance with the Ricci, we could still figure out another way to get to the border. Just like the proverb, all roads lead to Rome. There are still many ways to get everything to work out for us. Just because we can use the same path again, that doesn't mean the other paths don't lead to the same destination.
"I have one more thing to tell you," Dante says. His once neutral expression has turn somber. He must have a bad news. I wonder what it is. What could be so terrible that it makes him all gloomy and almost apologetic at the same time? It seems as though he's sorry to my father about what he's going to say to him.
"What is it?" my father asks.
"It's about Giulio, your second-in-command. He's been taking bribes from Alvaro too. That's why we got attacked and many robberies happening at our warehouses. He's been giving them informations about new goods and our shipments schedules," Dante says.
I can't believe this family is so fucked up. When I thought we're corrupt enough with all the illegal business we're running, there are even more corrupt people that took advantage of us and others. My father has trusted everything to Giulio every since my father step up as the leader once my grandfather passed away. My father considered Giulio as his brother. After all these years, this is what he did to my father. He betrays him. He betrays my father's trust.
From what I've observed, the Ricci and the Romanos have so much better relationship with the others in their family, but my father and the other members of the Benetti family? They all seem to pray for his downfall. Is my father truly that terrible compared to Fabio and Alvaro? Or is he too lenient compared to them and they take it as him being too weak?
After all the evidences I've seen, Fabio and Alvaro are indeed far more ruthless and violent compared to my father. They don't hesitate to torture people endlessly for days and kill people who are in their way. My father, on the other hand, they only torture and kill when it's necessary, making him untraceable under the police and carabieneri's radars. I guess that's what make everyone closest to my father think he's not a suitable leader for the Benetti family. He's considered to be too soft. Other than that, he also refused to be a part of human and organ trafficking business despite it being a huge profit source after drug and weapon trafficking.
"I can't trust anyone anymore," my father says.
Burying his face in his hands, he stay silent as he sits there next to me. For a second, I feel a pinch of pity towards him. Despite being the leader of the clans of the central territory, it seems like it's not enough to get people to respect him. Instead of getting respect from others, he gets betrayal from the people he trust the most, Fabio and Giulio.
At this moment, I feel like my father and I are the same. We're just forced to be living this kind of life. He just do everything to keep the business running because he feels responsible of it. After all, my grandfather entrusted the business to my father because he's the only one who's still alive after his brothers died from different circumstances. Just like me, he's the sole heir of the business. With no one who he can share the burden with, he probably has no choice but to accept the role after my grandfather died from his illness. That's just my speculation though. I'm not sure if it's actually true. Who knows if he actually want to be a leader of this family.
My father snaps out of his thoughts. With determination and anger in his eyes, he stares up at Dante. This is it. My father has made his choice. Hopefully, whatever he decided to do, it'll keep us safe. As much as I want to leave him and this place, I don't want him to die just yet. Not until we're sure the Ricci and the Romanos, especially Fabio and Romano, already buried six feet under, or at the bottom of the sea.
"Get our men to take Giulio to the warehouse near the mountain right now. I'll be questioning him later," my father says.
"Yes, boss," Dante says. He takes his phone out, typing out a string of words on his screen and then sends it to whoever the receiver is. He waits for a reply, and then not long after, he gets his response. Dante then turns to my father again, his phone already back in his pocket.
"Carlo and Enzo are on it. They'll get a few more men join them and get Giulio," Dante says.
My father nods. It seems he already has a plan in mind. I hope he made a right choice. However, my gut is telling me otherwise. This could be the beginning of our war with the Romanos, considering Giulio is the mole for Alvaro. If Giulio die, Alvaro will definitely know we have found out about his secrets with Giulio. Well, it's bound to happen anyway. Postponing it won't do us good. However, we still need a good plan before taking any actions towards the Romanos and the Ricci. It'll be a waste if we end up dead before we do anything to them.
"Good. I'll go to the warehouse once they got him," my father says as he gets on his feet. I look up at him, wondering what he's planning for Giulio other than torturing him and interrogating him.
"Should I go with you?" Dante asks. My father shakes his head.
"Stay here with Alessandra. Keep your eyes on her and don't forget to tell me if her pain is getting worse. Remember to keep her safe. We still don't know if we have moles around the house," my father says.
My father is right. If Giulio can be a mole, then someone else with a lower rank could easily be one as well, considering they might be easier to bribe than Giulio. Fuck. I'm so tired of this. I want to leave and disappear, but I know that won't be possible. The Romanos and the Ricci will chase me until the edge of the earth. Wherever I go, they'll be there to take me away and then use my to provoke my father.
"Alright," Dante says.
"I'll leave Sandra with you. I'll wait for the news about Giulio in my office," my father says.
"Yes, boss," Dante says.
"Let Dante know if you're hurting, okay?" my father says, stroking my head gently, I only nod at him. He sends me one last tiny smile before leaving the room.
The room goes silent once more. With only Dante and me in the room, I pull him and get him to sit next to me. Dante's eyes snap towards me. The look in his eyes almost makes me burst out in laughter. Oh gosh. It's funny how a man like him can have such fear in his eyes. It's also sad at the same time though. I can't believe my father traumatised Dante so bad to the point where he's scared to sit next to me when my father is in the house.
"Dude, calm down. What's with that look?" I ask, chuckling at him. Dante's facial expression change in a second, from shock to neutral again.
"Nothing. I thought I almost fall," Dante says.
Yeah, you're not good at lying, Dante. I can see right through you. I know you're actually scared of my father. I know you're scared that my father would punish you again. I won't let him, though. I won't let my father punish you again, Dante.
"Okayyy. Anyway, did you find anything else about the Ricci?" I ask.
"I've told you about everything I know so far. I'm still waiting for more information from my informants," Dante says.
That's it? Well, I guess I have no choice but to wait for more information about the Ricci and the Romanos. Sometimes, especially at times like this, I wish I can do something, maybe be a psychic that can know everything or be a hacker or something like that. It might be helpful to get those information we need quickly.
"Alright," I say.
Dante stares at me. A smirk forms on his face, and I immediately catch his drift. He's got to be thinking about what I'm thinking: Antonio. Ugh. Why does he have to bring him up right now? I don't want to talk about him.
"Are you worried about Antonio?" Dante asks.
"No. Of course, not. Why would I be worried about him?" I ask.
After what we fing out, just the mention of his name makes my blood boil. I can't believe I like someone whose family is involved in the death of my mother. He could be directly involved in other things too. There's no way he knows nothing about what his father and brother has been doing at his age. He has to be involved in the family business even though he said that he wasn't.
"Because you've admitted it yourself that you like him," Dante says. I roll my eyes at Dante, and he keeps smirking at me. Despite how he keeps teasing me, I can see a hint of sadness and jealousy in his eyes. Yep. He definitely hates talking about Antonio, but he has to so I won't be suspicious of him. Little did he know, I already know about everything.
"Yeah. That was before we found out about the truth. I can't think of Antonio now without wanting to kill him right at this second," I say.
"You'll get your chance soon," Dante say.
"I'll be waiting for that day," I say.
Once I get the chance to hurt Antonio, I will not hesitate to do it. But first, I'll do it to Fabio and Mariano because they're the one who has the executive decisions with Alvaro in planning the kidnapping and killing of my mother. So, they deserve to be the ones who get the most pain. I won't go easy on them. I'll give them my worst. I'll watch them suffer over and over again. And if they pass out, I'll get them to wake up again so they'll feel how painful it is to be tortured like how they tortured my mother.
"How's your headache and cramp? Is it better now?" Dante asks, snapping me out of my daydream. I nod at him, realising that the pain almost disappear. Thank goodness for painkillers. I feel like I was going to die earlier from how much my head hurts earlier.
"Yeah. It's better," I say.
"Are you serious?" Dante says as he stares at me with doubt.
"Yes. I am. Now that you mention it, I need to go to the toilet now. You know, for woman stuff," I say sheepishly. Dante smiles at me, knowing what I mean. Why did I even say that to him? I should've just told him I'm going to the bathroom, and that's it.
"Alright. I'll wait here for you and your lunch," Dante says.
"Okay! Thanks."
It's settled then. The Ricci and us are now enemies. Not allies. However, we still need them to think that we're allies so I can dig more information about them. I dread staying at the Ricci's house next week, but it must be done. If I don't go there, things would stay as secrets. I need to get their secrets out before it's too late. We need to know about everything before they kill us all. It would be a shame to let our hard work all these months to go to waste. I won't let them ruin our plan anymore. I must make them pay for what they've done to my mother.