Book 2: Chapter Seventy-Three - Matteo Remembers His Family

Book 2: Chapter Seventy-Three - Matteo Remembers His Family
They climbed into Greco's car waiting outside when gunshots rang in the air. 

“Quick, Greco! Drive faster!” yelled Di Salvo, looking behind his shoulder at the two men chasing them. Greco sped away just in time and Matteo released a breath of relief. 

“I’ve completed the mission, Don. You promised to release me,” reminded Matteo.

“Not yet. I’ll release you only when Luigi is dead.” 

For the next ten days, they had no information on Luigi. Even Greco didn’t know if he was alive. Di Salvo mourned his brother’s death every evening, drinking until midnight and crying for him. He was the only one the Don was close to. This time, two men stood constant guard outside their house. 

“Don, we have to vacate in five minutes. Luigi’s men have located us. They’ll attack us anytime!” said Greco, rushing in. Within minutes, they jumped into a car and escaped the place. On the way, Greco received a call that Luigi was alive and had attacked the house they were staying in. 

“We escaped just in time. Luigi is alive, and he knows about your existence, Don.” It immediately made them alert, since there was no hiding from Luigi. He could seek them out from anywhere on Earth! 

“Then it’s not safe here, Greco. We have to return to Tunisia right away.” It was the worst nightmare of Matteo’s life, since he had expected to be free after the successful operation. After a day, they left for Tunisia and it was back to square one for Matteo. It didn’t look like he could be free soon. 

Di Salvo now started forming his own gang, Squadra di Vendetta (SDV) forgetting all his promises of releasing him. This time, it was a larger mafia gang than the NSM. Di Salvo reconnected with his old contacts to spread his illegal drug, weapon, and human trafficking business worldwide. Soon, they outnumbered Luigi’s Caffarelli Mafiosa. 

“You don’t need me anymore, Don. You have your own group now. Why don’t you appoint Mario as your underboss instead of me? I’m useless anyway!” said Matteo. 

“Fine. But you have two options open before you. Either you work here while I ensure the safety of your family or I have your family killed and release you. Choose what you want!” Matteo gaped at him with hatred. He wanted to empty his gun into his brain and kill the evil man instantly. 

“You won’t live if anything happens to my family. You’ll die with them. I promise you that.” He stormed out of the room, but continued to work for him. He didn’t have a choice. With no memory, he didn’t know where to look for his family. If only he could remember! He would have killed Don and Luigi and searched for his family. 

A year passed by and Don again planned another attack on Luigi. This time, thankfully, he involved Mario, who was a trained hitman. Luigi had returned to Sicily, and they sneaked into Palermo in the middle of the night. Matteo instantly felt a connection to the place. It seemed he knew every street, every nook and corner by heart. Was this his hometown?

“I know this place. I grew up here,” he murmured as they drove through the streets. 

“You used to work here for me when I was the Don of NSM.” Matteo frowned at his explanation. He was sure that wasn’t the only connection he had with the place. 

It was late when they entered a vacant building on the outskirts of Palermo to house them temporarily. However, Matteo couldn’t sleep. At the crack of dawn, he sneaked out when everyone was fast asleep. 

His subconscious mind knew where to go. He took a bus to Modello, forty minutes away. He knew he had traveled this stretch a million times. The smiling face of a dark-haired woman crept into his mind. 

“Mama!” he gasped with surprise as he stared at the pristine beach town looking so familiar under the pale morning light. Yes, he was on the right track! This was his home where his Mama lived! 

Matteo got down at the familiar bus stop and instinctively walked down to the house his legs involuntarily led him to. He stood in front of the locked gates, his eyes searching for people inside. He remembered running around the place with his siblings. Yes, he had two siblings! 

“Marco, Marcello!” he whispered, his eyes widening at the memory. He remembered his Pápa too, his illness, his death! Tears crept into his eyes. Where were they now? The house looked totally deserted. Did they not live here anymore? He had to know or he would go crazy. He looked around at the neighboring houses to ask about his family. 

However, a car stopped and Di Salvo’s men grabbed him and pushed him into the car. “Have you lost your mind, Matteo? Why are you roaming around without informing me? Luigi could have attacked you like he had attacked your family. He’s waiting for an opportunity to finish both of us,” said Di Salvo, as he sat inside the car with a furious look on his face. 

“What? Luigi attacked my family? Why didn’t you tell me? Where are they? What happened to them?” he asked agitatedly. 

“They are safe and alive. As long as you work for me, I’ll do anything in my power to save their lives. The day you leave me or betray my trust, I’ll kill them myself.” Matteo looked away, not knowing what to do. He didn’t have any other choice than to work for him as long as Luigi was alive. “Let’s plan our attack on Luigi instead. Once he is dead, I’ll free you.”

They returned to their temporary quarters and waited for the right moment to catch Luigi unaware. However, an hour later, Greco rushed inside in a state of panic. 

“Luigi has found out about your arrival here. He is on his way to attack us, Don. They are more in number and we won’t stand a chance against them.” 

There wasn’t a way out but to escape before the attack. They had just left the building when gunshots rang in the air. Di Salvo’s men couldn’t escape and fought the enemy instead. Di Salvo was extremely disappointed that his plan didn’t work. He didn’t give up, though. 

After a fortnight, he attacked Luigi’s headquarters and planted bombs there to destroy his gang. Many of his gang members lost their lives in the bombing. This continued for a year, and Matteo found it frustrating. He was tired of these petty attacks and rivalry. If he could, he would have launched a war against the enemy, an open battle to end it all. But it wasn’t in his hands and Di Salvo wasn’t ready for battle. 

“I can’t risk our lives, Matteo. He will finish us and live to destroy your loved ones. Can you afford that? We have to be very careful, since we are dealing with an extremely shrewd and cautious criminal.”

“Then let’s plan our next attack well, Don. Even if it takes longer, I want to plan a foolproof one this time.” 

It was easier said than done. Luigi attacked their consignment, resulting in business loss. Di Salvo took out his revenge similarly on him and the enmity continued. There was no end to it. It was a continuous game of revenge! 

Matteo and Mario didn’t get a moment of respite amidst all the chaos. They had to be constantly on the run and on their guard. They couldn’t settle down in one place for over three months. Matteo couldn’t look for his family under the circumstances, and even Di Salvo didn’t mention them again. Mario lost his life in their next attack and Di Salvo appointed him the underboss! 

Life went on and he had to perform against his will. Matteo turned into a criminal, just like Di Salvo. He continued, hoping that one day he would be free from this mess. All he needed to do was kill Luigi and be free. 

Months turned into years, yet the petty clashes continued like before, only on an increased level. Di Salvo increased his gang to become more powerful than before. He appointed a new underboss, Mariano, since Matteo wasn’t as efficient as he wanted him to be. As the days passed, Mariano became indispensable to Don and Matteo lost his importance. He was given minor jobs yet not released. His mind went into a state of clinical depression and instead of regaining his memory, he lost his zeal to live. He felt a strange helplessness, a restlessness all day, every day. 

He only wanted one thing in life. To be set free to unite with his family. But it seemed a distant dream! 

He wanted some information on them which only Don could give him, but he hardly interacted with him recently. To him, Matteo was just a useless member of his gang. Sometimes he wanted to kill the evil man, but he needed to locate his family before that. Day and night, he thought of a way out of his situation.