Chapter 185 What's The Plan

Chapter 185 What's The Plan
LORENZO

Sergio frowned. “What are you talking about? Who's 'them'?”

“Someone was tailing you,” I said as I sat on the couch, with Sancia standing beside me.

Sergio’s face instantly hardened with rage before he swore. “Damn fucker.”

Sancia stepped closer. “You know who it is?”

He glanced at his cousin, who still hadn’t said anything and was watching everything unfold. Sergio’s eyes darted toward me, narrowing with suspicion.

She looked my way, and I shrugged.

“Sergio, Lorenzo is here to help. You can trust him. There are a lot of things you didn’t know about Papa’s and Uncle Romero’s deaths, and we can only solve our problems by trusting each other.”

He glanced at Sancia. “I’m sorry, but I don’t trust him.”

Her face fell with disappointment. “...But I trust you.”

She smiled and nodded at him. “Thank you,” she said. “So, does anyone want a drink?”

“Savio, can you get us something to drink, please?”

“Of course.”

Savio nodded and walked toward the small bar while we all sat down and waited in silence.

My little tigress looked like she could fly at any given moment with how tense and fidgety she was, although she tried to keep calm and kept smiling.

“Here.”

Savio walked around, sharing the drinks he’d lined up on the tray.

I grabbed a glass of whiskey and took a sip as I studied Sergio.

I was right about the little piece of shit. If given the opportunity, he’d make a decent Capo, and I even had a little respect for him for not trusting easily.

The first thing any Capo knows is not to trust his enemies, no matter what.

I don’t need him to trust me. I just need him to have honor like any respectable Capo.

“Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t need your trust,” I started.

Sancia glared at me, a question in her eyes as she cautiously shifted, putting herself in the middle as though she could stop us from fighting if that’s what I had in mind.

But I continued. “And you’ll never be my favorite person because whenever I look at you, all I see is someone who took the life of someone I love. But I’m willing to help you for my tigress and because we have mutual enemies.”

“The feelings are mutual,” he gritted.

“What is it you want to tell me about Papa’s death?” he asked, staring at Sancia.

“Lorenzo didn't kill Papa,” she replied. “I know you're probably thinking I'm trying to defend him or blinded by love or something, but that's not it at all I believe him, so just listen to him please,” she was rambling.

And it's fucking cute. I grabbed her hand and she squeezed it as though I needed reassurance. That little action was enough to tamp down my hate for her little brother.

“We didn’t start the war,” I break the silence. “Your men did, on Antonio and Marcello’s orders. First, Antonio killed your father.”

I nodded toward Leonardo, whose entire face instantly changed.

“Then he framed me for it, and without investigating, you attacked my club, which was exactly what he counted on. Everything he did was calculated, and we all fell for it.”

To his credit, Sergio didn’t try to argue, and he didn’t look surprised.

“You suspected it. So you must know who’s been tailing your every movement.”

He reluctantly nodded. “I started suspecting them two years ago. I just had this gut feeling I couldn’t shake off. But I have no proof or evidence,” he admitted.

“Then Marcello started turning my men into his spies,” he gritted out. “I thought he’d stop sending them after the last ones got into an accident.”

“He probably senses you’re suspicious of him,” Sancia said.

Sergio nodded. “Maybe. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone when I found you. I was afraid Antonio would go after you, so I never visited you, but I had two men keep an eye on you to protect you.”

“How did you find me?” she asked curiously.

“Luca reluctantly told me after I hounded him for months.”

There was gratitude in her eyes when she glanced at my consigliere.

“You sent those two assholes to guard her?” I asked, suddenly pissed. “Couldn’t you find some decent men?”

“What are you talking about?” Sergio asked defensively, his eyes narrowing.

“Those fuckers were spying on her and talking shit about her before I ended their miserable lives.”

“When was this?” Sergio asked.

“Two weeks ago,” I replied.

“Those aren’t my men,” he denied. “Antonio killed the men I sent to protect Sancia three weeks ago when he found out I’d been hiding her whereabouts. He then sent me their heads as a warning, and he sent two other men who were loyal to him to replace them.”

“Fucking monster. I hate those bastards,” Sancia whispered, her face lined with rage. “I want them to pay for everything they’ve done to our family, Sergio. I want you to take back control of what’s rightfully yours. Don’t you want the same?”

He gave a humorless laugh. “Of course I want to take control. I’ve waited long enough, but I lack concrete proof to convince the Famiglia of Antonio and Marcello's crime,” he spat bitterly.

“I am the Capo of the Vicenzo famiglia, but I have to quietly watch while Marcello takes control of everything.”

“At first, he said he was helping me. I was inexperienced and grieving while trying to keep our family safe. He was Papa’s trusted enforcer. I had no reason to doubt him at the time,” he spat bitterly.

“Not to mention the elders trusted him. Before I knew it, he and Antonio became the decision-makers. On the surface, I was the Capo, but behind the scenes, they controlled everything, from what businesses we invested in, who we allied with, etc.”

“And you didn’t fight them, just let them? Surely some saw what was going on, those who are loyal to our family?” Sancia asked.

“Of course I tried to fight them, but Marcello controls most of our businesses and the elders. Antonio controlled the soldiers, and a lot of them were afraid to go against them. Some of the men who were loyal to me and brave enough to speak out were killed in mysterious ways. Their deaths were blamed on our enemies.”

He paused, his jaw tightening. “I knew that if I moved against Antonio without proof and enough soldiers, he’d only kill my men, and worse, he could attack my family. He already faked an attack once, although I can’t prove it.”

“That’s how he moved into our home?” Sancia asked.

Sergio nodded. “The men were all in disguise; Lenny even got shot in the shoulder, but since we couldn’t prove it, he got away with it, and the rest of the famiglia believed it was just our enemies.”

“Let me guess, they said it was my famiglia?”

“Yes. After that, I ordered my men to stand down until we got an opportunity.”

I almost pitied him. I knew how hard it was to take control as a leader, and I’d had years to plan unlike him.

“These men, do you trust them?” I asked.

“With my life,” he replied.

“And you believe they’ll stand beside you against Antonio, Marcello, and anyone who stands beside them?”

“Yes. They’re absolutely loyal to me. They know I’m the only rightful Capo. These men are eager for a war.”

I nodded. “Then we’ll give them one.”

“You’re offering to help me? Why?” He narrowed his eyes.

“I already told you earlier. Mutual enemy.”

He looked at his Consigliere before looking back at me.

“I’ll need to discuss this with my Consigliere.”

“Of course, but we can’t wait for long.”

They moved a little distance away.

I pulled Sancia beside me so she could finally sit her ass down and relax. Although she wasn’t as tense as she was before, she was still too anxious for my liking.

“Relax, you need to stop stressing yourself out,” I whispered, massaging her neck, completely ignoring everyone. She leaned into my touch.

“I can't help it,” she moaned softly.

“I know what will help. You need a hot bath; I'll fix you a bath when we get back to the villa.”

“But I still…”

“When do we move?” Sergio asked, cutting through our conversation, as they both approached us.

“Tonight. We need to strike when they least expect it. You just need to take care of Marcello and secure your home. I’ll take care of Antonio and his men.”

“Cool with me. Now, where’s the evidence you said you have?” Sergio asked expectantly. “I need to see it before we proceed with further plans.”

“Get Rico.”

I nodded at Luca, and he got up and walked out the door. He was back a few moments later with Rico, who was holding a laptop.

“Capo,” Rico greeted, nodding his head.

He turned the laptop screen toward Sergio and Lenny, then pressed play.

Sancia got up and stood beside them.

Although I couldn’t see the video, I knew its content. I knew exactly what they were looking at, and I could hear the voices. Matteo Mancini had come through again; he was the one who gave me the evidence in exchange for waiving some of his loans.

I glanced at Leonardo, and there was so much rage in his eyes as he watched Antonio kill his father; his eyes were now bloodshot, his hands fisted tight.

“I want to kill this motherfucker tonight, Sergio,” he gritted out, his voice deadly calm.

“Pull yourself together. Don’t let your anger blind you. He killed your father; you kill him. Turnabout is fair play. Besides, Antonio is mine,” I said.

“Wrong. He’s mine,” Sancia said.

“You’re not letting her join this fight, are you?” Sergio said, glaring at me. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“Nobody is letting me do anything,” she snapped at him. “So just worry about yourself. I can fucking take care of myself.”

“You can't be serious?” he asked, incredulously.

“Like Cancer, I am.”

“Fine, do whatever the fuck you want,” he said, resigned.

“I will, thank you.” She glanced at me, her brows raised like she expected me to support him.

I raised my hands and grinned innocently. Who am I to argue with my queen?

I won’t try what I already know is futile, but I’m also not fucking stupid enough to let my woman anywhere near that fucking lunatic.

“What’s the plan?” Sergio asked, cutting through my thoughts.