Chapter 52

Arianna POV: 

With the detective on our side, he became an everyday occurrence in our lives much to Giovanni's irritation. He was convinced the detective had a thing for me, which I couldn't see at all. I tried to remind him that I was with him, but all he said was. No man likes another to covet the thing he holds most dear. 

We had returned to the city a week after that horrible night, I hadn't told Gio, but I could still hear their screams the glass shattering. It was some atrocious demon repeating itself to me over and over. I tried to push it from my mind and focus on what we were doing but every day I found it clawing at my ears, drawing up the images from that night whenever I closed my eyes. There was only one reason for my father to have made such a reckless move. He was furious I had gotten away from him, and he wanted me to know that those innocents I held over his life, over Guilia's, they were the ones who would pay the price. You had to hand it to him, he was ever the tactician, if he couldn't get me physically he would have my mind in enough pieces I wouldn't notice his presence. 

So I stayed resilient forcing myself to do the same thing he would, and I played the game. I found where our weaknesses were and covered them, while at the same time looking for his. After the riots, if you can even call them that, dozens of families had had enough and left. The market value of the city had plummeted overnight, my father was able to buy back ground for pennies on the dollar. His thugs and false storefronts now dotted our borders like braille. We were surrounded. 

Surrounded as we were, I.A. had done a clean sweep of the city over half of the police force in the city, all of my father's lackeys hiding behind a desk were now looking for new forms of employment. New cops came into the city, I wondered how long before they took the gracious pay raise my father extended. Mosley seemed confident none of them would, not with Internal Affairs breathing down everybody's necks. With that, we knew we could now count on the cops to do their jobs, but that being said we had to be more careful too. Our shipments now had increased searches and our men were being pulled over almost daily. 

We had to move things around and get our products differently. It wasn't like he was moving in drugs, but Giovanni could still be slapped with charges for his illegal imports. Detective Mosley refused to compromise his integrity and give us any heads-up on any searches. I had to respect however annoying it may be. Giovanni repeatedly reminded him that while he dealt with comforts from home for European and Asian immigrants, Domenico dealt with drugs. 

"I'm not in that department so I don't even know when it'll happen," Mosley told us waving his hand to push the topic to the side, his camera glitching at the movement. 

We had no doubts my father was watching Giovanni's house to see what we were up to so the Detective couldn't come here, but we could at least talk to him through video calls. The two men often bickering through tiny screens on their laptops. 

"I had no clue American agencies couldn't speak to another department that must be why nothing ever gets done," Giovanni retorted. 

"May I remind you it is with our agency's help that you are still not behind bars," Mosley snapped. 

Much of their conversations looked like this. I rolled my eyes at the machismo both men were putting on right now. Two men used to being the top dog didn't go well, especially when one feels he holds the moral high ground. 

"What have I done? Have I murdered anyone besides murderers you let walk free? Have I brought mind-numbing drugs onto your streets? Have I taken a whole city hostage for decades while the F.BI kept their thumbs shoved up their-" 

"Okay!" I clapped my hands interrupting Giovannai's rant and saving us from another fight between him and the detective. "We know that my mom had some information she got by working with a P.I. but so far no such P.I. Has been found. What else do we have on my father?" I asked the Detective. 

He sag back in his chair while going over the documents on his desk. "We have some charges for drugs that we could put against him, and the beginnings of money laundering thanks to the tip-off of those fronts, but what we don't have is any hard evidence. Your father is very, very good at keeping his name off the record," Mosley explained. 

"Basically you have nothing," Giovanni asserted. 

I exhaled defeated by their feud, nothing would get done with them squabbling like this. "We can do our best to get you more opening for evidence by attacking his drug outlets, and his money laundering fronts," I translated for Detective Mosley. 

"If you can give him a distraction so we can get an informant or an undercover agent that would be best," The Detective explained. 

That would be tricky, if there was one soul on this earth who didn't trust anybody I'd bet my life it would be my father. He would be wary of any recruit, testing them beyond their limits, any body climbing the ranks right now would be dangerous. 

"If you need an informant I may have one already," Gio gleefully leaned forward his hands clasped in front of his face. "My "cousin" Marco is engaged to Guilia Caputo, he's gained their trust by giving up our imports, and men," Gio offered grinning as the Detective crossed his arms and squinted. 

I was slightly taken aback, I knew Marco had to be up to something, but I hadn't expected Giovanni to keep it secret this long. I had brought up the discrepancies in Marco's territory many times, but Luca and Gio always brushed me off. 

"And how do they believe he's turned?" Mosley almost sneered. 

It was like they were two toddlers. 

"They believe he wants my empire and has fallen madly in love with Gulia," He grunted determined to show his plan would work. 

"How am I supposed to get in touch with him?" 

"Easy you ask me," Gio smirked again, holding all the cards just like he wanted. 

I knew that Mosley wanted to contact Marco himself, but this was the most logical route. If Marco was discovered talking to Giovanni he could play it off as him working the con, but if he was discovered messaging a detective, he was as good as dead. 

"Fine," Mosley agreed. 

They agreed Giovanni would contact Marco and give him the new instructions to get involved deeper in the family. Hopefully, he had already gained some trust and this wouldn't be too painful for him. 

I turned to Giovanni after the call ended. "You didn't tell me," I murmured and he looked up at me with such sweetness. 

"What?" He brought his hand over mine looking at me with such devotion, but for the first time, I wondered if it were true. 

"About Marco, I had asked you why his people always seemed to go missing many times and you never told me," I challenged him my voice hot. 

"It was to keep him safe," He attempted to explain but I felt my guard rise and I stepped back. "All the same, I don't like being kept in the dark," I told him before turning and walking off to my room. 

It was childish to behave this way, but my hands were clammy and my heart clenched. The thing I adored the most about Giovanni was that he told me the truth, and though he hadn't outright lied, this omission threatened that image of him. For no reason other than my demons I compared this to the web of lies my world had once been built upon, my skin crawled at the thought it could all be happening again.