Chapter 55

Domenico POV: 

"I don't care if the cops aren't on our side anymore get it done!" I shouted slamming the door behind me. 

The whole pack of fools had begun to question me ever since I released them on this city. I had given them what they wanted let them settle whatever small petty grudges they held with the insignificant ants on the street, and they had the audacity to say we had gone too far. For so many years, I had left them chomping at the bit and now, now that they've had their chance they feel the pressure of their actions. Perhaps there was a reason then why I didn't let them do whatever they wanted. 

To be fair my risk hadn't paid off in the way I wanted, my daughter for some reason concerned herself with the lives of those scraps. She wished them all to be fruitful and successful in their own right. Most of them didn't have the wherewithal for that, not enough ambition is many men's great folly. 

I had wreaked havoc upon the city to show her how meaningless it is to care, that all it'll do is drive you insane. The only thing you can do is care about you and yours, try and help the common man and your work is never done. 

I should have known better her mother was the same way, handing out money to sign holders on the street. Always giving away the girl's old clothes, our old clothes, and jewelry. I had gotten her these pair of emerald studs once and not less than a year later she gave them up to an auction for donation. 

Just like her mother, Arianna was tying herself to the mast of protecting the innocent, proclaiming the virtues of those beneath her. I felt it was my duty to help my one daughter with a brain, it wasn't her fault she had a heart as well. No no, I understood where it came from, but she needed to learn why it was a burden. 

She didn't remember the years we spent struggling, barely able to afford diapers before I started our enterprise, soon after her mother had all the things she needed and then some. I had always been a savvy businessman, but the red tape we had to crawl through not the mention the bigger businesses, keeping their boot on your neck to keep themselves ahead. I wasn't going to let my family fall by the wayside just to keep their bottom line in check. 

As I said many men's greatest folly is a lack of ambition. 

Not me. I did what I had to do, I built this home from the ground up, for my daughters and what is her reaction? 

I threw my glass at the wall, my eyes wild at the thought of her revulsion. Everything I do, I do for me and mine, that includes her and her bleeding heart. I looked up at the heavens cursing Vanessa, her mind had drawn me in, she was so pragmatic not like the other girls. She saw the world as it was, not some dewy-eyed dream. She was a realist and I found our conversations the best part of my day, but she had a belief that she could help those around her from themselves. 

One she now had passed on to our daughter. I laughed and raised my hand up to her, the love of my life. The greatest opponent I had ever faced left me with one final challenge. I had no doubts though, I would show Arianna the futile effort she gave. One way or another. 

So what if I had left them get too rowdy and we made some headlines, yes it brought I.A. down on my boys in blue, but they weren't essential merely a perk. We could still do what we needed to to get rid of Risci. 

Risci 

I gathered the photos on my desk, his arm wrapped around my daughter at some restaurant the other night. He had taken advantage of our instability and made a show of going out, now the people found themselves more confident. She was smiling so freely, no cares. My attempt to drive her mad hadn't worked, we were more alike than she probably cared to admit. She had brushed off the horrors I had committed, in order to scare her home. 

First, my trick to get Risci and her in one swoop failed, I hadn't expected her to see through my plan. She had called the detective, that whiny snot-nosed little boy. It had gained even more of my admiration but also had thrown a wrench into my plans. I couldn't well move on from this city to the next with that grease ball trying to topple me over, I wasn't one to lose focus. 

I just had to find their weak points, I had to get that one little hole open. If I got them weak enough, quickly enough he'd fold. He had made the unfortunate mistake of caring for her, which meant all I had to do was exploit that. Put enough pressure on her to get him to let go, and she'd fall back into my welcoming arms. 

How to do that was the question, for too long I had been focusing on the operation of the Risci family instead of the man. He had soft spots, everybody did. I knew about my daughter, but I didn't know how to get her to see him in a different light. 

I'd like to avoid hammering her if possible, violence left a bad taste in the mouth, especially with women. They never seemed to forget the blood you spilled or the times you lost your temper, I'm only human after all. 

No, I had to use them against each other, drive a wedge between them, get them to see each other's faults. If only I had someone on the inside, someone who could whisper their faults in each other's ears. 

Marco would be the best choice if he wasn't the dumbest man to walk the planet I don't think he could spell his name, he was expendable to both me and RIsci. Besides, with him tied to Guilia, neither of them would believe a word he said. 

Guilia. As tiresome as she was she had her uses, if she could get some time alone with Arianna perhaps she could twist some knowledge about Risci. Arianan had a soft spot for her sister, as all good family does. I had to do something to break them apart, and I didn't want to have to harm my daughter, it would be near impossible to get her on my side after that. 

I'll do my best to play some mind games, but I didn't have a lot of time. I had to do something to end this. I wanted my city back, my men to have what they wanted, my daughters by my side and in line. I wanted that little fuck at the bottom of the ocean where he should have been years ago. So help me god I get what I want one way or another. Arianna should do herself a favor and come home or she'll be forced to.