Chapter 414 - Modus Vivendi
Mariano stared straight at Alessandro, his composure was sanguine, yet he was careful when he responded, "I can't do that. Gabriella has to stay married to me. There will be no divorce. But starting now, let it be known that the De Lucas are free to come any time in Chicago. My wife's family is welcome to visit her."
Gael and his father were visibly vexed at Mariano calling Gabriella his "wife". Alessandro certainly didn't like this too. The audacity of this man acting like he had every right was galling. He had only become the Don of Chicago not too long ago, and yet he had already adapted to it like he had been preparing all his life.
Mariano was twenty-nine years old. He had this air of confidence in him even when he was facing Alessandro who was more than twice his age and had more experience. Gael hated to admit it, but Mariano seemed genuine with his words, and he could guess that his father noticed it too. Alessandro was a very shrewd judge of character.. However, what was stopping him was the premise that this man had taken his daughter. It was an insult to him and to the De Lucas.
"That's hardly fair," Alessandro finally said, his voice steady and calm but with an underlying coldness underneath it. "Your family did unforgivable things to ours—I ought to take everything you ever valued for, ten times fold, in return. To top it off, you disregarded me and took Gabriella from her family. You expect me to forget and accept it? I doubt you're new to this life. You must know that you're supposed to extend respect to another mafia family even when it's inconvenient to you—especially when it's an inconvenience. You won't survive as the leader for long if you make enemies at the start of your reign."
Gael could understand his father's sentiments. Alessandro had come a long way in terms of how he served and led their family after Severino's death. When his father sat at the head of their family, it was undeniable that their businesses flourished. Alessandro made deals with people even Severino couldn't. They had more allies than enemies, thanks to him.
Gael's phone buzzed in his pocket. He took a glance at his screen and saw Savannah's number flashing. It was a call he had been waiting for for days. He didn't want to interrupt the heated conversation, but he needed to take the call outside, so he excused himself to his father and left the room.
"This better be good news, Sav," he said as soon as he answered the call. Gael had to walk out of the hallway, away from the prying ears of Morelli soldiers. He stood at the corner of the lobby of the hotel, next to a grand piano. There weren't many people in the area.
"Well… Half the good news," Savannah replied, her raspy voice a little breathy like she was jogging.
"What is it?"
"I found the two percent investor—sort of."
His ears perked up. They were still closing the deal with Morgan—the bastard had been delaying the signing of papers, and he also refused to tell them who the other investor was. "What do you mean, sort of? Who is it?"
"Hold on a sec." She panted. There were some shuffling and beeping sounds in the background. He guessed that Savannah was on the treadmill and was stepping off so she could talk properly. "I still need to dig deeper, but I have a reason to believe that it's Russian. You know him actually. Makarov?"
"What? Him?" Gael's brows drew together. Makarov was the last person he thought would be the investor. Makarov was the father of the literal motherfucker, Ilias Makarov, the guy that Gael roughed up outside of his club for touching Angela. It wasn't that Makarov wasn't capable of investing—in fact, he owned several properties and small businesses in Queens and lower Manhattan. However, he didn't look like he had the capacity to invest in a big company like KMH. It just didn't make sense. "Are you sure?"
"That's what I'm telling you. He left footprints here and there that made me believe that he's the investor. There have been receipts of his meetings with Kline and a few with Morgan."
"Maybe they're doing business on the side. I don't think he's the one."
"Gael, you know me… I just have this feeling. My gut is telling me. I just have to find concrete evidence that it's him."
His jaw clicked. That's Savannah for you. She believed her gut was some kind of a magic crystal ball or something. However, he would admit that she had been right more often than not. "What are you gonna do? Torture the information out of him?" he asked with a hint of amusement.
"Excuse me. I'm a lawyer, not a mafia. I don't torture people."
"A lawyer who works with the mafia," he corrected. "And you do torture people in the courtroom."
"That's different." She snorted. "Anyway, I just called to update you about it. I still need to keep digging. How's the meeting going?"
Just then, Gael noticed the sound of light footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Gabriella coming out of the private room alone. "Not yet done. I have to go. Thank you, Sav. And keep me posted. Let me know if there's something I can do."
The call ended, and he faced his sister, noticing her furrowed brows. "Why are you here?"
"They let me out." She folded her arms under her breasts, looking annoyed as ever.
"Why? What are they talking about?"
"They're discussing terms and conditions. Mariano said he was willing to compromise, but we needed to stay married. Dad wasn't having it. I was about to protest because it's my life too. Why do they get to decide for me?" She groaned. "Then Dad told me to wait outside like I'm a little girl not allowed in grown-up talks."
"You're his little girl," Gael teased, and she rolled her eyes at him. The tension back in the room was palpable, but he was starting to think that his father might just come to an amicable agreement with Mariano—the latter seemed reasonable enough. Gael wanted to go back inside, but he thought it was best to leave the two Dons to discuss by themselves.
He mused. It was a little curious that Mariano didn't have his brother or his consigliere with him. Even his soldiers were less than what Alessandro brought today. "Hey." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "How bad is it there?"
Gabriella opened her mouth to answer, but they were distracted when Giovanni strolled towards them with a scowl on his face. She smiled at him and pulled him in for a hug. "Zio."
"Cara. You look beautiful." He kissed the side of her head.
"Grazie." She studied her uncle's face, and her expression turned into worry. "I'm guessing you bumped into Lia?" Giovanni nodded but didn't say anything.
Gael knew that his uncle didn't want to talk about it, and Gabriella would grill him with questions, so he interrupted as he looked around the lobby. "Where's Val?"
Out of the corner of their eyes, a slender arm raised above its owner's head. "Here." Val finger-waved from the armchair. The piece of furniture was so huge that she looked so tiny in it. The three of them were half surprised to see her there. They didn't notice her presence at all, and she was about twelve feet away.
Gabriella gasped in shock, squealing as she rushed into Val's waiting arms. The two of them gushed like they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
Not a moment later, the doors to the private room opened, and Alessandro came out with Mariano just a few steps behind him, both of them bearing stoic expressions. But upon observing Mariano, Gael could see that the younger man looked somewhat…relieved? It was a small observation, but Mariano appeared to relax a little. Gael knitted his brows, wondering what Mariano was all about.
"Papa…" Gabriella hesitated, waiting for her father to speak and seemingly nervous.
The muscles on Alessandro's jaw tightened as he pulled his daughter into his arms and stroked her hair. "Cucciola. I'm sorry I couldn't be a better father who's supposed to protect you from the viciousness of this world. My heart breaks that you're the one who has to endure all of this. If I could take your place, I would do it in a heartbeat."
She buried her face against his chest and sobbed, unable to say anything. It was clear to everyone that a decision had been made. Whatever the two Dons had come to terms with, Gabriella still had to remain married to Mariano Morelli.