Chapter 14: THE PRESENT

LORENZO’S P.O.V. I knew I pissed my father off the moment I banned him from being able to enter the house. He sent me a message the very next day but I ignored it. I wasn’t going to let him or anyone else push me around especially when it came to my decisions. When I told Matteo about the plan, he looked like a kid in a candy store which should have been the indicator that I was making a shitty decision because Matteo’s choices almost always ended up with something or someone being blown up. “Any news on the boy?” I asked as I met him in my office. He spent the entire night at the house of the boy who had been used as a patsy to get my attention. “Did you find out who sent him?” “Whoever it was, they were smart enough to print out the message and the mail company had no idea who sent it. I did go through his emails and digital footprint however and I can tell that he had some interactions with the Russians. I doubt he knew who they were because he was stupid enough to borrow money from them.” “He was owing the Russians money?” I asked and Matteo nodded. I didn’t need any more information. It was obvious that the Russians gave him the job knowing that he would be desperate enough to do it. They were getting bolder and it was getting annoying. I had no idea why they were so interested in us. We were never allies but we lived in peace. We respected each other’s boundaries until a few years ago when they began to attack our men and shipments. What are you going to do?” Matteo asked and I shrugged. “I know you, Lorenzo. You already have a plan cooked up, don’t you?” “The Russians have a strip club, right?’ Matteo nodded. I could see the corner of his lips pulling up in a smile as he began to understand what I was planning. “I think it is time we pay them a visit, don’t you?” One of the good things about being capo was the fact that I didn’t need to do most of the dirty work. I called some of the spies we had situated in New Jersey and briefed them on the plan. It was simple, they were to do the same thing the Russians had tried to do. I wanted them to know that I got their message and I was ready to fight fire with fire. Once I was sure they would do exactly as I had asked, I decided to focus on the next thing on my plate which was Leonardo. I didn’t want to do a DNA test but I knew I had to. A lot of my enemies knew about him and unless I was very sure that he was mine, I didn’t want to pull him into the mess. I wasn’t going to use father’s doctor so I called mine. Doc had been with us for years. He started treating me when I was twelve and he just stuck with us. “I need you at the house in the next thirty minutes,” I said once he picked up and he stayed quiet on the other end. “Is this about the boy?” he sounded curious and I hummed. “I’ll be right there.” “How did you know about him?” I asked just before he hung up. “You’re Lorenzo DeLucia. It would be a wonder if people didn’t know. One of your men told a nurse in my hospital. The news got to me.” “Find out who the man is before you get here.” Doc arrived in exactly thirty minutes. He was in his mid-sixties with grey hair but steady hands. He had a soft smile which worked well for most of the people in our circle. There was something soft about him but underneath all of that was resilience. Doc was the only man in our circle who wasn’t born Italian but I trusted him. My father had rescued his daughter from a trafficking rink and since then, he pledged his allegiance to us. He had never given me reason to doubt him and I trusted him more than I did some of the men in my circles. He handed me the name on a piece of paper and I gave It to Matteo with a clear order. I wanted his head mounted on a spike as a warning to everyone who dared to betray me. “You’re going to leave a trail of bodies when you’re done,” Matteo muttered as he went to do as I had asked. He must have sent for Leo because he arrived within the next few minutes. When Doc saw him, his eyes widened. He looked between me and Leo and muttered a few words under his breath in French. “He looks like you,” he said more to himself than to me. He walked over to Leo. “Hello, young man. What’s your name?” “I’m Leo. You must be Doc,” Doc’s eyes widened in shock. “My mum told me all about you. She said he would call you after I got here to take some of my hair.” I was more amused than shocked. Of course Isabella would have thought of everything. She was many things and brilliant was one of them. She was always ten steps ahead of everyone else and I wasn’t surprised that she was ahead in this too. “Your mother was right,” Doc smiled down at Leo. “I will also take a swab from your mouth if you don’t mind.” Leo just shrugged. “Is it going to hurt?” “Not at all. I can do it for your father first so that you can see.” Leo nodded and Doc turned to me. I just shrugged and sat in my chair as he took the swab. I could feel Leo’s eyes on me the entire time and there was something about his gaze. It was too piercing for a child his age but that wasn’t what bothered me. It was the fact that he stared up at me with reverence. The fact that he looked up at me had me almost squirming in my seat. In all my years of life, I had never been the person people looked up to but here was this child. A part of me couldn’t help but think that I was going to disappoint him. If he truly was my son then I was in for the rest of my life. “I’m all done,” Doc announced and I cleared my throat. The room felt too stuffy and I undid the first two buttons as I stood to my feet. “I have to go.”