Innocent (Omertà Book 1)

by Anna Widzisz

  “Did you know about it?” she growled looking at Jason, seeing as her protests bounced off Severo with no clear effect.

  It looked like he’d expected the uproar, which shouldn’t have been true since the girl had never reacted so poorly in his company.

  Consigliere shook his head instantly. He realized what an important person Marco was and was familiar with the business families shared, and what would happen if their transactions didn’t come through. There would be a conflict. And a huge one at that. Severo was repeating this almost every day, but Jason didn’t think that the Capo would be ready to sacrifice his daughter for the sake of maintaining his shares.

  Severo differed from other Capos when it came down to his only child. That is why Lynette never suspected that the concept of an arranged marriage would become her destiny. Even though he’d casually mentioned it a few times. She never took his words to heart. Now she felt deceived and betrayed.

  “Are you sure that it’s a good idea?” asked Carnovale, trying to reason with the man and make him see what a bad idea that was. “They don’t even know each other. You haven’t met the boy. What if he’s going to treat her badly? You shouldn’t have agreed so easily.”

  That was the only tactic that might change something. Make him see that he could put his daughter in harm’s way.

  “Lynette will like him. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Noah.”

  ”But it doesn’t make them true, padre! No one is selling the pig in a poke by saying exactly what it is! You promised not to decide my future.”

  Severo rose from his seat, furious. ”Figlia, show some respect. I am not only your father but also a Capo. Your Capo!” he roared. ”I’ve never said that includes marriage. It’s a tradition to have arranged marriages in our Famiglia. You won’t become an exception just because you’re my daughter. You should know that. A woman’s place is by her man, ready to do everything he wants and to be the best wife that she can possibly be. This is my final word.” he added, looking at them and walked out of the dining room, leaving nothing but confusion and anger in his wake.

  Palermo, Sicily 1999

  Severo Selvaggio sat down at his desk in the office, lighting up a cigar. Normally he wasn’t one to give in to such an awful habit but today had been a stressful day. His brother-in-law was supposed to meet with another Capo that stationed in Sicily and close the deal on a new source of drug delivery. Because of the growing interest of local police forces in his successful businesses, he had to play it safe. Most of the judges and policemen were eating out of the palm of his hand, however, as a Capo dei capi he could never be too careful. If the FBI was to get involved that would mean trouble. The agents were not easily purchasable. Famiglia was the most important and risking the lives of his men was never the way to go when it could be avoided.

  Marco Falcone laid low and didn’t appear in the public eye as much as Severo did. He had more room for maneuver as far as shipments were concerned. The cartels in Colombia have always worked with the Sicily Capo, but they had to become sneakier with supervising cargo deliveries as to not get caught. It had become way too risky for Selvaggio’s taste so he had to find a new way.

  With a loud knock on the door, his eyes moved towards it. Emilio Meccuci appeared in the threshold wearing his best suit and the usual cold calculating expression. He was clearly annoyed and it immediately gave Severo an apprehension that something had gone very wrong. He fixed his eyes on his wife’s brother, waiting for the man to start talking.

  ”The deal is done. Falcone arranged a new shipment at the end of the week.” Emilio said.

  Capo frowned, confused. ”Then why do you have such a dull expression?”

  ”I don’t like him.” The man explained.

  He was in the Famiglia as a Capodecina for years, but was entrusted with tasks much more important for the good of the Famiglia than any other Capodecina ever was. Simply because as the brother of Sofia Selvaggio he spent some time with the boss and could prove his mettle on more than one occasion. Because of this he was indispensable. His knowledge of how people think, work and do business was something to hold on to, especially on days like today when he could see that Marco Falcone wasn’t a man to put all the hope in.

  Severo nodded. ”I hear you. For now, we need new deliveries that are not straight from the cartels because the route is getting too dangerous to take so many times in a month. So we need Falcone. No famiglia can be trusted. I want you to take care of the business with this one. Is this alright with you, cognato?” He asked.

  There was no greater honor than getting such an important role straight from the Capo dei capi. As a Capodecina he was in charge of his soldiers only. Now he was the one to deal with another Capo on his boss’ behalf.

  His heart filled with pride and thankfulness. Emilio bowed slightly, showing his respect and agreeing on the proposition at the same time.

  ”After all, someone whose surname is the same as that Italian uomo, can hardly be fully trusted.” Severo murmured, angrily.

  There was no doubt of whom the man was talking about. Giovanni Falcone was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate who’d caused the mafia great trouble all over the country. Trying to overthrow power of the famiglia was his pastime. But now it was in the past.

  CHAPTER 5

  “I need a new player on the team. Come to practice today,” said Francisco, sitting down next to his friend in the cafeteria.

  If it weren’t for being extremely hungry, Drew Ryder would have never eaten anything from that plate. But he’d been in a hurry in the morning and hadn’t had time for breakfast. Because of that, lunch was a hundred times more delicious than he’d ever thought possible. It wasn’t even important that he had no idea what the food actually was.

  He looked at the boy with a tired expression. “I told you already that I don’t care about joining the team.”

  Basketball was one of his favorite sports but he would rather play it for fun than put extra pressure on winning each game to go to the final playoffs. Back in New Orleans, he was the team captain. And a good one at that. But when it had started to feel more like a job than a hobby that was the time he decided to quit. It had turned into an unbearable routine; practice after school and matches on the weekends. Everyone expected so much of him and it added to the already sky-high stress level. That wasn’t the way Drew had imagined his life. Not even close. And his health was more important than anything else at that point. More often than not, he’d heard of players being too involved and starting to ruin their own lives because of it.

  However, Francisco was different on so many levels. All he could see in his future was basketball. That was also one of the few things he ever talked about. According to Drew it was impressive as much as it was annoying. He could never understand the amount of work his friend put into it. Everything had an impact. Not only his basketball skills, but also the physique; the time spent in the gym and the knowledge he tried to gain by watching matches, as well as reading about different tactics. For Díez, the food he ate always had to be prepared at home or at least healthy. He cared for his appearance more than he probably should. His day consisted of morning runs, after school practice, and evening gym sessions. Almost every day. Even though he already had the muscular body that a lot of guys could only dream of, there was always a place for improvement in his opinion.

  “Alex aggravated his injury and the doctor banned him from playing this season. Someone has to step up and you’re the right person for the power forward position. At least till I find someone else,” he pleaded.

  Drew nodded. “Alright. So be it.”

  ”Yes! Thank you!” he screamed, excited.

  He pulled out his phone, writing a text to the team about the good news. Francisco had been confident that he would convince his friend to play, however, it had been much easier than expected. He had the whole speech planned, even prepared to beg on his knees if necessary. Thankfully, it hadn’t come to this.

  Inéz
sat down with Isaac, greeting the boys. Her hands were full of files and notes. As the student body president, she was really busy with school affairs. Besides that, she was well-organized, very engaged in every event taking place at the school, and most of them did because they were her idea in the first place. With perfect grades, she still found time for after-school activities. What's more, she knew everyone and paid attention to what they were doing at all times. Everyone liked her.

  She took a sip of her orange juice, looking around the cafeteria. “I feel sorry for Lynette. Hardly anyone talks to her and she sits alone at lunch every day.”

  ”Do not start again,” growled her brother angrily.

  The girl always wanted to get to know Selvaggio and she never fully believed the rumors. Most of the students were too afraid of her to do anything. For someone to come up to Lynette was almost equal to impossible. No one dared to do it of their own accord, but Inéz had never heard confirmation from the girl concerning the stories she’d heard. Sicilian never said that her father was a gangster and she never admitted to being a mobster's daughter. However, Inéz’s plans to befriend the girl were never met with her twin’s approval, which was often the main reason for their fights.

  Drew gazed curiously at his friends since he didn’t know who they were talking about. He’d heard the name around school recently more than once, but it was always said in whispers, and by people who were clearly trying to cover up their conversations.

  “Can you stop making her into such a bad person? Rumors are false more than they are true. Just because people are afraid doesn’t mean anything. She’s never admitted to anything.”

  Francisco was done listening to his sister. It was the same thing over and over again. He wished the girl hadn’t come back to school because the month of freedom from the quarrels with his sister was something he’d very much appreciated. But the peace didn’t last long enough.

  “She’s dangerous, you idiot,” said Francisco, getting more frustrated.

  “Who are you talking about?” asked Drew. He felt excluded.

  Isaac Henderson straightened up and pointed secretly to the girl who was sitting at the table in the corner of the cafeteria. It was the same one that Drew had already met before. To say that it came as a shock to him to learn that she could also be the subject of so many hushed conversations would be an understatement.

  “It is said that Lynette’s father is part of the mafia,” explained Isaac quietly.

  “And my stupid sister thought it best to become friends with the girl. It’s a death wish,” added Francisco, looking at Inéz pointedly.

  Inéz hit him in the back of his head. “Sorry, I wanted to hit harder.” she ironized.

  “Isn’t it an absurd? How did people come up with such a story? I have never heard of the mafia being run in this city.”

  Drew did little worrying after hearing the news. He was a realist and it sounded too weird to be true for him.

  “Mafia is more of a secret organization rather than a public one. No one is going to admit it out loud. But I wouldn’t hold my breath thinking that it didn’t exist. It can be true, actually. Lynette was born in Sicily and that’s exactly where organizations like this began, right?”

  “Oh, yes. That’s a great idea. Let’s judge people based on their origin,” mocked Inéz, rolling her eyes.

  As far as Drew’s information was concerned, there was no mafia in Seattle and if there were a person who would know, it would be his father. He was an FBI agent sent to the city to take care of some low-life scums of dealers. If it were true, he would be all over the job of bringing the organization down. Since he didn’t know anything about it, it didn’t exist. Such a secret could never stay hidden for long. Not in this century.

  He wanted to say it and also mention how he’d met Lynette almost a year ago but decided against it. He already knew the reaction he would get, so there was no point in touching the subject. He squashed it in, leaving for a more suitable time.

  § § §

  “Have you heard that David Rodson didn’t show up to school today?”

  Kendal Jenkins was the it girl of this high school. She knew everything about everyone. Nothing happened without her knowledge. On a certain level, she was similar to Inéz, but besides her undeniably good looks, there was nothing deeper about her. The girl loved the satisfaction of being the source of gossip and information spread around the school. Especially when it came to Lynette. The reason behind it was that she was the only person to ever talk to the girl. They’d had a project together. However, what she’d managed to omit was that Selvaggio did everything on her own and they only talked once. But it was enough for people to see and believe that if someone was brave enough to come up to Lynette, she was also the person to turn to for news on the girl.

  “Just because Lynette looked at him the wrong way doesn’t mean anything. She did that to prevent me from going to detention.” Inéz appeared behind the girl. It seemed to be the main subject since the beginning of classes that day.

  Kendal was less than reliable when it came to gossip. After all, it was her who’d said that the headmaster Taner was having an affair with the janitress just because she saw them talking. And according to her, Drew was a distant relative of the president of the United States, when he had nothing in common with him in this life or any other.

  But no one cared about the fake news as long as there was something to talk about. “David can be sick, for all we know.”

  “Or ten feet underground,” said Francisco, for which he got hit by his sister on the side.

  “You get too carried away by your imagination. True, Lynette is weird, but she has never been unpleasant, let alone hurt anyone.” For the very first time, it was Isaac who defended the girl.

  Jenkins narrowed her eyes. “And how can you know that she is nice?” she asked, glaring at him. ”I have worked with her on the project and she did everything the way she wanted to. She was mean and impatient with me. So who the hell knows what happened between her and David after the Spanish class? She has the resources to hurt others. All she has to do is say so to her father.”

  Drew laughed darkly. The imagination that Francisco had was nothing compared to Kendal’s. She was too engaged in Selvaggio’s life that she didn't see the bigger picture. It could all be false since no one had admitted it, or proved otherwise.

  “I’ve met Lynette before. Talked to her even. She’s not big on words, but that’s all there is.”

  Well, he might as well tell the truth. At least maybe there was a slight chance that some of his friends would understand.

  They all glanced at him with suspicion and shock in their eyes. It had already been a few times that Lynette’s name came up in the conversation, but he hadn’t bothered to say anything before for a reason he couldn’t quite comprehend himself.

  Isaac regarded his best friend. “How come? You moved here a few months ago and she wasn’t even in the city back then.”

  “I told you that I visit my father every Christmas. I met her on Christmas Day almost a year ago. She was sitting in the park, obviously sad. Shaken up. I tried to talk to her and find out whether she needed help, but only managed to get a few sentences out of her, and they weren’t that helpful to be honest.”

  They had more questions to ask but stopped once Lynette appeared not so far away from them. She stalked out of school looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing ever. Every student outside watched her as she went to the nearest parking lot and got into the passenger seat of a car. She left in the same one she’d arrived in the morning. With the same person as her driver.

  “I need to find out who her driver is now,” Kendal declared loudly as she had nothing to fear anymore. Lynette wouldn’t be able to hear her.

  Francisco nodded. “It’s someone younger for sure. I wonder why it changed.”

  “Leave it be, for goodness' sake!”

  For Drew and Inéz, the girl’s mysteriousness drew them in, attr
acting them, rather than prompting a feeling of unease – as was the case for everyone else. Moreover, Drew wanted to find out what had happened to the girl last Christmas. Because the way she’d looked and acted back then wasn’t normal by any standard.

  CHAPTER 6

  Lynette

  Lynette was overcome with a desire to destroy everything that appeared in her way after yesterday’s events. Until now anger had never been such a strong emotion. It started to control her, and she was pretty sure that it wasn’t far from taking over her actions. Italian temper added to the mix makes for a nasty combination that could end badly. But she couldn’t get the news out of her mind. Her naivety would be her downfall and she swore that it was the very last time she let anyone deceive her.

  How come she was so stupid to believe that her father would let her choose when the day came? All she wanted was freedom. If not a real one, then at least an alternative that felt like it was her choice, for once in her life. Severo let her think that she was in control of her fate. That was one of many lies she’d been told. And the truth came out in the cruelest way possible.

  However, nothing hurt as badly as her father’s indifference towards her uncertain future.

  She was in a foul mood and the last thing she wanted was to talk to anyone. Without as much as a buongiorno to Rosalia, she took her prepared lunch and put on her shoes in the hall. Hoping to escape that awful place for a few hours.

  Or forever.

  Looking at herself in the mirror, she was certain that it was the worst she’d ever looked. Clothes hardly matched and the only thing that saved her outfit was that it was all black. As if she was ready to go to a funeral. Which was exactly how she felt. Like she was about to die and start a completely different life. Her hair was untamed so it was left in peace in a bun. But she couldn’t hide her eyes. One look and everyone could see that she’d been crying for a very long time. Red, puffy and deprived of any sleep.