I opened the door and let Fabiano and Adamo in. Aria tore away from Amo and went over to her brother, hugging him too. Fabiano briefly hugged her but public displays of affection weren’t his thing.
I stepped up to Adamo. “This is a major show of trust. I hope you know this.”
“I do, we both do.” Adamo glanced at Fabiano who nodded. “Remo wants peace. We all want peace. For Greta. For Amo. For all of us.”
I pulled Aria against me. She smiled sadly. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine.”
The bell rang again and I tensed, not expecting anyone else. The camera showed Matteo, Isabella and Gianna in front of the door.
I let them in. Isabella gave me a quick smile before she headed toward Amo. She hugged him. “I’m sorry for what happened to Greta.”
“Thanks, Isa.”
Gianna shoved Amo’s shoulder. “You have a lot of explaining to do. You’ve always been a troublemaker.”
“I guess I have that from you,” Amo said. Gianna huffed and went over to Aria.
I turned to Matteo who hovered in the doorway, looking wary. “Good job sending your daughter over to us for a guilt trip. Marcella has a way with words that breaks everyone’s resolve.”
I clapped his shoulder. “I’m glad to have you by my side.” I narrowed my eyes. “You won’t use tonight to sink your knife into Nevio, right?”
Matteo’s lips thinned. He nodded toward Isabella and Gianna. “They want peace. It was a two to one vote.”
“We should leave,” Amo said, motioning at his watch. He was right.
“Valerio!”
Gianna rolled her eyes. “That boy will be late even for his own death.”
Valerio jogged down the stairs in that moment. “I have a huge party planned for my eighteenth in January. I definitely won’t die any time soon.”
I realized this moment marked the end of an era. Even our youngest was no longer a child. He had been inducted for a while, but his attitude had always made me see him as a boy. In more than one way he reminded me of Matteo. Now he’d fight by my side. He gave me a wink and tight smile, tightening his gun belt around his chest.
“Let’s go,” I ordered.
Aria’s parting gaze tore at my chest. I would bring all of our children back to her. I’d give my last drop of blood to protect them. Today our family would stand together.
Before the official meeting, we met with the people Dad and I trusted the most in a small hall adjacent to the main hall of the Yonkers power plant: soldiers, Captains and Underbosses that were loyal to the core.
As I scanned the men before me, I was surprised by the number of them. Dad smiled grimly at me.
“That’s what I’m aiming for. One day I want to have this kind of loyalty from my men.”
“These men are loyal to you too. That’s why they’re here.”
I nodded at Growl and his sons, Romero and Flavio, Matteo, Maddox, Cassio and his sons, Orazio and his son, Demetrio and his son. Dad had given his trust to many of these men in advance and they’d repaid him, and found a home in the Famiglia. They now repaid him with loyalty daily. But what we’d ask of them today was more than ever.
“Welcome, my friends, and thank you for coming here so quickly,” Dad said. He rarely uttered the words thank you, but tonight’s activities required it.
Nevio and Remo were still hidden.
Their immediate presence would have caused too much confusion and bad blood.
Dad gave me a nod and I stepped forward. We’d decided I would explain the situation to our men. Soon whispers arose among them as I told them why we were here tonight. It was strange to reveal so much about something this private, something that many still regarded as a weakness: feelings for a woman. But the men here had all lost their hearts to a woman so I knew they’d understand.
“Let me get this straight,” Cassio said in his usual controlled voice. “We’re going to have peace with the Camorra again and allow them to kill a few of our men tonight.”
“It’s their revenge to dish out,” I said. Dad nodded. Not a hint of doubt reflected on his face though I knew he still harbored some.
Cassio blew out a long breath and exchanged a look with a few others. “I have to admit, I think peace is necessary, but this is a peculiar way to go about it.”
“The circumstances require it,” I said.
After a few more discussions, the consensus was that the present men were willing to follow our judgment. It was the first step in the right direction. One step of many.