Mafia Secret (5 page)

Lessa chewed on her nail as the limousine turned through a large gate. She looked out the window and heard Santos shift forward as well. The limo started to slow. At the end of a long, well-manicured driveway, an enormous house appeared. It wasn't even a house. It looked more like a mansion. She hadn't given much thought when he'd said the family home was the Tazio
estate
, but now she realized Santos really had meant estate.

"Keep going, Hank," he said. "We'll go in the back door."

The driver nodded and pulled around the house to where a series of garages lined up behind the main building. Santos climbed out of the limo and looked around. Reaching his hand in, he helped Lessa out. She looked up and up at the rear façade. It was at least four stories.

"You could have warned me." Lessa smoothed her simple grey skirt.

"What?" He glanced around.

"This is not a house." She pointed to the top floor. "No one would call this a house."

Santos laughed in surprise. "Doesn't matter how big, a home is a home."

She narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed again before turning back to Hank.

"Take her bags to Virginia," he said. "She'll see to them."

"Sir," Hank said, nodding and popping the trunk.

Santos led her up the stairs and she took several panicky breaths. She was here and about to meet her family. Trying to relax, she drew in a long breath as Santos opened the door and guided her into the kitchen. It was massive, with big picture windows letting in the sun. The terra cotta glowed and the stainless steel gleamed in the natural light.

An older woman, a practical black suit hugging her generous curves, stood alone at one of the granite countertops. She turned at the sound of the door, and her face lit up.

"Marco." She rushed forward for a hug. "I was worried. Where did you go off to?"

"Jiovanni sent me on an errand." He pulled Lessa forward. "Virginia, this is Alessandra, but she prefers Lessa. Lessa, this is Virginia Grayson. She keeps the house running. If you need anything you just ask Virginia and she'll see to it."

"Welcome, Lessa," Virginia said, studying her with open curiosity. She turned back to Marco Santos, but didn't ask any questions as Lessa would have expected.

"She's the special guest I called about."

"Oh, yes," Virginia said. "I prepared the suite for her."

"Good. Hank will be bringing her bag in."

"I'll see to them," Virginia said as the door opened again.

Hank stepped in carrying Lessa's bag.

"I'll talk with you later." Santos hustled Lessa out of the kitchen.

"Bye," Lessa called over her shoulder. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too my dear," Virginia said as the door shut behind them.

Lessa found herself in a wide hallway. Her heels clicked on the marble floor and she stumbled to a stop when a man suddenly stepped in front of them.

"Ryan," Santos said in acknowledgement.

"This is her?" Ryan studied Lessa carefully.

Santos just looked back at him in response. She shifted closer to Santos as the red-headed newcomer towered over her, frowning. Suddenly his expression changed into a smile, and he no longer seemed as intimidating--which made her even more wary.

He took her hand to shake it. "Alessandra, I'm Ryan MacDonald, the family attorney." His Scottish accent added a slight lilt to his words. Her enjoyment of it momentarily distracted her."It's nice to finally meet you."

"Finally?" Lessa asked, confused at first by his word choice, but she refocused quickly and recalled Santos mentioning something about Jiovanni using his attorney to keep track of her.

MacDonald looked to Santos and shrugged awkwardly. "I've known about you for quite a while. Jiovanni wanted to be kept up to date on how you were doing."

She felt Santos' hand in the small of her back, as if to reassure her.

"Is the family assembled?" he asked MacDonald.

"They're gathering in the office right now." The attorney offered his arm to Lessa and motioned down the hall.

As if sensing her hesitation, Santos quickly stepped forward and led her down the long hallway himself toward a large door in the middle.

"I thought they were Vigiling?" she whispered.

Santos covered up a laugh with a cough. "They are, but life sometimes interrupts. Ready?"

She bit her lip and nodded. MacDonald opened the door and stepped into the room. Lessa hesitated with Santos waiting patiently beside her. Voices drifted out of the room, but she couldn't see anyone from where she stood.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Okay."

Then she opened her eyes, stepped inside, and faced her new family. They sat and stood about a room richly furnished in brown and deep green tones. Besides MacDonald, there were three other men and three women. And none of them looked anything like her. Hair so dark it looked almost black, brown eyes, and everyone a heck of a lot taller than she was. She tried to place in her head who would be who, but feared she'd be wrong.

The family was focused on MacDonald and barely noticed her until Santos stepped in.

"Marc." A lovely young woman with ebony hair jumped up from her seat next to an older woman and rushed forward to hug him.

Once they separated, she gave Lessa a hard look and tried to draw Santos away. He stood firm and gave her a pat on the back before taking Lessa's hand and guiding her over to a chair across the room. That action drew the entire family's attention. She should have asked him if he had any pictures of them to show her on the plane. The pretty woman who'd greeted Santos could be her sister, Clarissa.

"Marc?" one of the men asked.

"Jio," Santos nodded at him.

Lessa noted that the family all referred to Santos as Marc, rather than Marco, a nickname that suggested more than a business relationship. Certainly Clarissa's greeting was more than casual. She glanced at Clarissa again, wondering what her relationship to the tall man at her side might be. Santos drew her attention back as he gestured for MacDonald to get going. Lessa felt even more nervous when she noticed the intensity of her eldest brother, Jio's, attention. He was watching her with narrowed eyes. She swallowed and looked toward the petite and voluptuous woman next to him. Her gaze was more curious than hostile. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties and had to be Jio's wife, Nina.

"Who the hell is she?" The tallest man of the group glared at her with open hostility. He turned to MacDonald. "I thought this was for family only."

"Tony." MacDonald motioned him to sit back down. "We'll get through this as quickly as possible." He picked up a remote and pointed it at the TV behind the desk. "Jiovanni recorded this message for all of you. He updated it every six months, so it's current." He looked at each family member. "He has personal messages for each of you, including his personal bequests."

"He's not even buried yet," said the oldest woman, obviously Jiovanni's wife, before she began to cry. "It-it isn't right we do this," she whispered brokenly, "before he's-before he's buried."

"Mama." Jio moved away from his wife to sit next to his mother and take her hand. "Papa would understand. We must know all the specifics. We can't wait any longer."

Lucia leaned against Jio and wiped her eyes, then nodded for the attorney to go on.

"After, I have copies of the trust for all of you," MacDonald said. "I'll be happy to go over it with anyone individually."

He pressed play on the remote, and the TV flickered to life. Lessa couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she was staring at her father. It wasn't until Santos put his hand on top of hers that she realized she'd been twisting her fingers together.

"Hello, my family," Jiovanni said in a softly lilting accent. "If you're watching this it means I'm dead. Very depressing for me. Hopefully it was something benign. My poor Lucia, you'll be fine. Just give it some time. Though the house will go to Jio, I know your son will respect my wish that you will always be welcome to stay as long as you want. I know how much you miss home, so I've left our southern villa to you. You may go and live there or have it as a place to visit."

Lessa frowned over how dictating he sounded.

"Jio," Jiovanni said. "You and Nina will move into the estate with your children. It's a good home base. Ryan has all the details of the trust, but basically you'll take over my role of running the businesses."

Tony grunted. Lessa glanced over at him and saw him cross his arms in response to that news. It obviously angered him. She wondered if he and Jio didn't get along, or if he had wanted to be in charge of the family business.

"You're younger than I'd prefer as you still have a lot to learn, but it can't be helped," Jiovanni continued. "The organization is well structured. I know you'll want to choose your own lieutenants, but I advise against changing anything."

Lieutenants? What kind of business needs lieutenants
, Lessa wondered

"Nina, you've been an excellent daughter-in-law. I can confess now, I was leery about having Jio marry you. Oh, business-wise it was an excellent arrangement to cement the permanent relationship with your father. But I wasn't sure how you would fit into my family. I was pleasantly surprised by you and have set aside some of my mother's jewelry for you."

Nina dabbed at her eyes and looked to her husband. Jio didn't look back, but remained focused on his mother. Lessa felt uncomfortable by the intimate family details Jiovanni was discussing so openly. It sounded as if Nina and Jio's marriage had been arranged by their fathers. Did people still do that sort of thing?

"Tony, by now you're steaming. I know you too well, my son," Jiovanni said sadly. "Your position will remain the same. Perhaps if you learn to control your temper, Jio will allow you more power, but I wouldn't recommend it for now."

"Bullshit!" Tony jumped up. "I've worked my way up from the bottom, just as he asked. I deserve more."

"Shut up, Tony," Jio said with a frown.

Tony growled, but sat back down.

The tape continued. "Clarissa, my darling daughter, you continue to baffle me. Lucia tells me to be patient. You're happy and finding yourself. But really, Clarissa, you should be married and making babies like Nina. Too much education isn't good for a girl. I sincerely hope you'll come to your senses and come home and do what's best for the family. Marc will make you an excellent husband. But at your mother's request, I've left an allowance in the trust for you to continue to go to school if you wish."

Lessa looked in surprise at Santos and then Clarissa. He hadn't mentioned being engaged to her sister, but that explained the intimate greeting.

"Edoardo, the baby of the family," Jiovanni said.

Lessa focused on the only other family member in the room. He was slouched in his chair and hadn't reacted to anything his father had said so far.

"You're mother has spoiled you too much. You continue to dabble in your arts. I trust you'll outgrow this soon and take your place in the family." Jiovanni sighed and tapped his fingers on the table. "There are of course others who aren't present who will be gifted items, and Ryan will make sure they receive letters stating this fact. The only two others who should be present are Marc and Alessandra."

The family turned as one to look at Lessa.

"Marc, though not of my blood, you have been indispensable to me. I never once doubted your loyalty, which is why you're stuck with the task of watching Alessandra. Ryan has the details of what I've arranged for you once you've finished this last job. Ah, little Lessa, I wish I could have met you. I've always wanted to, but it seems fate has intervened. Jio, my son, I'm placing Alessandra and her mother under the protection of the family. You will honor my request. Alessandra is my daughter."

A collective gasp sounded through the room. Lessa dropped her gaze to the ground, unable to look at her family. She was afraid of their expressions of horror. Biting her lip, she waited for Jiovanni to continue.

"Yes, I know this for sure," Jiovanni said. "I'm sorry, Lucia, I never gathered the courage to tell you this before. I know I can't expect you to welcome her with open arms, but I hope you find it in your heart to treat her kindly and not blame my sins on her."

"
Bastardo
," Lucia whispered.

Lessa glanced at her in surprise.

Lucia stared back, lips trembling. "
Potete portare questo piccolo bastardo in casa mia!
I will not have it."

"Mama." Jio's gaze was also on Lessa. But his face was carefully masked, not betraying any of what he was thinking.

J
iovanni sighed on the screen. "I'm sure you're all in an uproar and will probably be for some time. I trust Ryan and Marc will settle everyone down. Ryan will explain the details of the trust to you when you're ready. And that, my children and wife, is that."

MacDonald clicked the television off and opened his mouth to speak.

"That is that." Tony interrupted, laughing bitterly. "That's a load of bullshit is what it is. We're just supposed to take this little gold-digger's word for it that she's our half-sister?" He stomped up to Lessa and she shrank back into her seat. "Just because you were able to convince an old man doesn't make it true."