It was why, while Sax was technically my personal guard, he actually had a more significant role he played in which we kept hidden—Consigliere. Sax was more than my guard; he was also my advisor and right-hand man. It made sense for us because we'd grown up together and worked through the ranks simultaneously. But to the family, it was untraditional. The mafia was all about a hierarchy, and it was meant to be adhered to.
The role of Consigliere was typically an outsider, a neutral party, and the Molinelli family had passed on heirs from one generation to the next for the Mascro line. Except now, they hadn't had any new descendants, and it was the perfect time to shake things up. However, they were rooted in tradition and wanted to push a third cousin onto me. While they were tracking him down and training, I'd bought myself some time to find a different candidate.
It was all a delicate balance, so to the family, he was my guard and in charge of training all the soldiers. In reality, he had access to all the family's little minions and his ear to the ground on what was actually taking place in the lower levels. It was the best decision I'd ever made. If you didn't even take into consideration that he was one of the few people I trusted implicitly, his access alone would help keep me more in the know than any boss before. Being different meant doing things differently.
My underboss was technically Imogen, but as she was a woman and still a teenager, her spot was temporarily being filled by our Uncle Seth. I hoped to get her out of the life if she didn't want it. I had no intention of forcing my baby sister into this darkness unless she wished to, but God, did I hope she would walk away. Immy was too good for this life.
The next level were my Caporegimes, or Capos. The three currently there were on a trial basis during this transition period, and I was grooming guys I trusted to take over. However, one, in particular, was being resistant. I had six more months to get them ready to succeed. My father's men were still operating and "mentoring" my candidates, but I didn't trust them. I wasn't sure who was loyal to my father and who was faithful to the family, which is why I had Sax in the thick of it so I could be aware of any duplicity if it were coming.
The Mascro's biggest venture was money laundering and gave us an edge of power within the criminal underground. The other families needed us more than we tended to need them. Through gambling, antiquities, and front businesses, we could distribute dirty cash, and even counterfeit, back into clean money. We had a foolproof system that had served our family for years.
Despite that, my favorite form of currency was one we didn't advertise. Secrets. I'd been building a network since I was a teen coming up the ranks, and it was even stronger now. The best part was no one, not even my father, knew I was the secret keeper. It was a power I held solely on my own and also why I beat myself up for the events that occurred. There wasn't much I didn't know in regards to the major players in Chicago. I should've known what Dayton was up to. There was no excuse.
I'd discovered after the fact that the Reaper had been preparing to take our family down a path we'd sworn never to touch. Drugs, guns, and murder. Now, that didn't mean we didn't kill our fair share of people. It just wasn't our source of income. The Mascros gained power, or leverage even, by being the best and above it all. Our power came from control of the underground's money flow.
My dream for our family was to get us out of the shady business and own clean ones, to have legal profits. The illegal gambling, point shaving, and fixed games weren't as dangerous or criminal as other avenues, and I wanted to make our family as close to the right side of the law as possible.
A lot of the older ‘made men' weren't going to be okay with my decision. They liked living outside of the rules. Still, as I kept buying businesses and diversifying our portfolio, I was headed in that direction. I wanted to exist in a world where the mafia didn't mean constant danger but was the great family it claimed to be.
I wanted a better life for Immy and, someday, for my own family. I didn't want to constantly fear for the life of the ones I loved, if it was even worth it to go down that path. From where I stood right now, it wasn't.
So, I'd take care of things in the meantime and be the hard-ass boss I needed to be in order to keep my family safe. Even if that only ended up being a few people, I'd never stop protecting them. The underground crime world might never sleep, but it didn't mean I wasn't biding my time, collecting the secrets I needed, and waiting for the right moment.
The world might think I was the mouse, but I was the motherfucking cheese just waiting for them to feel safe enough to spring the trap. I would reel those bastards in and lay waste to anyone who got in my way.
Just try and stop me.