Chapter Three
Dominic
“Anything else you need, Boss?” Cory asks.
“No, I’m good.” I turn to face him as I shrug into my biker jacket.
It’s strange being called boss again.My brothers and I each have our own street guys.Cory has been mine for the last ten years.I’d bet I shocked him to shit when I called him last night requesting his presence at seven a.m. sharp.I also asked him to keep quiet about my return.Much as I wanted to speak to my brothers before anyone else, I can’t afford to waste time.Not with what I found.
“Check in with me as soon as you get any info,” I add, and he nods.
“You know I will. I ran a check and I have a hunch I want to look into.”
That is why I like working with this guy.He works like me. We follow hunches until we have a lead.
“Perfect.”
He nods and gives me a half-smile.He’s an enforcer for the family now, and I have to say he earned his stripes.The man doesn’t pussyfoot around shit, and he’s not afraid to take risks.
“I gotta say, it’s good to have you back, Dominic,” he states.
“Thanks. Good to be back.” It sounds like a lie, although I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.“Wish it was under better circumstances though.”
“I hear ya, but it is what it is.I’m sure your brothers will be glad you're home.See you later.”
“Yeah.”
One last nod and as I watch him go, I hope he’s right.
I’ve returned with bad news, but I hope Massimo and Tristan won’t be too mad at me for staying away for so long.
We didn’t exactly part on good terms either, and no one likes to be the bearer of bad news.Definitely not in relation to the Syndicate.
The Syndicate of the Brotherhood is a secret society that was originally made up of six crime families.Four Italian and two Bratva. The group was one my family belonged to for many generations.
When I was a kid my father lost everything, including his membership in the Syndicate too.Then when he built the D’Agostino empire and became a titan of wealth, he was reinstated and that’s where I think all the trouble began.It certainly started brewing from then.From that time, one secret was revealed after another.Each wreaking havoc in our lives.
Three and a half years ago, the original Syndicate was bombed in a secret plot to eliminate them.That was the day my father died.
The secret plot was instigated by Riccardo Balesteri.An enemy to our family who killed both my parents.
The bomb only injured Pa. He could have survived those injuries, but it was Riccardo’s bullet that killed him as he lay in the rubble and debris in Massimo's arms.
I keep thinking things would have been different had Riccardo not turned my eldest brother, Andreas, against us, but that was the final blow.Turning a brother against his own.A man we would trust with our lives.
Tristan would say he saw Andreas' betrayal coming.He’d probably bet good money on it too because he knew Andreas was jealous Pa made Massimo boss of the D’Agostino empire.Me though, with all my intelligence, never saw that hit until the blow was dealt and I was being told my father was dead and my eldest brother in his greed made that happen.
Riccardo and Andreas allied with other enemies who wanted to control the Syndicate.The goal was to enforce Code Ten: you keep what you kill.That was the Syndicate’s protocol of preserving the wealth accumulated and keeping it within the group.It ensured that when one member died, the remaining members would receive their shares and wealth.To my knowledge, the wealth at the time estimated at five hundred billion.Then there were all the assets, businesses, and properties they owned worldwide that brought in consistent wealth.Eliminating ninety percent of the members of the Syndicate should have meant that Riccardo would have gotten everything.He would have been an asset to our enemies.
Much to their dismay, things didn’t work out as planned when Riccardo and Andreas both died, and Massimo was the last man standing with the powers of the Syndicate at his disposal.
A handful of months after that saw my brothers and me on a quest for vengeance when an anonymous letter I found informed us that more people were responsible for the bombing,and we had more enemies who would bring war to our doorsteps.
That brings me to the reason I'm back.
I'm back because they are.
The problem is Massimo's ownership of the Syndicate means he has too much wealth, control, and power.