Chapter 1
Lorenzo Vitale
20 years old
Palermo | Council of the Cosa Nostra
The heads of the ten families gather after the exhausting election period in Sicily, where we display, at its peak, the power and influence the Cosa Nostra has wielded over this land for centuries. They call us a parallel power, but the truth is that we are rooted in the very structure that sustains official power, the market, and even religion.
Not even the Church is spared from the drops of blood we have spilled within its walls; if anything, it is the cradle of all this.
This power is passed down from generation to generation through the commandments, embodied by each family seated around this table. Every surname here gave rise to this empire, and I am next at the top of this chain. Half a century ago, the Commission chose the Vitale family to lead the Cosa Nostra through my grandfather, Giuseppe Vitale, and that power has been passed down ever since.
Over time, it became clear that not everyone agrees with this concentration of power, but a man of honor’s word—even if given in the past—is law, and we uphold it above everything.
Above everyone.
It does not matter if the blood spilled is our own: we rise as our own executioners. The Association stands above us, sovereign like an unbreakable code that tolerates no corruption.
Every man is initiated from childhood, seen as a soldier, not a child. Childhood is brief, and duty arrives sooner than expected. And now, as the future head of the family, all eyes fall on me while Dante De Luca and Giácomo Sartori—my father’s consigliere and underboss—wait for my decision.
At twenty years old, I understand the weight of what my future position demands when I must choose a wife, and she must be the daughter of one of those two men: the one who will be permanently bound to the most powerful family of the Association as my father-in-law.
It is not truly a choice. If it were, I would end this meeting right now. Regardless of my will, today it will be decided who will become the future Mrs. Vitale, and that is the only certainty I have. Accepting it is my duty, just as much as pulling a trigger.
Marriage is an obligation.
Procreation, a commitment to my bloodline.
I am devout—everyone knows it—and yet they do not understand my hesitation at the most anticipated moment: which family will be favored by offering me one of their daughters to become part of the Vitale domain.
But the options are, at the very least, absurd.
Capo Salvatore Vitale promised this compensation to his allies in a negotiation I was not part of. I was young, inexperienced, and too removed from the business to understand it. Now I do.
When both clans had members expelled from the Cosa Nostra for violating the code, they received this… benevolence. From the Cosa Nostra, one only leaves in death, and both still mourn their dead. And I… am a damn compensation for the Sartori and De Luca families, whose available daughters are exactly that: children.
Siena Sartori and Valentina De Luca are barely six and seven years old, and any man with common sense knows how despicable this is. Men of honor do not involve themselves with children, and I am still trying to understand what the hell we are doing here.
“Lorenzo, you must decide,” the Don demands.
At that moment, he is no longer my father. He is the Capo. And he will not accept excuses.
“I need to wait until they grow up. They’re f*****g children,” I reply.
“You will not marry tomorrow.”
“In ten years…”
“They will still be too young.”
“Your father promised us.”
“And he will honor it. I will not marry a child.”
The atmosphere tightens.
“Twenty-three years old. That will be the age of my future wife.”
“Eighteen is enough!”
“They’re still children.”
The argument continues until the pressure becomes unbearable.
“Siena or Valentina,” Giácomo demands.
I stand, pushing the photographs toward the fireplace. Valentina’s falls closer to the fire.
“Valentina,” I say at last. “The Commission assigns me to Valentina De Luca.”
I watch as her image is consumed by the flames.
“Why?”
“As if it matters. Congratulations, De Luca. Welcome to the Vitale family.”
I leave the room.
“Lorenzo,” Dante calls after me. “A good choice.”
“Keep her away,” I reply.
“It will be my pleasure.”
The Vitale legacy is now secured.
And the only thing I hope… is that I made the right choice.
Because that girl will have to be loyal. Strong. Unbreakable.
And I doubt Valentina De Luca was raised to be any of those things.
The only thing I wish today… is that I could take back my word.
But it’s too late.
I made a decision.
And I will pay for it every single day of my life.
