Chapter 176
Paul, Leah and I laughed at an overly lare joke the President of the Senate had ettered.
Paul kalvatore had invited the than into his house for dinner, because of the divorce idea I came up with. He was one of the presidents that Paul knew would help him take down Alessandro.
Alessandro was now so dangerous to approach.
Apparently in New York City, I was still the missing boy and unidentified driver Marco was still on the list of most wanted criminals. My sa- called parents were still looking for me and my name was stamped everywhere, the government officials were on high alert for anyone named Nikolai De Luca,
The second I’ll set foot in my country again, the first thing the American government will do is cage me in a cell, arrest Marco if in case they identify him and alert my so–called parents hence alerting my psycho husband.
Because we all know who those so–called parents work for. The second they’ll know, their next stop will be Alessandro, the tornado of darkness.
I don’t want him to know, not yet anyway because that man is always ten steps ahead of everyone. I don’t want to give him time to devise a plan and for all that, I needed the President of the Senate, Roberto Lombardi’s help.
Paul’s men in fact our men were standing all around us, at first, they were a little reluctant to follow me as their commander, well, they downright hated answering to me but over time, I gained their respect. I proved to them that I can do anything that a mafia can do, that I can be as ruthless as anyone I mean, I learned from the best, I learned all of my tricks right out of Alessandro’s handbook.
There was an attack on Paul’s home eight months ago, Paul Salvatore had enemies all over the country-
I single–handedly saved my Paul’s life by killing the man who was leading the attack. He underestimated me, and made fun of me, he thought just because I was a thin, little boy, I must be stupid with no power whatsoever. So, I killed him to prove him wrong with a knife that I had in my pocket that day, it was in the early days of my training.
Being here, I realized that not many people like you if you’re an infamous drug lord, Paul Salvatore’s life was hell, Alessandro on the other hand had too much power, I don’t remember this many people messing with him. And now the same business was being handed down to me. I had learned a lot in the past year but I was still learning something new every single day.
My men stood erect all around the room, waiting for my or Paul’s order. I gestured for Dante one of them to come closer and he did, he leaned over, placing his ear next to my lips.
“Bring over the gift,” I whispered to him.
He nodded and immediately went out of the room, taking two to three men along with him.
Roberto Lombardi was an aesthete, he loved art more than he loved his wife and children. I knew everything about him, our men even counted his bathroom breaks, there was not a single secret about him that I didn’t know but Roberto was a sweetheart. I didn’t want to use the information until I really had to.
So, I settled for bribing him with something he’d really like and I had just the thing for him. A beautiful painting by Monet; called “Women in the garden“. It cost us millions to get the original artwork for him but we somehow made it work, Dante kind of threatened the previous owner with the lives of his children.
My men re–entered the room holding the priceless piece of work covered with paper and placed it before Signore Lombardi. An excited glint flashed in his eyes, like a child in the candy store.
He gave me a wide grin, “You shouldn’t have, My dear Nikolai.”
I gave him a polite smile, “I wanted to… Why don’t you open it first?”
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Chapter 176
Lombardi stood up and walked to the painting, he carefully took off the cover and the second the paper came off, the look on his face was priceless, he looked stunned, lost for words, like he couldn’t believe what he was looking at.
He opened his mouth multiple times and closed it, shaking his head as if he really couldn’t believe it.
“Original Monet?‘ he somehow managed to ask.
I stood up, smoothing my evening suit, “You’d think I’d give you a fake,” I placed a hand over my chest. “I’m deeply offended, Signor Lombardi.”
He laughed with pure glee, he took my hand in his and shook it. “You’ve warmed the cockles of the heart, lovely Nikolai, this is beautiful, I can not thank you enough for it.”
I dropped my head with a sweet smile, “Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Signor Lombardi”
“What do you want?” he asked, staring at the piece of art.
I faked a frown, “What?”
He faced me with a faint smile, “I know how the Moretti family works, I know this unexpected invitation and granting me such a generous gift isn’t just a coincidence. You want something, I’d like to know what is it?”
A genuine slight smile crept over my lips. Smart man, “Leah did tell me that you were an intelligent man, very well, then, I’ll just cut to the chase because ass–kissing is really not my forté.”
He smiled, “A beauty with brains and such honesty, it’s hard to find such a boy in today’s time. Now tell me, what do you need from me in return for all this love?”
I licked my lips, glancing at Paul and Leah before facing Roberto again, “I need to get to the United States of America, without letting anyone know. My name is on the no–flying list, I’m the infamous missing boy, I don’t want that kind of attention. I want to get into my country with hundreds of our men and I don’t want a soul to know about it.”
A malicious smile crept over his face, looking back at the painting, he nodded, “Just tell me when and I will make it happen, Signor.”
I smiled at him, Leah came to stand beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back. Roberto offered me his hand again and I took it, giving him an honest smile filled with gratitude.
