Page 4 of Wretched Choices

“Let us leave. I can’t do this anymore, Domenico. You have changed. You broke your promise to me.”

My father gripped her biceps and pulled her toward him, my mother’s hand leaving mine. As I stared, fearing for her, a hand grabbed my arm, taking me away from my mother. I wanted to fight, but I relaxed when I saw my friend. A boy I grew up with, Pino. His chocolate eyes pleaded with me not to. And I didn’t.

As he steered me away from my parents, I heard my father’s menacing voice. “There is no way out of this, and you know that. You are not leaving me. I will never allow it.”

As Pino and I disappeared into the night toward the house, I listened to my mother’s cries until I couldn’t hear them anymore.

Until all I heard in the darkness was a distant gunshot.

It has been a month since my last field job, the adrenaline high long faded, and my body and my mind are searching for a new one.

As I read the lifestyle column in a magazine, an article comes to my attention.

CEO of Lotus Group opens his doors for the first time in five years.

Salvatore Catalano is opening his doors for only the second time in the last five years. An auction will be held, where money raised will be given to the charity Mr. Catalano and his unnamed associates founded over ten years ago. The charity helps troubled teens and runaways who have had no luck in America’s foster system.

What will be auctioned is still not known. However, that doesn’t seem to bother the wealthy in high society. Just another normal day for 1% of the world’s population.

The Lotus Hotel was formerly the Grand Palace, which was owned by the Russell family. After Gerald Russell’s death almost ten years ago, his son William was declared CEO of Russell Enterprise. Fortunately for Mr. Catalano, young William Russell quickly drove his family empire into the ground.

After the takeover, Mr. Catalano, who is also the owner of one of the most exclusive clubs in the city, Twenty-Seven, took it upon himself to turn the hotel into a more profitable business than before.

Elusive Mr. Catalano is an investor in various other businesses, such as restaurants, construction companies, online businesses, and the list goes on.

Will this event be more gracious? Maybe. Or maybe not.

But we know the city’s most important people will be there. What we also know and are disappointed about is the event is not permitting media coverage.

But nothing stays away from our eyes and ears.

I lean back in my office chair, the buzz of people around me coming back as I take a deep breath. Why does that name sound familiar? I go back to the article. Pictures of the Lotus Hotel and other establishments allegedly owned by Catalano are under thearticle. None of the man himself. I type his name in a search bar, and I keep scrolling until I find a few, but none with his face clearly visible. Each one looks old, and he is with a different woman in every one. With a few clicks, I find they are all dated over five years ago and on different dates.

After deeper research, I find a blog with an article that was dismissed by the media and a newspaper written by Jeremy Foster, an independent journalist and author of bestselling science fiction novels.

“Is the CEO of Lotus Group a big bad don of La Cosa Nostra?”

I read the article twice before I dive into research, and my adrenaline spikes again.

There is a new puzzle to solve. After all, this is what I’m good at, not to mention, I know how both sides of this world work.

Before I can change my mind, I call Cece, my dearest friend, and ask her to meet me for a drink after work.

That leads to us sitting in a rooftop lounge with a view of Manhattan, having cocktails and snacks. I needed a break after all I read and not getting closer to the answer I searched for.

There have been rumors that Salvatore Catalano is the new don of the Cosa Nostra for years. While it has never been officially verified, there were also rumors suggesting his father was engaged in shady dealings.

Arturo Catalano owned two construction companies, and it was never confirmed that he had anything to do with a crime family, according to the blogger, who had dozens of articles that included various criminal organizations since the seventies and since the Rico Law came into action. Cosa Nostra worked hard to keep their bosses under the radar. There were assumptions, since Salvatore’s father, Arturo, was married to a mafia princess. Arturo was a child of hard-working immigrants who had no ties to Cosa Nostra.

Same for his son, Salvatore Catalano, who has more impressive achievements.

But I know men like them. I lived with one. If anyone can find something, it’s me. I just need an opportunity that will lead me toward one piece of the puzzle at a time.

“I may need to leave for a case.” Cece’s voice pulls my attention back to her. “I don’t know when or how long I’ll be away. I just wanted you to know in case I don’t answer your calls and messages.”

“Can you at least tell me where you’re going?” I take a bite of my truffle fries.

“Maybe soon. There are still too many things about this case that don’t make sense.” She puts her drink on the table and, with a broad smile, turns her attention to the man who now stands beside us.

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