Page 345 of Niccolo

“‘Vaguely,’” I repeated in disgust. “It’s too bad a speech that meant so much tomeapparently meant so little toyou.”

I could see Fausto’s eyes narrow the tiniest bit, even though his expression otherwise stayed the same.

Still, though, he didn’t take the bait.

“Let me ask you about another time,” I said. “Do you remember the scandal with the judges and politicians in Florence about five years ago?”

“I do.”

I turned back to the dons andconsiglieres.

“I’m sure most of you remember, but just in case you don’t, here’s a brief summary: a police detective who wasn’t on my family’s payroll found out about our network of political bribes. The detective was able to nab one of our bagmen. It was ahugescandal. So big, in fact, thatsomeonein our family was going to have to go to prison – oreveryonewould.”

I turned back to Fausto. “Do you remember what you said during the meeting when we discussed who would take the fall?”

“I said I would take the blame.”

“No, you didn’t,” I snapped. “You refused and said, ‘I won’t survive San Vittore. We all know it.’”

There was a murmur in the room.

The idea that aconsiglierewould NOT take the fall for his don…

Let’s just say it was a shocking concept to every single person in the room.

Fausto sighed like I was a fool who needed to be corrected. “If you’llrecall,I agreed with your argument that it was my duty, so I said I would – ”

“My argument?” I interrupted. “Why would I need toarguewith you if you agreed from the very beginning to do your job?”

Fausto clenched his jaw.

He knew he’d been caught out.

However, he kept his composure.

“But Ididoffer to take the fall,” Fausto said coldly. “Until Dario offered to step in and take my place.”

“Dario? The same nephew you accuse of being a conniving, greedy bastard?THATnephew was the one who willingly agreed to take your place in San Vittore, knowing full well that it might mean his death?”

“He didn’t die,” Fausto growled.

“No thanks toyou,certainly, even though you were too much of a coward to do your job.”

Thatreallymade Fausto’s nostrils flare.

“He’s insulting the witness!” Sofia yelled.

“Niccolo,” Don Severino warned me. “Keep it civil.”

“Actually, I withdraw the comment about you being a coward,” I told Fausto, “because what Ireallybelieve happened was you used your guile to manipulate my brother into taking the fallforyou.”

“He offered freely,” Fausto snapped.

“Out of the goodness of his heart?”

Fausto paused.

After all the insults he’d hurled at us during Sofia’s questioning, he couldn’t exactly reverse himself and say that Dario was a man with good intentions.

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