“Didn’t Aria have a brother? Savio’s father?”
“You’re very good,” Dominic said. “Aria had one brother, but he was weak. Too weak to lead. All his energy went up his nose or out his pants. He was killed before I met Aria.”
“Savio’s mother?”
“A no one. A prostitute.”
“How old is Savio?”
“Three years older than Pia. Twenty-two, I guess.”
“Why was the wedding arranged?”
“Aria’s father knew that in order to secure his holdings, he needed a strong alliance. That’s where the marriage came in.”
“What was in it for your father? For the Russo family?” she asked. “The LaBarbara family was small and weak. Your father could have just taken their holdings without arranging the marriage.”
Russo leaned back in the chair and rubbed his forehead. “Power is an aphrodisiac, Agent O’Malley. It’s never enough. Marrying off his only son was nothing to my father compared to strengthening his chokehold on the other families.”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Nice answer, but not the right one. Or should I say, the complete one. Again, Dominic, we both know the Russo family could have easily taken the LaBarbara holdings. Why would your father marry off his only son?”
“The LaBarbara holdings were small but vital. Their orchards in Tuscany grew more than grapes.”
“Interesting info but if that were the reason—the only reason—your father wouldn’t have arranged the marriage.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “I’m waiting.”
Dominic Russo leaned forward, mirroring her position. “My father was not only smart, he was intuitive as well. He knew I did not want to be part of the business, and he knew that by forcing me to marry into another family, it would be much harder for me to leave ‘Ndrangheta.”
“If you were that adamant about not wanting to join the family business as you call it, why not just walk away?”
Russo crossed his arms. “I could tell you I was doing the noble thing. That I wanted to change the system from within, but you would know I was lying. The truth is, I grew up with all of life’s luxuries and I didn’t want to give that up.”
“I appreciate you being upfront. Why did you and Aria get divorced?”
“Although our families were joined, Aria was still the leader of the LaBarbara faction. She never forgave her father for thinking her too weak to gain the respect of the LaBarbara family. When her father died, she felt as if she had something to prove to the men who had mocked her. Let’s just say she and I had very different ways of motivating our people.
“By the time Pia was born, Aria had developed a reputation as a hard-nosed, brutal leader. She ordered her own people hurt and sometimes killed if they even looked at her wrong. She may not have gained their respect, but she certainly gained their fear.”
Sin continued to stare at Dominic as he spoke. He lit another cigarette before continuing. “She knew our marriage was a loveless union. Both of us had our own dalliances. When she thought her family was strong enough on its own, she asked for the divorce.”
Sin let that thought simmer for a while and changed the topic of conversation. “Is Pia close to her mother?”
Russo shook his head. “Not since she was a child.”
Does Pia know about the family business?”
“Pia isn’t stupid. I never told her about the family business, but I didn’t have to. She grew up with eyes to see and ears to hear. As she grew into a teenager, I could tell she had her mother’s fire. Thankfully, she had my heart and wisdom. She wanted nothing to do with the business, and I swore as God is my witness, that I would find a way to make sure she would have a better life—a safer life—than I had.”
“So, you made contact with Lancaster.”
Russo shook his head. “Not then. When Pia turned sixteen, she chose to live with me, and she chose to break all ties with her mother.” He looked at Sin and took a drag.
“Go on.”
“When she was seventeen, I knew I either had to get out of ‘Ndrangheta or she would eventually end up in her mother’s web.”
The word web triggered something in Sin’s mind, but she said nothing. She let Russo talk.
“It was international news that your president made a promise to take down organized crime. Everyone in the world in which we lived laughed at his empty promises, but I followed his every move. He appeared to be a good man. A man true to his word, so I contacted him.”
She watched as the corners of Russo’s mouth dropped and his shoulders rounded. “What happened?”
“I was naive. I didn’t know Aria kept a spy in my home.”
“Savio?”
“Yeah, Savio. I took him in when his own family, my wife, would not. It didn’t cross my mind that he was working for her.” Russo ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. “After I met with Lancaster, Savio came to me crying like a baby. He told me that he had overheard my phone conversations with President Lancaster and that he told Aria what I was planning on doing.”
“I thought you said he was faithful to your ex. Why was he crying?”
“I can only speculate. He said Pia’s life would be in danger if I didn’t break off negotiations with Lancaster. If I had to guess, I would say the threat came from Aria.”
“Did you contact Aria after Savio brought you the message?”
Russo shook his head. “No. I wanted no part of Aria’s world and broke all ties and communication. The first time we spoke was when we both received the texts and videos from the kidnappers.”
Sin’s mind raced as she pieced together the pieces. “You had Pia attend Dartmouth and arranged for her to
