He Left His Pregnant Bride at the Altar novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: The Ring

The Salerno table met in the back room of a social club in Bensonhurst, under a framed photograph of Ruggero's father.

I stood by the door with Rosa on my shoulder.

Ruggero had asked me to come, and he had said one thing in the car.

"You aren't here to speak for me. Just watch."

There were nine men at the table.

The young captain sat at the far end, with his coat still buttoned and his jaw set.

"I'll say it plainly," he said. "Our Don drove for a murder and hid it for fourteen years. He wasted family money on a Tedesco girl. He blew up an alliance in front of the whole city. I move that we take the ring."

"Second," said a man beside him.

Nobody else spoke.

Ruggero sat at the head of the table with his hands folded and said nothing at all.

I had watched him negotiate with lawyers and men with guns.

I had never seen him sit still and let a room decide.

The old captain tapped his cane on the floor.

"Before we vote," he said. "A question for the table. Who knew we were taking the Verrazzano on the morning of the ambush?"

A few men glanced at each other.

"The route was set on Tuesday," said someone. "Five of us were told."

"Five. Ruggero. Tiberio. Me." The old man looked at each man in turn. "And two others."

His eyes landed on the young captain.

The young captain's hand twitched on the cloth.

"That's nothing," he said. "Everyone talks."

"Corso's boy was seen outside your house the night before. My nephew drives a cab. He remembers the face."

"Your nephew is a liar."

"Is he?" The old captain smiled without humor. "The route was set on Tuesday, and that night you called a number from the club's back phone. The club keeps a log, and I asked for it. The number belongs to Corso's house in Newark."

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