Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 152

I had heard quite a bit from Giovanni.

Now it was time to share that news in the second-floor living room with my two wives, Elena and Felicita, and the underboss, Carso, who hadn’t left the mansion after the meeting.

“Brother, is something going on?”

“It seems there was a bit of trouble receiving the goods from Tyrrhenia.”

“Luke, what kind of trouble?”

“I’ll explain now. Everyone, just take a seat.”

“…Me too?”

“Well, since this isn’t really a meeting, it doesn’t matter, right?”

“No. I’m more comfortable like this, so don’t mind me and just continue.”

“Felicita, it’s not you we’re worried about. So just sit down, will you?”

“Well, in that case, I guess I have no choice. A sister should accommodate her younger sister.”

“….”

To keep the story moving, Elena stopped her interruptions.

It was always like this. Felicita had clearly anticipated that Elena would react like that and was teasing her gently again.

“There were some folks from the security forces and Coast Guard targeting this shipment.”

The silver lining was that it was led by those we hadn’t bribed.

The real unfortunate part was that neither the security forces nor the Coast Guard had detected any of those movements.

“Half the city is in chaos, and they’re aiming for our goods?”

“Who knows? Dragovich could be behind it. If not, it could be some crazy fools risking their lives just to prove themselves.”

I thought it was more likely to be the former than the latter.

Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of the latter entirely. There were certainly those who refused to collaborate with us and were keen on doing their jobs in the security forces and Coast Guard.

“I think it’s likely the former. From their perspective, cutting off our funding wouldn’t be a bad strategy.”

“The security forces and Coast Guard taking the drugs they seized for themselves, huh?”

Elena replied to Felicita’s comment.

There’s nothing more exhilarating than using the enemy’s resources for yourself, is there?

If Dragovich’s ploy was indeed that, then he was not an easy opponent.

“And one more thing. Looks like they sent people over from Tyrrhenia.”

“…People?”

“Those who’ll help us out. Giovanni heard from Kazin that there are about twenty of them.”

Assassins arriving from Tyrrhenia.

I had no idea exactly how skilled they were, but to be honest, I was a bit excited.

Strictly speaking, they didn’t want the outcome of taking down Dragovich. They had just dealt with the Sanchez Family not too long ago.

It was obvious that Dragovich would be keeping an eye on our next move.

Making a move toward Dragovich in this situation would almost be suicidal.

“Sure enough. They’ve started to make their moves.”

“They’ve held back for quite a while, considering they’re from Tyrrhenia. What’s my revenge is also your revenge, they tend to say.”

It seemed Elena had somewhat anticipated this.

“According to Kazin, they’re ready to start as soon as we agree.”

“…So? Luke, what do you think?”

I had something to convey to Elena by this point.

First off, I had given commands related to the security forces and Coast Guard’s activity. I had also allowed the assassins’ movements through Giovanni to Kazin.

“….”

“Sorry. I should’ve consulted with you enough.”

Elena said she was fine with the former. She thought it was necessary to distribute more money to the security forces and Coast Guard and to observe the situation.

“But you should’ve consulted with me about the assassins’ matter.”

“Elena, it seems like you both have the same thoughts, so why not just move past it?”

“What do you mean?”

“That the folks from Tyrrhenia won’t be able to take down Dragovich.”

Felicita suddenly interrupted the conversation. To be honest, I wasn’t sure that the Tyrrhenian assassins would fail.

No, that’s not right. I believed they would fail, but I thought there was a very slight chance they might succeed.

“Luke, what do you think?”

“They’ll put in some effort, but I think they’ll fail.”

“I think so too. In some ways, he’s the toughest one among the Five Families.”

The toughest one, huh.

Personally, I thought Eddie Sanchez was the hardest to kill. But besides that, when it comes to difficulty in facing, it would definitely be Mikhail Dragovich.

“Anyway, got it. We have to respond to this.”

Elena didn’t reprimand me any further as if she wanted to sweep the past under the rug.

If it were the old her, she’d be angry about this and keep it in her heart for days or weeks.

…Could it be that she was holding back because of Felicita’s presence?

“I think it’s best to assign one each to Carso and Salmo.”

“Elena, how about letting Salmo handle spreading bribes to the security forces and Coast Guard?”

“I think it’d be better to entrust that to Carso. It wouldn’t hurt to give the Consigliere that experience.”

“Then let’s have Carso help the Tyrrhenians.”

Elena nodded at my words.

“Yes, Brother.”

I had things to discuss with Carso, but for now, Elena and I decided to leave the mansion to prepare to assist the Tyrrhenians.

“I think we can help with the security forces and Coast Guard, but not so much with Tyrrhenia.”

“….”

While I was glad to hear Felicita’s words, I looked at Elena before responding.

“With many hands, it can’t be bad. Do you have any plans?”

“We have our informants too. I’ll find out what really happened.”

“Felicita, you’re not talking about Rat Hole, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Felicita replied, somewhat incredulously.

Now that I think about it, she had cut ties with those from the Rat Hole at the request of the rat catchers last time.

In reality, even if Felicita didn’t go through the Rat Hole directly, she could use contacts from both families to access it without the rat catchers realizing.

“Well then, I’ll make a quick call.”

Felicita kissed my cheek and stood up. I could see sparks in Elena’s eyes as she watched that scene.

With a sound, the living room door closed, and Elena immediately moved.

“Finally, the nuisance is gone.”

“….”

Elena quickly closed the distance between us without worrying about anyone watching.

“Isn’t this too close, Elena?”

“Well, so what? We’re a couple.”

Thinking about it, Elena seemed much more convenient compared to Felicita.

She was both my younger sister and my wife… Depending on the moment, she would shift her roles back and forth between sister and wife.

“More importantly, don’t you have something to tell me?”

“I’m reflecting on the Tyrrhenian situation.”

“…Really?”

I nodded my head vigorously.

I wondered if there was any way to prove it, but instead of telling me how, Elena just started to smile.

“Forget it. I don’t think they’ll really be able to take down Dragovich anyway.”

“I think so too. But let’s avoid bringing it up too often.”

It’s often the case that if you become complacent thinking it won’t happen, it actually does. A sort of cliché, I guess.

“Well, I should get going soon…”

“Where are you going?”

“Lupus Carlton Hotel.”

“Why there?”

It was an obvious answer from me, and an obvious question from Elena.

“Kazin will probably be waiting there. It’s a given, really.”

“Did they ask to meet up immediately or something?”

“No, nothing like that. But it’s better to meet up sooner rather than later.”

“….”

Instead of answering, Elena wrapped me tightly in her muscular arms. This action itself was her way of saying she wouldn’t let me go.

“Fine. I’ll just go later. After all, I have to attend the Russo Family’s funeral soon anyway.”

“What?”

“Oh.”

I realized I had forgotten to mention this to Elena and Felicita.

I had just heard about the security forces, Coast Guard, and the Tyrrhenian assassins from Giovanni before sharing this.

“Vesus Russo has died.”

“…He was definitely Darius’s brother, right?”

“Damar was the second and Vesus the third. It seems he suffered for a while after being poisoned by the Vipers.”

“When’s the funeral?”

“Three days from now.”

Only then did Elena recall that I had said both the Godfather and Godmother would attend.

“So that’s what it was. Ah, Luke.”

“Yeah?”

“I think it’d be best to avoid taking Felicita if possible.”

“…Yeah, that makes sense.”

There was a causal relationship between Vesus Russo’s death and Felicita.

In the past, the Marinelli Family had played a leading role in establishing the Vipers along with the Cassio and Marmala Families. The Russo and Dragovich Families had opposed them.

During the purge of the Vipers, all five families had executed it together as well.

Of course, the decision-maker then was Vito Marinelli, not Felicita.

But from the standpoint of those who had lost brothers and family, there was more than enough reason to resent Felicita.

“It’d be problematic if Felicita got harmed by those guys for no good reason.”

“…I didn’t know you thought that much about Felicita.”

“Luke, don’t get it twisted. If the Godfather’s wife gets humiliated, what happens? It affects not just you, but my prestige as well.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Are you actually listening to me?”

Though she tried to present it as a reasonable excuse, it was clear Elena was being considerate of Felicita.

“Alright, I’ll talk to Felicita.”

With that said, I broke away from Elena’s embrace. It was a very simple method.

I transformed into the Wolf.

“…I’ll leave my clothes in the bedroom.”

“Thanks.”

That’s right. The reason I don’t often use the transformation into the Wolf isn’t without reason.

In the process of transforming my body into a Wolf, I couldn’t carry over my clothes and belongings.

Anyway, as a small Wolf, I headed towards Felicita through the door that Elena had opened for me.