Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 22

Hebili Eastern District Court.

There, a legal battle over one person was in full swing.

The defendant was an ordinary worker. A truck driver who transported goods from the port, he found himself in court accused of stealing items from a specific company.

“Your Honor! As you are well aware, the collective bargaining agreement with the union states that a truck driver can only be terminated for specific offenses.”

“And what might those offenses be?”

The judge asked a question not because he didn’t know but simply to help the audience understand.

“Offenses related to the driver’s usual work attitude! Adherence to working hours! Alcohol consumption during working hours! Acts of violence during working hours! Violations of traffic rules while transporting goods!”

The lawyer boldly proclaimed this in a voice loud enough to echo in the courtroom.

“There are no theft charges as per the collective bargaining agreement, and the company has failed to prove the defendant’s theft. Nonetheless, the reason they sued the defendant is simple! If it were merely a matter of right and wrong, they would have fired him. But the fact that they didn’t! There’s a reason for that!”

The lawyer acted like a renowned orator.

With uncontrolled movements and an emotional tone. And eyes that were bulging with intensity.

“They’re harassing the defendant to uncover an imaginary accomplice that doesn’t even exist! But what can they do? Since nothing was stolen, there are no accomplices!”

The lawyer shrugged his arms.

“Let me repeat, the defendant has worked faithfully for more than 10 years without taking a single sick leave! An exemplary employee! An exemplary colleague! An exemplary head of the family!”

His perfect rhyme sent shivers through the defendant’s colleagues seated in the gallery.

“Of course, he has violated something.”

The defendant was greatly flustered by the lawyer’s words. Judging by his reaction, this was clearly an unscripted defense.

The company was baffled by the sudden turn of events, but the lawyer wasn’t a fool.

“It’s a union rule! The union rule states that the truck driver’s job is strictly transportation. It expressly forbids him from helping offload the cargo he has transported! But the defendant insisted on unloading his cargo himself even on cold winter days.”

And so the lawyer’s final argument came to a close.

The prosecutor’s final statement began, but it seemed unlikely to penetrate the powerful truth of the lawyer’s argument and the defendant’s exemplary work ethic.

Soon, everyone in the courtroom had no choice but to wait for the judge’s verdict.

The judge was a rare figure from a mixed ethnic background in this city and country.

In reality, the defendant was white. It was quite a strange sight to see a mixed ethnic judge ruling over a white defendant. It felt like the heavens had turned upside down.

“I will dismiss this case with a warning.”

“Yes, Your Honor!”

“No, I’m not talking to the defense side. I’m addressing the plaintiffs! If you bring a laborer to this court again without proper evidence and threaten them, you will surely regret it!”

The judge sternly warned the plaintiff’s side, the company.

“If I had shares in your company, I would have sold them all by now.”

Despite the judge’s somewhat excessive remarks, the company could do nothing. They hadn’t proved their case, and the lawyer successfully defended the defendant.

That difference led to the current outcome.

Thus, the trial ended. The gallery instantly buzzed with excitement. The defendant’s colleagues celebrated their peer’s victory as if it were their own.

Other audience members offered warm cheers and encouragement to the defendant and directed scorn and curses toward the plaintiffs.

“Thank you, Salmo.”

“No, it’s the many people who will be thankful for your loyalty.”

Anthony Salmo, the consigliere of the Felini Family, whispered in a very subdued voice, unlike during the defense.

Today, he had once again triumphed while defending a family member involved in a crime conspired by the family.

“Tell the lady and Luke that we’ve won again.”

Salmo instructed one of his underlings while taking a cigarette from his pocket.

“Ahh….”

The taste of the cigarette he lit in celebration of the court victory must have been such ecstasy that even eating a god wouldn’t compare. At least that’s how Salmo felt.

*

When Salmo’s victory news reached us,

We were surrounded by an enormous pile of cash bags in Elena’s Room on the top floor.

“…The Financial King really is something special.”

Elena seemed to still be in disbelief. Felicita and I felt the same.

“Brother, this is it!”

Carso shouted.

As it happened, both Carso and Giovanni’s wolves were busy moving cash bags into the room.

“Right, good job!”

There were so many cash bags between me and the wolves that I had to raise my voice to be heard.

“Now that we’ve won the trial and received the money from Hagen, we just need to prepare to receive the goods.”

“Ah, miss. Brother. I have something to say.”

Carso, who had directly brought the money prepared by Hagen, spoke up.

“It seems that the rats have seen us moving the money.”

When Carso mentioned rats, he didn’t mean treacherous informants among our ranks. He was referring to the literal rat-like humans of this city.

Rat humans.

They were either beggars or thieves living in the sewers, fully aware of their place in the world.

However, their numbers were so great that no one could deal with them. The closest comparison to what I had known would be…

The beggar groups mentioned in martial arts novels, perhaps like “Gaebang” that existed in such tales.

The entire ethnicity was akin to one such “Gaebang.” They existed everywhere and traded information they had seen or heard in a foolish manner.

Rumor had it that Rika Carmen would soon hear about our hefty cash haul.

“Brother, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. After all, it’s almost impossible to avoid those guys in this city.”

I felt regretful about the exposed information, but blaming Carso further wouldn’t change much.

At that moment, something suddenly darted out from between the cash bags, clutching one of the bags, and bolted toward the room’s entrance.

“…What is that?!”

Elena gasped as she recognized the identity of the sudden intruder.

Understandably so, as it was a silk moth larger than a human face.

“Heb! Don’t do that!”

Felicita rushed after Heb, who had taken the cash bag, trailing toward the entrance. Naturally, they slipped away into the hallway.

“What a transparent trick to pull….”

It was definitely a clumsy act.

Given Felicita’s personality, I figured it was just some kind of joke, but Elena seemed to think differently.

“Luke, hurry to that woman’s room and retrieve the bag.”

“Elena, with this many bags, can’t we afford to lose one?”

“Luke, that’s a command from the Boss. Hurry.”

“…Alright.”

Elena had a tendency to do this sometimes. Especially when I tried to side with Felicita, she would utilize her status as the Boss.

As the Underboss, I had little choice but to comply unless it was a special case.

I made my way past numerous cash bags toward Felicita’s Room.

“Felicita, where’s the cash bag?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know since Heb took it.”

“Felicita, don’t do this.”

“Why? Did Elena order you to get it back?”

“Yes, it’s a command from the Boss.”

As I exaggeratedly gestured with both hands, Felicita burst into laughter.

“Yeah, that’s expected.”

Reluctantly, she handed me the cash bag she had taken.

“Luke, shouldn’t you have been the Boss instead of Elena?”

“Felicita, don’t say things like that.”

Felicita’s eyes were sincere. It was clear she meant it.

“It was our father’s decision. And Elena is my sister.”

“….”

As I grew sad at her response, Felicita suddenly kissed me, perhaps as a gesture of apology.

“Luke, I knew you’d respond like that.”

Despite her seemingly unemotional facade, she was loyal to her family, and her dedication as the ‘little wolf’ was why she stated she loved me.

Just as expected.

Felicita clearly made that comment to tease me about the Boss.

After kissing her again, I returned to Elena’s Room.

*

With that, we were ready to welcome our friends.

The day before this Sunday, when Elena was set to monopolize me in exchange for supplying drugs to the Marinelli Family,

A ship that had sailed from Tyrrhenia across the sea had finally arrived at Hebili.

The most crucial figures on that ship were Kazin, the overseer, and his successor, Haremo.

Although Haremo was not currently in that position, he was a creature meant to gradually take over Kazin’s role.

Now that the port was under Elena’s control, I still felt it was my duty to receive drugs from Kazin, given what I had done previously.

As I looked at the docked ship against the backdrop of the night sea breeze, Kazin and his subordinates soon appeared.

“Wolf!”

Kazin calling me by that title had a subtle change.

No longer “little wolf” but simply “wolf.”

Since Vito Felini was no more, it was almost as if I had inherited my father’s nickname.

“Kazin.”

I called his name, and those near me shifted to give us space.

From now on, those around had no right to speak. Naturally, Haremo stood back, keenly focused on our conversation.

“Kazin, is the quantity the same as last time?”

“Yeah, it’s just like last time. The goods and quantity are the same too.”

“Great.”

“But there’s one difference.”

“…What is it?”

“This time, I can’t hand it all over to you.”

“….”

“Of course, it’s conditional. The Boss has become aware that the situation in this city has changed.”

“More detail.”

“Wait a moment, you’re being a bit too short with your explanation…”

“Shut up, Haremo.”

As Haremo tried to butt in, Kazin silenced him.

“….”

“I’m sorry that it has come to this. But business is business, right?”

Kazin spoke without being able to look me straight in the eye. It was clear that he felt genuinely remorseful.

“The Boss instructed that I must meet with the other five families and hear their terms.”

“Did I hear that wrong? Are you implying there’s a port where we can receive goods from them?”

“Luke, wait a second.”

I could easily have killed Kazin and his men right there and thrown them into the sea.

Or I could have summoned the Coast Guard to ensure they could never step foot on this city again. But it was more practical to refrain from doing so because it would yield no benefits for my business.

“Currently, we can hand over half of the drugs we brought. But the other half, we’ll check the conditions from the five families first… and if it doesn’t appeal to us, we’ll give it to you.”

Kazin explained that he needed to verify the conditions presented by the five families given his position.

“What a waste. Do you think they’ll come up with better terms than ours?”

“Luke, I respect you, but we must check what their conditions are. There are certain minimum procedures to follow.”

Yeah, suddenly there’s a procedure now.

Of course, it was obvious that the five families wouldn’t be able to move drugs in this port without our permission. It’s also likely that they wouldn’t actively offer good conditions either.

After going through all these calculations, I had no choice but to agree with Kazin’s terms.

Kazin expressed his gratitude several times to me, and as soon as they got off the ship, they headed straight to the five families of this city.

From the direction they were headed, it looked like they were planning to visit the Marinelli Family first. Seeing them go made it clear that Kazin’s boss wasn’t well-informed about the situation here.

The Marinelli Family was in a current strategic alliance with us through a marriage pact. Additionally, they were sourcing a large quantity of drugs through us. There was absolutely no need for them to directly source drugs from Kazin’s organization and risk turning against us.

In any case, thanks to Kazin’s actions, there were signs that the bosses of the five families were preparing to gather in one place.

The one leading this movement was Eddie Sanchez, the boss of the Sanchez Family.

The remnants of the past that my father had once torn apart.

A powerful organization made up of the five families, the committee, was about to be reformed.

Of course, they bore an utterly miserable appearance compared to the glorious past.