Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 91

“Eddie” Edward Sanchez.

The gigantic Golem summoned as a witness made this Borges hearing feel entirely different from anything before.

First of all, there was no sight of the main witness, Martin Borges.

He didn’t want to be associated with his former boss.

From the committee’s perspective, it was a missed opportunity for a good show, but there was no choice if it meant getting Borges’s cooperation.

“….”

On top of that, Sanchez refused to have his face shown on TV for the entire country to see.

To be precise, he requested that the committee cover his face.

Naturally, Chairman John L. Porter vehemently opposed this. He had no intention of accommodating a criminal’s request.

“Chairman, how about granting the witness’s request?”

“What do you mean by that?”

However, the other members of the committee—those representing Hebili—had different thoughts.

Representative David C. Paragoni echoed their sentiments.

With all committee members except for Porter approving Sanchez’s request, he had no choice.

The Chairman had the authority to enforce it, but it could result in negative fallout such as non-cooperation or walkouts from his fellow committee members.

Thanks to this…

Sanchez thought it would minimize the damage to his reputation and face.

But Sanchez’s request had the opposite effect. The TV screen showed his entire body except for his face.

News cameras nationwide broadcasted Sanchez squirming and gesturing nervously since the hearing began.

“Mr. Sanchez.”

Chairman Porter maintained a different attitude toward Sanchez than he had with Borges.

And rightly so, because unlike Borges, who voluntarily chose to be a major government witness, Sanchez was summoned by the government.

The first day of Sanchez’s hearing featured hours of back-and-forth between him and the committee.

Any other boss wouldn’t act like Sanchez did. Because of that, many viewers witnessed Sanchez’s jittery reactions and his extremely defensive and evasive demeanor on TV.

Surprisingly, it was too close to call up to that point.

“….”

But Chairman Porter had no intention of wasting this precious time. He immediately shot a very sensitive question.

“Mr. Sanchez, what is your net worth?”

“….”

“Mr. Sanchez! I asked about your net worth.”

“I refuse to answer.”

There was a clear tone of displeasure in Sanchez’s voice.

But that reaction served as good fuel to ignite Porter’s resolve.

“Mr. Sanchez, if you continue to refuse to answer, you will face charges of contempt of the Senate.”

With that, the Chairman pressed him again.

He wanted to know about Sanchez’s net worth.

“….”

But all that followed was Sanchez’s silence.

As the situation deteriorated, Porter would not remain quiet either.

“If you act like this, we will have no choice but to do our jobs.”

The charges of contempt that Porter mentioned were specifically for contempt of Congress.

With that last statement from Porter, today’s hearing was formally adjourned.

The exception was that Rita Carmen wasn’t summoned… but it seemed the hearing ended earlier than planned because of Sanchez’s non-cooperation and the responses to it.

Today was supposed to be my day with Elena.

So, after the hearing wrapped up early, the phone in Elena’s Room began ringing loudly.

“Mr. Felini.”

“Chairman. I watched the hearing closely.”

It was Paragoni on the line. He seemed quite pleased with Sanchez’s appearance on the TV screen.

According to Rita Carmen and Veronica, Sanchez was one of the two bosses who assassinated my father.

Seeing him humiliated was a great joy for me and my two wives.

“So, what happens to Sanchez now?”

“Well, there was a bit of a disagreement among the legislators.”

“Just cut to the chase.”

Who said what and who fought about what didn’t matter.

What mattered most was what would happen to Sanchez moving forward.

“Yes, since Sanchez refused to answer the questions, we can charge him with contempt of the Senate in this hearing.”

“Is that what you plan to do?”

“That’s what Porter claims. If we can get a guilty verdict… he could face a basic sentence of around 18 months in prison.”

Paragoni added his opinion that it was likely he would be found guilty, thanks to the fact that this hearing was being broadcast nationwide.

“However… Porter seems to want to go a bit stronger.”

“Stronger? What exactly does that mean?”

“He wants to pursue the procedures for stripping him of his citizenship.”

“…Is that possible?”

“If he refuses to answer questions about his net worth, a separate investigation can be opened. A personal tax audit could be initiated against him, and during that process, uncovering tax evasion or avoidance would just be a matter of time.”

It seemed Chairman Porter had something planned.

However, it would be somewhat problematic for Sanchez to receive that kind of judicial judgment. While losing control over his family due to imprisonment would be a minor relief…

“Understood.”

“What do you want us to do, Mr. Felini?”

“I’ll think about it for a while and let you know.”

After hearing my response, Paragoni ended the call.

“Who was that?”

“Representative Paragoni.”

“Calling as soon as the hearing is over? Looks like they’ve got him well-trained.”

Before I could answer Elena, Felicita chimed in.

“Well, we covered up the scandal thanks to us, so it can’t be helped.”

“Still, be careful. Those politician types are never to be underestimated.”

“Right, I know that well, so don’t worry too much.”

After replying to Felicita, now Elena was warning me not to place too much trust in Paragoni… though I didn’t particularly trust him in the first place.

After finishing the call with Paragoni, I hadn’t spoken much with my two wives when the phone began ringing again.

Calls came in one after another from Vito Marinelli, Darius Russo, and Dominico Solomon, the bosses of three families.

The common thread between the three was how much they enjoyed Sanchez’s humiliation.

But Russo didn’t stop there; he invited me and my two wives to his party.

“Elena, what should we do?”

“Well, it could be fun, right?”

“….”

I asked Elena, but it was Felicita who answered.

*

In the end, Felicita and I agreed to attend the party.

It wasn’t that we couldn’t refuse an invitation from the boss of the Russo Family; it’s just that they are part of the same Five Families, but the Russo Family is definitely our rival.

Rather, I thought it would be a good opportunity to observe the internal dynamics of the Russo Family firsthand.

“Then shouldn’t we send Salmo or Carso instead?”

“Elena, Russo invited us specifically. If you’re really worried, I can go with those two.”

It was my two wives, or rather, the two bosses of the Felini Family who were invited. While Elena wanted both of us to bow out, that wouldn’t look good either.

At least one boss should respond to the invitation.

“Since you don’t want to go, I guess I’ll just go alone with Luke.”

“Felicita. Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”

Whether Felicita’s provocation was sincere or just counterproductive, it was enough to stir Elena.

“Well, if you’re really worried, we can take Armo and the Wolves along.”

“…That sounds wise. Just in case.”

“Come on. Do you think Russo is that dumb? Thanks to the Felini Family providing him with drugs, he’s barely holding on against the Vipers.”

“True enough.”

Even if they succeeded in eliminating us, their future would not be bright.

Would the Felini Family crumble just because my two wives disappeared? No way, absolutely not.

Of course, the linchpin would disappear, but at that moment, the Russo Family would become a sworn enemy against the remnants of the Felini Family.

“Luke, so what’s the party about exactly?”

“It’s a celebration party hosted by Darius Russo to commemorate Eddie Sanchez’s public humiliation.”

“…What? Seriously?”

“I didn’t just make it up. He specifically said that.”

“Russo has a pretty tight grip on the film industry, that’s for sure.”

Felicita did not seem to like that fact very much.

“Gelaaba might also be there.”

“Gelaaba? Who is that?”

Elena seemed to react as if she had no idea who I was talking about.

“We don’t know any women, right?”

“Elena, remember that actor who interviewed me at the hotel for filming reference? The guy who delivered Financial King Hagen’s message.”

“Oh.”

“That guy is Antonio Gelaba.”

Elena seemed relieved to hear my answer. I told Elena not to worry about that while gently caressing her strong hand and arm.

“Well, regardless of Hagen’s connections, there wouldn’t be a downside in making a good impression on Russo, so he’s likely to come.”

“I think so too. He doesn’t seem like a famous actor anyway.”

While Elena didn’t have much interest in movies, it was clear she didn’t know his name. Anyway, it was settled that we were going to attend the party hosted by Darius Russo.

I called up the Russo Family to confirm our participation.

“Luke, can you come to my room for a second?”

“Sure.”

“Why is Luke suddenly needed?”

“Just wanted to ask him to choose an outfit for the party.”

“….”

Elena didn’t seem thrilled about Felicita’s actions, but she didn’t stop her either.

“Then I’ll take that as a yes. Elena, thank you for lending your husband to your sister.”

“What do you mean ‘sister’? Stop with the weird talk and send Luke over.”

“….”

I worried the two wouldn’t clash again, but my needless anxiety was unwarranted.

After that, I headed to my room with Felicita to help her choose something suitable to wear.

“Luke.”

“Yeah?”

“It seems Elena is still keeping an eye on Veronica.”

“Ah, that’s unavoidable.”

Elena had her own reasons. But with Sarina stepping back from directly keeping watch, Felicita ended up making Elena’s surveillance far more efficient.

When I mentioned the reasons Elena had shared, Felicita seemed to find it somewhat reasonable.

“Then she only needs to watch Veronica, along with the Carmen Family members and the soldiers she has brought.”

“Got it. I’ll bring it up for discussion later.”

“Thanks, Luke. By the way, what about this one?”

Felicita seemed to have a higher interest and understanding of fashion compared to Elena. Perhaps it was because Marinelli Family’s main business was laundry, giving them a close connection to the clothing industry.

However, the final choice Felicita made was a black dress that I said looked great on her.

Her beautiful blonde hair and captivating purple eyes.

With the perfect black dress to match. It was simply flawless. After choosing Felicita’s outfit, it was now time to select something for Elena.

But it seemed Elena wanted me to choose for her rather than making her own decision.

“Elena, how about this?”

A combination of a form-fitting red dress and a white fur coat.

It was the same outfit Elena had worn atop the Grand Hebili Hotel when Darius Russo had sworn loyalty to her.

“….”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, not that. Luke, I just wondered if you like it that much.”

“Yeah, it looks good, but it also has significance. It’s appropriate to show Russo again.”

“…After all, you sure have a knack for poking at people’s sensitive spots, don’t you?”

“That’s just how the Wolves are.”

Dinner was kept light. I wanted to enjoy the party properly.

The scheduled time arrived, and my two wives and I got into the armored car, escorted by multiple vehicles, heading north through the city.

Our destination was a luxurious mansion in the territory of the Russo Family.