Francesco walked alongside his family inside the church in Harlem where all the crime families from the Harlem meeting were present. This was the church service Sterling Johnson had arranged before the big meeting so it invited all to have some peace. He admired Sterling. He had guts and he had nerve putting all these people in the same room.
Francesco looked around at faces of the attendees of the church. He felt their eyes on his family. Their vision was mostly on Vincenzo. This was a nightmare. A true nightmare. He never meant to bring attention to his son. Somthing was going on. He could tell. He could see the section of Sicilians murmuring to themselves as they looked at his son. He couldn't ignore this. He wanted to walk upto them and give them a piece of his mind but he had to wait until they were out of the church. This was a place for peace.
Adele squeezed his hand as they sat down in one row as a family. He turned to his wife and smiled. When he felt her touch or looked into her eyes he felt nothing but peace. From the first day he had met her, he felt that way. He felt total peace when he was in her presence. He wished he didn't have to leave her side at all. He didn't have that luxury of course. Sometimes he wished he was ordinary so he didn't have to leave his wife behind when he dealt with business. But that was his destiny. He looked at his sons wondering what path they were going to choose. He had no control over their fate. Only they had choices to influence their future.
A song was played and the footsteps of the ministers and the priest was heard in the silent church. Vincenzo looked behind him and felt all the stares on himself. He didnt know what to make of it. He couldnt read minds but something was going on. He looked around and saw Terza with her family sitting with the Irish families. He was happy to see her there but in a way he didn't want her present after feeling all the eyes on himself. There was tension in the air. Something was coming. He felt that a big storm was coming now and he wanted Terza far away from it. He smiled at her and watched the priest walk up the altar.
The priest addressed the people "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The people said "Amen."
Vincenzo watched the priest speak and he looked beside himself. Viggo was looking forward and not glancing at him. Viggo was not happiest after he had found out Vincenzo had hidden his affair with Clarisa and hadnt trusted him with his secrets. He just did not want to drag him in because then Viggo would have been obliged to tell their father. His father was also not the most impressed. No harm was done to the family so he was safe from his father's wrath. But if anyone got hurt because of his actions, he was sure the reaction would have been different from his father.
Vincenzo looked at the priest. The priest was now saying " May almighty God cleanse us of our sins, and through the eucharist we celebrate make us worthy to sit at his table in his heavenly kingdom.
Like other people, Vincenzo whispered "Amen." He then closed his eyes as memories of the past came to him. He had asked his father what a sin meant when he had gone back home from church. His father had said " A sin means when you do something that is wrong. When you sin, I will tell you. You will know what a sin is when you commit it."
Shortly after he had started to learn what a sin was. If he upset his mother that was a big sin. If he lied to his father that was also a big sin. But a sin had a totally different meaning to some people compared to his father. To the whole world certain actions were sins but to his father those were heroics.
Vincenzo opened his eyes and listened to the priest " Lord, we have sinned against you: Lord, have mercy."
Vincenzo whispered in unison with others "Lord have mercy."
Vincezno had heard many men ask for mercy from his father. His father had lives in his hands. He had power to kill and forgive. He was seen as a great power. Many feared his father and the Lord.
The priest said "Lord, show us your mercy and love."
All said in unison "And grant us your salvation."
Well in his father's book there was no salvation. There was no redemption. There were a few exceptions. His uncle Costanzo, uncle Antonio and uncle Angelo had managed to have salvation. But his father reserved that for his blood. He wondered if his father ever forgave his grandfather. He didnt kill him when he had the chance. He wasnt sure if he didnt kill him out of mercy or because his father didn't want to bring consequences upon their family by paulo Rosarios's death. He was important. That much he knew.
The priest said " May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life."
Vincenzo whispered " Amen". So did the others. But Vincenzo wondered if some sins could ever be forgiven. People prayed in church to gain forgiveness but how could they expect to be forgiven for all sins. Not all sins were equal. He didn't beleive there was redemption in some cases just like how his father didnt believe in redemption. His father never forgave his grandpa. He wondered what his grandpa had done but he was not going to ask until his father told him the truth. His grandpa had refused to disclose much of the past. He had asked him to ask his father. But Vincenzo didn't think it was his place to ask. if his father felt happy to share his past he would have. It was as though his father blanked out a big part of his past when he spoke of his childhood and youth. He talked about himself and his uncle Costanzo but there was no mention of Paulo Rosario and many others.
As the end of the church service came, Sterling Johnson stood up "Thank you father. Could you give these families some time alone in this room? There is time for reflection."
The priest nodded "Of course. All people are welcome to stay at the house of the lord for as long as they need." He then made his way out alongside his ministers.
Once the church was empty of all outsiders, Sterling Johnson walked to the front of the church next to the Altar and spoke "Now. I wish for you to reflect on all the suggestions that was made yesterday. We all have matters to discuss after this church service but we both know there is a particular matter to discuss first at the meeting which dominated the end of the meeting yesterday. There are enough battles to fight with the authorites and we dont need to fight amongst ourselves. If there are any changes in your circumstances I would like to hear it now. We cant not leave this church unless I have some guarantee that there is some possibility of a peaceful outcome today. I have deliberately formed this gathering with your families so you take a look at your actions and the impact on your families. Can you honestly look at your wives and children to tell them some of the outrageous suggestions you had? I dont think so. So here is your chance to reflect. I sit down and leave it to you. We do not leave until we have results." He then walked to his seat and sat down.
The church became noisy suddenly as people started talking amongst themselves. Some then started shouting complaining that they were not going to make peace. Then people became aggressive and threats were thrown around the room from all directions.
Just then a middle aged Sicilian man walked to the front of the church and put his hand up "I am here to make an announcement for the Don. I am Marco, the lawyer of Rosarios in Sicily."
The room fell silent quite quickly. He was respected as the Don was too.
Francesco had a bad feeling about this. His gut instinct told him to leave the church that minute. He wasn't sure if anything Marco said could be good for the interests of his family.
Marco cleared his throat and took out a piece of paper from his coat " This is a telegram that came this morning from Sicily. This is a letter from the Don. He has been in bed resting from his illness that has made him quite weak recently. This is a letter he wishes for all to hear. I think this is the best time to read this to give all families something to think about. The contents of this telegram can affect the outcome of today as you know since the responsibility of the Sicilian Rosario interests belong to the Don and he gets a vote in all matters."
Francesco wondered what the Don wanted to say. Was his verdict on letizia Marciano was going to be mentioned now? He said the last word. But he could mention that in the meeting instead of now. Why did he have to read this telegram in church. What was there to contemplate about?
Marco held the paper in front of him "I Vittorio Rosario, wish to declare that due to my poor health conditions, I wish to resign from my duties and my role. With deep regrets I will not be passing on any further judgments regarding the matters concerning the Rosarios. I would like to declare my heir to take over from me. In my place, I wish to appoint .... my heir, my great grandson, Vincenzo Rosario."
Francesco was taken back. He didnt think the don was going to bypass his sons. Vincenzo was too young. This could not be right. He noticed the shock on the faces of his family members too who were looking at Vincenzo and then at Marco.
Vincenzo reacted before anyone else as he stood up and was about to object. He was his father's heir and not the Don's heir. There must have been a mistake. As he was about to object, he found himself surrounded by men he did not know. They lined up in front of him. The first one said "Don Vincenzo." He then bent over and grabbed Vincenzo's hand. He planted a kiss on his hand to Vincenzo's astonishment.
The line of men one of by one kissed his hand and went back to his seat. He looked around and saw the stoney faces of everyone in church. There was too much shock in the room. He hadn't looked at his father yet. His father was behind him. He wasnt sure what he felt but there were no words from him yet.
Francesco had balled his hands into fists and deciding who to kill for this. He couldnt believe they took advantage of the treaty and made this outrageous announcement in church where he was not allowed to reach for his gun. He was not allowed to be aggressive. He wanted to be. He wanted tp punch Marco for this and surely wanted to strangle the Don and put him out of his misery for unleashing this much responsibility on his son. There was little he could do. There was a code. It was Vincenzo's choice. He could refuse but then they were going to take him by force. That was how it worked. He could protect his son but for how long? He was not sure. Then Vincenzo had to be guarded under close watch forever. This organisation had international links too and if Vincenzo touched down elsehwere he still could be a marked man. It was impossible to avoid this fate. He was who he was now if he chose to take it. From that day onwards, Vincenzo had to commit to being his heir and being the Don's heir. Vincenzo was the obvious choice since he was younger than Francesco. He could be mentored and trained to be quite an influential figure. Francesco had thought they were going to come for him after Vincenzo's eighteenth birthday for him but it seemed like time was not on Vincenzo's side.
O'Neil stood up and walked to Francesco. As he reached him. he put his hands on his friend's shoulder as he bent down to whisper in his ear "Do you want me to get involved? He is my god son. It is my right. I would do what you wish me to do."
Francesco felt gratitude to his friend. The Irish could not get involved. It was too dangerous for O'Neil to come between Vincenzo and the organisation. The Don was no ordinary individual. He had alot of influence. His power even reached beyond the borders of Italy. Many families and organisations may not have worked for him but they did respect him and took his words as their honorary head of their families. The Don wanted Vincenzo bound to his family and he had managed it now.
Francesco looked up at his friend and shook his head "No. Its my family. I need to deal with this."
O'Neil retorted " When are you going to do that? You heard them. The Don is not well that he has resigned. Take action now. How are you going to deal with this after today? You need to stop this now before its too late. Look at them. It needs to stop. Object and appeal. Get this decision overturned."
Francesco declared "Its more complicated than you think..."
O'Neil shook his head "I don't understand... But I will do what you wish." He then sighed and walked back to his seat and gave his daughter a sad smile.
Clarisa was watching intently. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Clarisa was shaking her head in disbelief looking at Tristan "What is this? It cant be. He cant be ...."
Tristan whispered to his sister reassuringly "It will be alright. He can handle it." Tristan may have sounded confident but he was totally stunned by this whole episode. He did not expect this. He watched as Vitale now walking to Vincenzo. This was key. Was Vitale going to challenge Vincenzo for this position? He should have. He was older than Vincenzo. He was the Don's grandson and closer to the Don compared to Vincenzo who was a great grandson. Now that the Don wanted to skip a generation or two and use fresh blood as his heir, the contender was Vitale... But to his surprise, Vitale bent down and kissed his hand declaring his loyalty and acceptance of this decision.