“So we’re still hollowing.”

“Only traitors. We just haven’t had anyone turn on us since… I don’t know. Forever.”

“I believe you believe that.”

The car in front of me is driving slow and steady in the right lane. I use it as a guide, keeping a safe distance, but not enough to let someone cut between us.

“I still believe it. Which is why I met with Lucari. To protect you. And he made it clear he wouldn’t let me, so I went to find you myself. It took all night and most of the next day. Drinking coffee—I never drank so much coffee—in every diner in town. Ringing doorbells and asking randoms. Ray called me and told me Dad was murdered while I was out looking for you, and yeah, before you ask, I have feelings about that.”

“I wasn’t going to ask.”

“What happened to you? When did you stop caring?”

“I don’t need to ask. You weren’t there when our father was killed. Of course you have feelings.”

He sighs, tapping a knuckle on the window. “I should have gone back right away. I could have stopped him from giving Sergio the nod. But with him gone, I needed you even more.”

“And Sergio just took over? How is that possible?”

“It’s shaky. No one trusts him. I sent a couple of guys to the Agosti territory in Queens. Just to poke around. Your wedding? It had another purpose. Giovanni Agosti was trying to marry off his oldest son so his younger daughter’s husband could take over. Lisa. Her husband, Ettore. Since then, Giovanni’s had a quadruple bypass. He’s not coming back, and Ettore’s got his feet on the desk.”

“That’s a lot.”

“Yeah. Never mind. I’m sorry to dump shit in your lap that you can’t understand.”

He thinks he’s talking to the Sarah he grew up with, but she’s long gone.

“No. I understand. They sent Sergio to marry me to get rid of him while they put someone else in charge of Agosti territory. When the wedding didn’t exactly work out, they kept Sergio on a string… brought him to Armistice Night, let him have a foot in the Colonia and the Agostis, and then at some point, they still cut Sergio out and put in the son-in-law… what’s his name?”

“Ettore. Ettore Belli.”

“Right, so Sergio can’t go back to Queens, and he hasn’t even married into the Colonia, so he’s like a man without a nation. And he’s ambitious. This we know. Then he’s got to decide… is he going to go home and go to war with Ettore? Or stay with the Colonia? Well, it’s obvious, right? The Colonia just lost their first daughter. We—you got ambushed by a guy who’s a big-time thief, but he’s got no family, so it seems like you got caught with your pants down. For Sergio, the weaker family’s the one to take over. The Colonia. He’ll kiss up to Dad, get you out of the way, and be the second until there’s an opportunity to… what did you call it? Put his feet on Daddy’s desk.”