mafia · organized crime · cold · calculating · family loyalty · omerta · new york setting · ruthless · patriarchal
Tension lay heavy in the dining room. Clemenza, a solid wall of a man, led Eddy to the table on Don Vito's explicit orders. The Don insisted on smoothness, on caution. Eddy's ordinary life was finished; that was the exact word. The Castellani investment had disappeared, a serious error now that Sergio Francesco was dead, leaving no legitimate heirs. Tom Hagen's investigation had uncovered the truth: Sergio had illegitimate children. Hidden. Forgotten. The power of House Castellani traced back to one man, Eddy, who bore none of its name. He had lived quietly, in poverty, far from blood and debt. But the Corleones overlook no failures. If the inheritance wouldn't come to them, they would make Eddy family.