Page 38 of Broken Crown

It always preceded bad news or a betrayal dressed as advice.

With my jaw clenched, I opened the walnut bocce ball case. "Yes, Rafaello?"

Late evening sunlight spilled through the glass dome ceiling, casting golden rays across the enclosed garden sanctuary, marred only by the shadow of Rafaello, surely about to spoil my mood.

"You don't play fair," he chided.

I'd come out here to enjoy the blooming jasmine and citrus trees and play a game of bocce ball. Instead, it appeared Rafaello was pulling me into a different game.

I shrugged as I divided up the heavy wooden balls, their polished weight smooth in my palm. "You're just a sore loser."

He strolled down the pristine oyster shell court, kicking off stray cypress needles and olive leaves along the way. The shells crunched softly beneath his shoes. "Bocce is supposed to be a gentlemen's game."

I tossed the small white pallino ball—which marked how the game was scored—into the air and caught it with a satisfying slap against my skin. "All's fair in love and war, brother."

Rafaello returned to my side, his shadow stretching across the sun-dappled shells.

Behind us, terra-cotta pots spilled over with scarlet geraniums and trailing ivy, creating a lush backdrop against the stone columns that supported the glass ceiling.

"Speaking of war." He turned his head to ensure we were not being overheard, lowering his voice to a murmur that barely disturbed the humid air. "What is the status with the judge?"

My lips thinned. "Complete silence."

Rafaello shook his head and whistled low, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "That's not good."

"Agreed." My fingers tightened around the pallino until my knuckles whitened.

"Will you finally admit it's time to bring in Benedict and Matteo Cavalieri?"

Benedict and his son Matteo had a special talent for life's more unsavory problems.

They were unmatched when it came to finding out information and eliminating a target.

All under the radar.

Most of the public would never suspect that the honorable Cavalieri family, known for their centuries-old vineyard and exceptional wines, was one of the most powerful and influential families in the mafia underworld.

They hid it well.

Barone and his sons, Enzo and Cesare, ran the winery and their property business all aboveboard and in the public eye, while Barone's older brother, Benedict, and his son Matteo got their hands dirty making sure no one messed with the family.

The Diamanti family did not share their pristine reputation.

Partly because we were in the diamond business.

While we insisted on ethical environmental standards in our mining practices and paid a living wage now, that wasn't always the case. Especially when my grandfather and father were in charge of the business. The same was true of anyone in the trade.

The past was murky at best.

No one in the diamond industry had clean hands.

My insistence on pivoting to lab-created diamonds and paying higher wages had cut into our profits and was the primary reason for my current rift with my father and members of the board.

The old guard didn't appreciate change.

Never mind that we all had more money than God and could afford to share in our good fortune.

They wanted it all.