Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 128

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Eight

Genevieve watched the crowd of men filtering into the lower level of the club from the window in Matteo’s office. After calling in reinforcements from the club workers, they’d managed to get the place in working order in time for the evening meeting. While the club would remain closed until Matteo was out of prison, it was important to keep up appearances, especially with the men she was about to face.

It had been difficult enough to calm those at Accardi Industries. She’d called a meeting in the conference room with the heads of each department and assured them all that the allegations against Mr. Accardi were baseless and the company, and more importantly, their jobs were not at risk. She’d given every dispensable worker the rest of the week off with pay while telling those that she needed to continue working that it was fine if they worked from home.

She’d spent the rest of the day with the PR woman, Cindy, fielding calls from tracks and casinos around the country who had been raided… with paying customers witnessing each invasion. It was a publicity nightmare. The reality of the situation hit her later in the day when she realized she actually missed Bella and the knowledge she’d garnered from the company. She considered calling O’Brien up to borrow her but remembered she needed far bigger favors from the Irishman and Bella was not worth the added cost.

Alessio and Conor helped her with the other side of the Accardi business. They’d made phone calls to their own contacts while reaching out to those pivotal to their final plan: O’Brien, the Russo family… Michele.

Matteo had been right in his assumption that the moment handcuffs went on his wrist and the FBI performed their raids that Michele would make his move. After Gen would hang up with a terrified casino manager, Alessio would relay that Michele’s men had been spotted by the casino, speaking with Matteo’s men. Conor discovered after speaking with O’Brien that Michele had already contacted him. She wasn’t sure where O’Brien’s loyalty would fall, however, Matteo seemed positive his relationship with the Irish was in much better standing than the Galantes. Something about Michele kidnapping Conor’s Irish mother and her eventual death. He didn’t give specifics but what he did tell her was enough to make her believe the Irish were not a fan of the Italian Don.

Despite the thousands of threads that still needed to be manipulated into the intricate plan they’d designed, she knew one thing: they needed to reassure their own men to keep them from defecting or falling prey to Michele’s empty promises. Hence why she stood at Matteo’s office window, swallowing lumps

of fear every few moments as they’d rise to her throat.

“Don’t be so nervous,” Alessio said, sitting on a nearby couch that had been skewered.

“Easy for you to say,” Gen sighed. “All of you have been raised to be in power, to talk to guys like this.”

“Yeah, but you crawled into bed with one of those guys,” Conor reasoned.

“So?”

Conor smirked and flipped to the next page in the magazine he was reading. “Makes you crazier than most. You’ll be fine.”

“The guys know about you,” Louis added. “All you have to do is show them you’re here, you’re not going anywhere, and neither are they. All they need to know is the family is still intact and Accardi will be out in a few days. They just need to be in the know.”

“Remember not to mention the baby,” Leo reminded her. “The marriage and the Donna oath are fair game but Accardi doesn’t want the world to know he’s

going to be a father until this whole thing blows over.”

“Even I agree with that,” Alessio said,

Gen nodded, placed her hand over her stomach, and took a deep breath. “Well, I guess… Now is as good a time as any?”

Alessio shoved up from the couch. “Sl, andiamo,”

The men started for the door. “Stop,” Gen commanded, holding her hand out. They all looked back at her with a raised brow. “I’ll go first. It’ll be better if

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Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Eight

they see me in the lead rather than following behind.”

Leo smirked with pride while Alessio snarled and rolled his eyes, clearly not one who enjoyed walking behind anyone. She pushed past him, nonetheless and strode to the edge of the stairs. Every pair of eyes suddenly swiveled up to her and the room quieted. The clicking of her heels against the stairs and the whit of various machines in the building were the only sounds as she descended. She walked through the throngs of men who parted away from her as though there were an invisible five foot barrier protecting her. She glanced down at her wedding ring and realized, in a way, there was.

One of the men Gen recognized as being a favorite of Matteo’s, stepped up beside the ring and offered his hand. She gave him a smile and nod of thanks as he gripped her hand and upper arm to help her up. She stepped through the ropes and glanced around. The four men who had been by her side since returning from Italy stood in front of the ring and she realized they weren’t joining her up on the mat. She swallowed the lump in her throat again and looked out at Matteo’s family… her family.

“My name is Genevieve Accardi,” Gen announced, her voice echoing through the room. “A week ago I stood across from your boss and took his name as my own.” She held up her palm where a small scar still showed the evidence of her vows. “I also took on the role as his Donna, vowing to protect what his family has built… What you have helped him to maintain.” A murmur swept through the crowd, one whose emotion she couldn’t quite decipher. “While I know this ceremony is meant to be performed in front of y’all, extenuating circumstances prevented this… for now. We had to stand strong, together, and make quick decisions to keep this family intact. To keep it safe. I am not here to take over, nor am I here to tell you how to do your jobs. I am here, to tell

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you that we are not backing down.” Another murmur swept through the crowd, this one was filled with relief.

“A man by the name of Noah Bennett, you may know him as Luca Guerra, has infiltrated our family and taken Accardi and Donati into prison. He thinks this will break you… Us. And in the midst of this upheaval, another man, Galante, believes us weak enough to roll over and hand him what the Accardis have

built.”

Anger rolled through the crowd. The collective emotion seemed to make the room vibrate with energy that invigorated her. These men were listening. These

men wanted to hear what she had to say. They… trusted her.

“I am here to tell you, though it does not need to be said, that this will not happen!” Gen said, tightening her hands against the ropes at her front. “One man does not hold us together. We are held together by more than a man, a story, a history. We are held together through what you see around you. A belief in something bigger. A belief that in the darkest corners of the world, men and women like us can find a place to use our talents. Many of you have been given a second chance by this family. Accardi has brought you into this world when everyone else turned their backs on you. I tell you now to not turn your backs on him. Stand firm, stand united, and you will be rewarded.”

Gen pulled out a pocket knife. She opened the blade and gasped as she sliced the sharp edge across her palm for the second time in a week. “I, Genevieve Accardi, pledge my life and loyalty to the Accardi name and all who follow it. I will lead as your Donna with the strength and vitality of a woman whose mission never ends. I pledge my life to something bigger than myself, to the men and women who walk beside me and honor the values of the family crest that sits on my husband’s chest. I vow to care for you as though you are my kin because now… you are.”

The crowd of men and women started to shout in excitement.

Finally Leo hauled himself up on the ropes and turned to face the audience. “Mrs. Accardi has new roles for some of you. Before you leave tonight, meet me

or Louis to get your new assignments.”

As Leo spoke, Gen stepped down from the ring amid shouts and applause. She looked to the man who had helped her up. She held out her bleeding palm

and he shook his head with a smile as he took it.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Juliano, Donna,” Juliano said. “I’m so fucking glad to meet you.”

She nodded and her eyes cut to the man standing beside him. “Your name?” she asked.

“Don,” he said, holding out his hand to shake her bloody one. “You’ll never remember us all, Donna. Don’t worry, we trust Accardi and his decisions. We’ll follow you. You don’t need to personally convince each of us.”

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Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Eight

A smirk pulled at her lips. “Funny, I thought I was the boss here.”

Don smiled and Juliano laughed. “Yeah, you’ll do fine.”