Cosa Nostra
Notes: Can you guess the episode reference from the C/L scene? Haha, I'm shameless.
Part 3
Cesare could not shake that feeling of uncertainty off his chest.
It started earlier that day during breakfast. Juan was still out of town, but the rest of the family gathered in the dining room as usual, having a quiet meal, discussing casual topics of conversation: the weather, news headlines, what should they request the cooks make for dinner...
But Cesare couldn't help but notice how his sister would steal glances at him every chance she could. He knew there wasn't anything on his face, she would have told him. What was she thinking? What was turning the gears in her pretty little head?
After breakfast, he had spent the rest of his morning and lunch in his father's office, with Micheletto, Jeofre, Rodrigo and Ascanio, his father's advisor. They discussed the plans of the shares buy-out, trying to also plot out and predict the other families' moves.
Near the end of their meeting, Cesare received a text message.
I need your opinion. Can u get to my room when you have the chance?
2 minutes he responded.
Cesare looked up to his father. "Is there anything else you need, Dad?"
"No, go ahead," Rodrigo waved his hand and continued his conversation with Ascanio, while Jeofre just listened in quietly.
Both Cesare and Micheletto exited the office. As soon as Cesare closed the door behind him, he turned to his friend. "Talk to your contacts at the airport and all over town. I want eyes on Caterina wherever she goes and whatever she does. Whether she's visiting family, shopping, getting a goddamn pizza... I want to know where she is at all times."
Micheletto nodded his head and left Cesare alone in the hallways. When he was out of sight, Cesare took the opportunity to answer his sister's request. He walked up the stairs, through the hallway and stopped at the second door on the left, just opposite his own room. He knocked.
"Who is it?"
"It's Cesare," he called through the door.
"You mean my adoring brother?"
He chuckled. "One in the same."
"Come in."
Cesare turned the knob and pushed the door open. Light pooled in through the sheer curtains, illuminating her room of white and gold. Her four-post canopy sat against the wall, draped in gold and ivory silk. There were a few dresses of different colors spread out haphazardly at the foot of the bed, while she held two gold colored dresses in hand, hanging on their respective hangers. But all Cesare could see was Lucrezia standing in front of a mirror, wearing a white lace bralette and matching underwear. "Oh shi-," he gulped, "Sorry, I-."
"Come closer, help me pick a dress," Lucrezia turned from the mirror and laid both dresses down on the foot of the bed over all the other ones.
What...what was going on? Cesare took a moment to look behind him in the hallway, making sure no one was spying (which was odd, seeing as he went into her room many times before without a problem), and closed the door behind him when the coast was clear. He kept his eyes to the door, composed himself, took a deep breath and turned slowly.
"Giulia is throwing a party for her firm. They're the same color, but I don't know if I should wear knee-length or a high-low hem." Lucrezia stood tall, one hand to her hip, the other hand hooked at the crook of her neck. To the right, a white knee-length dress with gold embroidery and a low V neckline. To the left, a strapless solid gold dress with an ankle-length train.
He tried his hardest not to stare at her formed cleavage, and her nipples peeking from under the lace material. He knew he shouldn't be here... "I... I-I should... I should leave..."
"Why?" she pivoted on the balls of her feet and turned back to the mirror. Not only were her breasts in view because of the mirror, but her lace underwear only covered half of her buttocks, revealing how perfectly round her behind was... "Am I ugly to look at, Cesare?"
"I'll cut out the tongue of anyone who says that and force feed it to them." He looked down to the floor to keep his concentration level as high as possible.
Lucrezia smiled at him through the looking glass. "Well, it must be something then. Like maybe I have cankles. Or my hips are too wide. Maybe my knees are too knobby."
"You're- you're perfect. Knees included."
"Come here and see for yourself," she requested, taking a step closer to him.
Cesare took a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets. Perhaps he should sit down; he may make the situation less embarrassing. With his hands still in his pocket, Cesare took wide strides to the side of her bed and sat down. As he moved, she braced a hand to the post closest to him and swung so she was standing fully before him.
Keeping his eyes below thigh level would probably be safe for him, he told himself. His eyes followed the curves of her leg, how the smooth skin rolled over her taut muscles in perfect lines, knees, ankles and even down to her french manicured toes. His eyes caught sight of an ankle bracelet, a very thin gold chain, adorning her left ankle. "They're... they're perfect," he breathed. He found the strength to pull his gaze to her face. "What's going on, Lucrezia?"
Her pink lips formed a frown. "I met Alfonso today. I 'ran' into him."
Watched and pounced, Cesare thought.
"And surprisingly, he seemed like a nice guy. He was sweet, chivalrous, even liked silly, corny jokes."
A twinge of green peaked in Cesare's chest.
"But when he finally asked for my name and I told him, he couldn't have left any faster. The 'Sorry, I gotta go', excuse. And when I told Father what happened, he, well, he said I simply wasn't trying hard enough." She sighed and took a few more steps forward until she could touch him. He was careful to stay still as she stepped up to him, stepping in between his stance, her knees straddling one of his legs. "Again, not good enough."
"It just... takes time," he said, keeping his hands in his pockets. "This Alfonso kid is probably a sheltered boy, or he knows to stay away from mafia names because Daddy told him so. You just need a little more time to attract him."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "Am I even desirable?"
"That's crazy," he could barely find the strength under her presence, under her stare. "Of course you are."
"Am I?" Lucrezia combed her hand through his hair, sending chills down his whole body. Her hands continued to caress his jawline, until her fingertips feathered the tip of his chin. "I see it, you know," she sat beside him on the bed until their bodies were almost flush to one another. "The way you look at me."
Okay, this was not where he expected the conversation to go. Weren't they talking about the Aragon kid a few moments ago?
"You look but you don't touch."
Of course he shouldn't. Social taboo, for starters. And their parents' fury. Hellfire.
Cesare knew this was wrong, sitting here with her, tiptoeing closer to a taboo line. But she was so beautiful, she smelled so good, she looked so damn amazing now and above all else, he loved her.
With their foreheads pressed together, they were only a single breath away from one another. Their lips brushed like they did that other night when he killed Giovanni, like other nights before when she would just lay in his embrace when they were reading, watching TV, something, anything. 'At last.' He wasn't sure if he kept his thoughts to himself or he said it out loud, it didn't matter. Cesare inhaled and the tips of their lips touched, ready to taste his heaven.
Her cell phone rang.
He involuntarily let out a deep groan from his throat. She held back a laugh and turned, reaching for her cell phone under the pile of dresses. "That's probably Giulia, wondering what I'm going to wear."
"Mm-hm..." was all he could muster. "I'll let you... then..." he stood and sped-walk to her door. He quickly opened it and turned, catching one last look of her smiling at him as she talked on the phone, before closing the door.
Cesare took a deep breath. Oh man...
"So, Bro, I hear you've been productive."
"Define productive?" Cesare asked his older brother.
Juan had just arrived from the airport a few hours ago, back from his trip to Washington D.C. They gathered at the dining table for dinner; Rodrigo in the front, Vanozza to his right, Juan beside her, Jeofre beside Juan, and Cesare across from Juan. Lucrezia's empty chair sat between Rodrigo and Cesare. The butlers already distributed their meals; a delicious piece of fish set over mixed vegetable and quinoa, paired with a white wine of Vanozza's choosing.
Cesare's eyes trailed to the empty chair beside him.
"You got some inside info about some investing the family should look at, right?"
"Oh no," Rodrigo pursed his lips together and smiled, "not inside information. Just friendly advice. But what about you? What of your friends in D.C.?"
"Weeeellll," Juan shrugged as they ate, "I met up with my old friends. Met a new friend. Maria."
"Oh my," Vanozza sipped her wine, "Maria? A personal friend or professional friend?"
"Professional, mostly. But she's very good on the eyes, so that helps a lot," Juan admitted, and nudged Jeofre, whispering something to him. The youngest Borgia held his lips tight, trying his best to hide his laugh. "Who knows, it might be a little of both."
"You went to D.C. to find some new tail?" Cesare arched an eyebrow.
"Not just any tail," Juan insisted. "I'm talking about high caliber tail. Best quality tail. Because her dad is William Richards."
Everyone at the dining table looked shocked. "Really?" Rodrigo asked. "William Richards, Speaker of the House?"
"The very one," Juan smiled triumphantly. "I met her at a party one of my associates was holding and we hit it off no problem."
"I'm impressed," Cesare admitted. He knew Juan had managed to maintain connections with different Congressmen and women (how, he had a vague idea but didn't want to hear all the gritty details), but now he was playing in a whole new field. "Are you going back soon?"
"In a few days. Maria's family is hosting this charity thing for MS or something... don't remember, but I'm going. You know, to show my dedication to her or whatever."
"Of course," Cesare responded.
"Be careful with this one," Vanozza warned her eldest son. "This is the daughter of a very powerful man. He may or may not know about who you really are."
"But isn't that the best part of it?" Juan laughed. "To the rest of the world, we are just made of old money. Cesare is Pops' financial advisor and I'm just a...lobbyist. Kinda. No harm in that."
"Still," Vanozza continued.
"Juan knows what he's doing, he knows what he wants," Rodrigo smiled proudly. "Excellent, excellent work. Not what I was originally thinking, but even better! Now, all we need is Lucrezia to do her job and everything will work out. Where is she anyway?"
"Out at a party," Vanozza answered. "Giulia Farnese is hosting a party at her studio."
"A fashion party?" Juan looked intrigued. "Fashion parties mean models. And we weren't invited? I thought Lucrezia loved us."
"But what about your new girlfriend in D.C.?" Jeofre asked.
"That's why a man has to be discreet," Juan answered his little brother.
"You're really trying to corrupt him already?" Cesare bit.
"You know, Jeofre," Juan turned to the youngest, ignoring Cesare's comment, "next time if you can, go to one of Giulia's fashion parties. Most of the models there are kind of hot. Yeah, some of them have messed up teeth, but they have some really nice-."
Cesare shook his head, trying to continue his dinner. He wasn't sure what dress his sister decided to wear that night, and frankly, it didn't really matter. All he could see was the image of his sister, barely dressed in angelic white lace, seared in his mind.
That Saturday in Northern Bronx was a particularly crisp one. Lines of limousines, SUVs and long sedans were parked close by, dropping off their passengers as close as possible to the assigned plot. Crowds of people gathered to the closed casket, decorated with roses and wreaths of lush greenery.
Micheletto was first to disembark the Escalade, followed by Cesare, then Juan. In the SUV behind them, the rest of the family emerged: Leonardo, his father's personal guard, Lucrezia, Jeofre, Vanozza and finally Rodrigo. Micheletto and Leonardo walked in front of the family, while another set of guards followed. They made their way to the chairs set out for onlookers; Vanozza on Rodrigo's arm, Lucrezia on Jeofre's.
When Cesare looked forward to her, Lucrezia's head was tilted slightly in his direction; he was in her peripheral view. She turned away and looked forward.
They joined the crowd around Giovanni Sforza's casket and Cesare looked around the crowd. In front were the other Sforza members, including Caterina herself. Close by were the Della Roveres, including Giuliano, the head of the family. Dotting through the sea of faces were members of the other families, various cousins, uncles, henchmen and associates alike to represent the Orsinis and Vitellis. Everyone was wearing the appropriate somber face... Did anyone really care that he died?, Cesare mused.
Cesare caught sight of Niccolo Machiavelli, who simply gave him a look of acknowledgement.
The burial was relatively quick. No one had any memories to share, anecdotes to provide. Cesare wasn't surprised; he always thought the man as a disgusting human. The casket was quietly lowered into the ground, family members threw roses into the gaping earth and that was all. Attendees began to disperse, heading back to their cars and continued with their normal lives.
In the crowd, Cesare heard a single voice. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Borgia. And your family."
Cesare turned. The older woman stood before him, dressed in a floor-length dress, and a dark grey pashmina around her shoulders, her long dark auburn hair gathered in a braided updo. "We're just here to pay our respects to you and your family. Our sympathies are with you all."
"Hmm," Caterina smirked at her. "Your sympathies, as you can guess, mean nothing. A bullet to your brain will suffice, however."
Cesare's eyes narrowed. He started to mentally analyze the situation. She didn't looked armed, but she most likely had something on her. His gun sat in his holster against his chest. How quick could he grab it if she drew a weapon? He could also feel Micheletto standing right behind his shoulder, ready to strike if necessary.
"Tell me, Mr. Cesare Borgia, why do you think the police have not come knocking at your family's door?"
Because Micheletto and he left no sight unturned, nothing to raise suspicion in their direction, he told himself. He even found out where Giovanni's security cameras were to make sure his car wasn't in view.
"Because I want the pleasure of bringing you down myself. And not just bringing you down, but destroying your whole family until there is nothing left."
Cesare took a deep breath and kept his shoulders steady. His stomach knotted and his jaw clench as he continued to stare at this woman. Was there really a danger to her words? Or were they just words, and nothing she could follow through with? He didn't like the idea of risking it, especially if it would put his family in distress. "You won't have a chance," he warned her.
All Caterina did was continue her smile, and accompanied it with a deep sigh. "It was a nice day. A nice day to say goodbye to family." She took a step forward and began to walk away, her entourage following close behind. Caterina passed by the rest of the Borgia clan, who were stopped in their tracks as they witnessed what transpired between her and their kinsman. She gave a glance to Rodrigo, nothing more, and walked away to her waiting limousine.