Chapter 5 - The Collapse Of Order
By Wednesday afternoon, the cracks in Daario Rinaldi’s empire had widened into massive, visible chasms.
His mother’s private driver had failed to show up for her cardiology appointment because the monthly retainer account had bounced. His mother had called him from a taxi cab, crying and berating him for neglecting his family’s health.
Down at the cargo terminal, four hundred longshoremen walked off the job at noon, staging an impromptu wildcat strike over missing safety bonuses.
"Where is the union steward?" Daario shouted at his brother, Frankie, in the dockside warehouse office.
"He’s refusing to talk to us, Daario!" Frankie yelled over the blaring horns of stranded cargo trucks.
"Elena always brought his crew homemade cannoli and reviewed the pension health allocations personally before winter! He says if the lady of the house isn't backing this contract, he doesn't trust your word!"
"I am the head of this family!" Daario screamed, slamming his fist into the metal desk.
"Then act like it!" Frankie shouted back, stepping right into his brother’s face without an ounce of fear.
"You’ve been strutting around town like a modern Caesar because that pretty PR girl put your face on corporate magazines! But Elena was the one holding the concrete together while you played emperor!"
Daario pushed past his brother and stormed out into the biting November wind, his overcoat flapping around his legs.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Elena’s private number, listening to the monotonous ring go straight to voicemail for the tenth time that day.
At three o'clock, he received a calendar alert on his phone: Sophia’s Middle School Debate Finals – 4:00 PM.
He stared at the screen, remembering that Sophia had mentioned this tournament three weeks ago over breakfast.
He had promised to be in the front row, holding flowers and cheering her on.
May you like
He turned to his driver, barking an order with sudden, desperate urgency.
"Get the car. We are going to St. Jude’s Academy right now. Drop every meeting, cancel the calls, and drive!"
