America: Starting with the Last Liberty

"That guy seems to be barely holding back!"

Back in her room, Sophia was no longer as resolute as before; instead, her expression became even more worried.

Sophia had always been aware of the strange looks her godson Francis gave her, but when old Martin was around, she didn't bother with such things.

After Martin suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, Sophia felt that Francis was becoming increasingly unscrupulous.

When Old Martin was around, Francis only dared to secretly look at himself.

After Martin was hospitalized, Francis began to openly examine himself.

In the last couple of days, Francis has started to openly harass him.

Sofia couldn't imagine what would happen if things continued like this.

However, Sophia was merely a decorative object that old Martin brought home; she held no power and did not bear him any children.

In reality, old Martin had long since lost his masculine abilities, and Sophia had only been a decorative figurehead for several years.

The reason is simple: as the head of the Bonanno family, a violent criminal organization, old Martin needs something or someone to prove that he is still as powerful as ever.

And a beautiful woman like Sofia is the perfect match.

Otherwise, why would Martin Sr. only have one son, Martin Jr.?

It's important to know that Italy shares a similar philosophy with Tokyo University, with a tradition of having many children and thus many blessings.

"I wonder if I can hold out until Mr. Pastore returns..."

With Martin the Elder hospitalized and Martin the Younger dead, Sofia can only trust Luca Pastore now.

Unfortunately, Luca had already been away for a week, otherwise Francis wouldn't have become so bold.

"No! I can't just sit here and wait to die!"

At that moment, Sofia suddenly remembered the handsome Asian young man she had met at the church a week earlier. He claimed he could handle Francis Richie and had even given her his phone number.

"Where's that note? Where did I put it?"

Sofia began searching for the note left by the Asian youth, but after searching almost half the room, she still couldn't find it.

"Oh right! I put the note in the pocket of the clothes I wore that day!"

She quickly opened the wardrobe and found the clothes she had worn that day.

Luckily, because Sophia's clothes were all very high-end and could not be washed, the note was still in her pocket and had even been ironed flat.

But after receiving the note, Sofia hesitated again, staring at the name and number on it, lost in thought.

After a long pause, Sofia finally picked up her phone and dialed the number.

"Hello, this is Lawson, who are you?"

The voice on the phone indicated that Rosen was driving.

Sofia mustered her courage and spoke.

"I am Sofia."

These words made Rosen immediately stop. He had been waiting for Sophia's call, but he didn't expect to receive it before the operation tonight.

"Mrs. Bonanno, you finally dialed this number!"

"Call me Sophia. I don't really like being called Mrs. Bonanno."

Perhaps because Rosen was a stranger, Sofia made no attempt to hide her true feelings.

Rosen could tell that Sophia genuinely disliked being called Mrs. Bonanno, so he immediately changed his address.

"Ms. Sofia, are you calling to discuss a collaboration with me?"

"Yes, I want to cooperate with you, but I have one condition."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"I want to leave the Bonanno family."

The camera pans to the Korean restaurant. It's already 10 p.m., but this Korean BBQ restaurant is still very busy.

A group of middle-aged men, clearly of Italian descent, walked into the Korean restaurant, each followed by one or two henchmen, giving them a very gangster-like appearance.

Soon, a dozen or so middle-aged people gathered in the luxurious private room on the second floor of the Korean restaurant, where a group of young women from Korea were serving them.

"Why did Alberto suddenly invite us to dinner here? Giuseppe, do you know what's going on?"

"Federico, is there even a question? They're just trying to bribe us! Don't you know who Alberto works for?"

Everyone in the Bonanno family knew that Alberto was Francis's man.

"However, with Mr. Bonanno hospitalized, the family does indeed need a new leader."

A middle-aged man suddenly spoke up, seemingly wanting to speak up for Francis, but another middle-aged man glared at him.

"Francis isn't Mr. Bonanno's son, and he's just a strategist. How can he be the head of the family? It doesn't make sense! Supporting Mr. Marino is far better than supporting Francis!"

Marino is Felice's surname, and he is one of the other two second-in-commands of the Bonanno family who appeared at the Mercy Hospital earlier.

Yes, within the Mafia, strategists do hold a certain status, but it's very difficult for them to participate in elections.

The reason is simple: strategists usually don't do frontline work, which means that team leaders and second-in-commands who come from the frontline are unlikely to agree with the strategist.

This is actually similar to the Hong Kong triads. It is also very difficult for white-robed members of Hong Kong triads to rise to the top, and gangsters generally identify more with the red sticks.

"What do you mean? Hasn't Mr. Richie contributed enough to the family over the years?"

"What do you mean? You didn't take money from Francis, did you?"

"You're the one who took money from Felice!"

Just as the two were about to start arguing, a peacemaker immediately stepped in and stopped them.

"Alright, we're here for a late-night snack, not to argue! Waiter, why isn't everything ready yet? Where's Alberto?"

The situation inside the luxury suite reflects the current state of the Bonanno family.

After Martin Sr. suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, not only did Francis reveal his ambition, but Felice Marino also developed ambition.

Unfortunately, with Martin Jr. dead, Martin Sr.'s official successor was gone.

When a dynasty runs out of men, powerful ministers will naturally have some ideas.

Therefore, the Bonanno family is now divided into several factions, with the majority supporting Felice Marino.

After all, Felice Marino had indeed fought for the Bonanno family with his own blood and sweat, which would certainly earn him more of the team leader's approval than Francis, who sat in an office.

The second largest group leaders were neutral ones, with only a small minority supporting Francis.

This situation was unexpected for Francis, and in order to change it, he had to take a risky approach.

Amid the commotion of the group leaders, Alberto entered the VIP room, waved for the Korean woman to leave, and the waiters began serving the dishes.

"Alberto, why did you let them leave? It's rare to find such obedient women!"

"Don't worry, David, there are just some things we can't let them know."

Alberto closed the door to the VIP box and then turned to face the crowd.

"Mr. Richie has a question for you: are you willing to support him as the new head of the Bonanno family?"

The crowd looked at each other, and one of the people who had previously expressed clear opposition stood up.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"In that case, I can only express my regret!"

Alberto opened the door to the private room, where a row of men in black, armed with submachine guns, stood in the corridor.

(Sofia Bonanno)