No Sweeter Poison by Leonora Mendez Castillo

Author:Leonora Mendez Castillo [Mendez Castillo, Leonora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-17T16:00:00+00:00

THE PATRIARCH

Alejandro

Salazar Narvaez was eighteen years old when he founded the Narvaez crime family.

Born to second-generation Spanish coffee farmers living in Colombia and one of seven children, two of his four older brothers were dead, one was disabled, and the youngest brother, along with his only sister, were barely old enough to light a stove by themselves. Which meant that Salazar, the middle child, became the unlikely patriarch of his family when his parents and eldest brother were murdered.

He brought his family back to Spain where his first-cousin, Gaspar Sandoval, promised to find him work and housed his only sister and two remaining brothers. At thirteen, he was working odd jobs like repairing cars, running mail for the local post-office, and stocking shelves at grocery stores. It was at the grocery store where, while working a 4am shift unloading trucks of produce, he discovered crates of weapons stored in the back. When the police came around a few hours later asking questions about an Italian man named Lorenzo Vellucci, whom he knew to be the owner of the grocery store, Salazar denied any knowledge of suspicious activity.

In fact, Salazar was complementary towards his employer, informing the police that he was orphaned with younger siblings under his care, and that the benevolent Don Lorenzo often gave him work. The police left and Salazar finished unloading the truck as he usually did, leaving the crates—weapons and all—in the basement as he always did.

A few days later when he returned to work another 4am shift unloading, he encountered the same problem: weapons stored in the back and police officers coming around to ask questions. At the end of the week when it came time to collect his wages, he was brought up to Don Lorenzo’s office. Salazar was told to sit in a big leather seat and waited for three hours. When Don Lorenzo finally arrived he asked Salazar a single question: what do you want in exchange for your loyalty?

Don Lorenzo had expected money, gifts, even revenge. He’d done his research on Salazar Narvaez and knew his parents and eldest brother had been murdered in Colombia. Salazar asked for none of those things.

Instead, he asked for steady work to support his family. Don Lorenzo granted his request.

Five years later, Vellucci went to New York City and left behind his right-hand man, Salazar Narvaez. Equipped with the knowledge, skills, and ambition to not only survive but the cunning to amass power and influence, he had one goal in mind. And that was to do something more than survive, living on scraps and making ends meet.

He was determined to live.

He instilled that near animalistic drive in each of his children and then his children passed it on to their children.

And then they were more animal than human

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