Born Lucky

By Robbie McCauley

Lucky by name ... Perhaps by name only.
Lucky Lucini is the new Godfather of The Maddison Mafia Family in Australia. Can he survive? Is he strong enough? His nephew Carlo doesn’t think so. Even his mother Yvette Maddison, the power behind the Mafia scene, has been backing Carlo for the role.
Lucky is under siege. Carlo is a constant threat. A Mafia war looms. How can he protect his wife and his sons?
Carlo’s belief that he should be Godfather makes him unstable and drives him to the brink of insanity. He needs a son to provide a line of succession. But when a son arrives, is he really Carlo’s son?
Family secrets protected for so long are endangered. Innocent family members struggle through their losses. Police investigations lead to some disturbing arrests, but what will be the repercussions. And who is really guilty?
Mafia father-to-son succession is under threat. Who will be the next Godfather?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robbie McCauley
• Release date: Oct 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370596867

Robbie McCauley

When Robbie McCauley retired early from a varied working life, which included the duties of Secretary to Members of Parliament, Researcher, Primary School Teacher, and Bank Manager, she began to take writing classes and discovered the joy of writing short stories. At the same time Robbie decided to study for the Bachelor of Arts degree she had always wanted. This was the start of a new world. She now has many degrees including a Masters in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism and a Post Graduate Diploma in Writing. Her qualifications provide an excellent background for story writing. At present Robbie teaches a writing class called "Let's Write a Book" with the University of the Third Age (U3A) and is happy to have finally written her own first novel, The Eleventh Hour, which is planned to be Book 1 of a trilogy. Robbie lives in Australia, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. She is divorced, has one lovely daughter, an excellent son-in-law, and three exciting grand children.

Book preview

Book 4 in The Maddison Family Series

Robbie McCauley

© Copyright 2016 Robbie McCauley

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For Cazzie and Fred

Lucky Lucini

1

I’m struggling in the job at the moment, but only because of Carlo. I thought you might be able to do something about him, Godfather Lucky Lucini confided in his mother.

I’m his grandmother, Lucky not his keeper, Yvette Maddison snapped.

And I’m his Mafia Family Godfather, but that means nothing to him. He’s so disrespectful and it’s a bad example to other members of our Family. I don’t need his attitude spreading. Admittedly most Family members know him for what he is, but you’ve always been his mentor. He knows he has your backing. And we all know you are the power behind this Family.

At that moment Carlo Massimo burst into Lucky’s office unannounced.

Carlo, knock, have some respect, Yvette said sharply.

Oh, hello Grandmother, I didn’t know you were here. But you’ll want to hear this too. There’s going to be a war, a Mafia war. A horrible and bloody Mafia war! The Gambaro Family is going to try to take us over.

For heaven’s sake Carlo, where did you get this? I’m kept up on everything that’s going on in the Maddison Mafia Family and I’ve heard nothing of this. My people are very loyal and always observant. They’ve apparently heard nothing of this. Where did you get it? his grandmother asked.

Lucky just sat staring at his nephew. Every time he looked at Carlo he wished he could like him, or at the very least learn to tolerate him more easily. For God’s sake, what next? Lucky thought. There’s always something with Carlo.

The word’s all around. I’ve got friends too Grandmother, dear. You know, he laughed nastily. they’re the ones who believe I should be Godfather, not him, he thumbed his hand towards Lucky, not your son Lucky.

Your turn will come, Carlo, if you ever learn to control yourself. But, you’re your own worst enemy. You behave like a naughty child for heavens sake. Don’t come bursting in here like that. Lucky is your Godfather, our Family’s Godfather. Show some respect.

Well … Pardon me! I thought you might like to know that we could all be slaughtered in our beds at any moment.

Don’t be so melodramatic.

Lucky said, What exactly have they heard, Carlo? And how much do they know?

Well at least you’re showing some interest, our Godfather, he scoffed. But it’s probably because of you. The other Mafia Families see you as weak and ripe for the takeover. They all know you’ll be too weak to get in and act first. My people think the same.

Carlo, I’ve absolutely had enough. Don’t burst in here, and don’t speak to me like that. You owe me respect whether you like it or not. If you don’t like it I can arrange for your removal.

Removal? No one leaves the Mafia. You of all people should know that.

I do know that. So you know about the way out that I can find for you.

You wouldn’t dare.

If you don’t stop going on, I’ll have you removed and kneecapped right now.

Oh, yeah? I’m sure, he laughed, and my grandmother would let you? Yeah!

I’d help him, she said. "Get out, you stupid boy. Go outside and tell yourself to grow up. You’ll never make Godfather if you don’t learn some thought and some control. Get out you fool. I’ll talk to you at home.

2

I can’t stand the thought of war, Sal.

Lucky stood before the large mirror over the fireplace, looking at Sally reflected behind.

You’re a strong man, Lucky, she said softly, talking to his back. She knew he needed gentle support at the moment. You will come through this Lucky, whatever you decide now. Sweetheart, look at yourself! Really look and be truthful. What do you see?

I see Lucky Lucini. I see the Maddison Mafia Godfather. I see a not-so-young man.

Let me tell you what you should see, as others do. You should see a strong man. A good looking man, Sally smiled.

He put his hand to his honey-blond hair, and looked into his own soft light brown eyes. Yes, I guess. If you say so, Sal! A good-looking man, I suppose some might say. I see a father.

You see a good father. You see a man a lot of people rely on. What I see is a man with huge responsibilities. And right now, I see a man with huge weights on both shoulders.

Lucky studied his wife’s reflection as little Chance came running into the room.

Sally stopped him in his tracks as he ran laughing with arms outstretched towards his father, Nanny Martha in hot pursuit. It was a game the three-year-old liked to play. But now wasn’t the time.

Sally swung him around in a large circle, gave him a hug and kiss, and returned him to Nanny. Go with Nanny now Chance, Mummy and Daddy need to talk. We’ll join you soon in the garden. Go and play now.

Lucky watched her in the mirror and smiled.

People make assumptions, he continued. Looking in the mirror here, I don’t see what most people see. I don’t see the weak bit.

What ‘weak bit’? I’ve never known you to be weak. I don’t know a weak bit.

"Maybe you don’t, Sal. But you love me. Others don’t. My deformity is my weak bit. People make assumptions. They see a deformed creature and they assume that the physical deformity is mirrored in the brain and the emotions. And you know what, Sal. I don’t blame them because they’re right. I know they’re right because I know what it has done to me. When you continually see people look at you and turn away or cringe, you can’t help but become a weaker, a lesser person. You become inhibited and self-conscious. You learn to stay away from people, to make excuses. You learn to protect yourself. It is true that you are different and in many ways weaker than other people.

"I’ve noticed the difference, Sal. If people meet me for the first time when I am, for instance, sitting on a bar stool, well dressed and holding a drink in my good hand, they are attracted to me. Both women and men seem drawn to me. I’m told I have a good looking and likeable face, and most people seem to want to get to know me. At that time, they don’t know that I limp and they don’t see the other deformed hand. With people met that way, I do have a chance of having them later believe that I am a strong man with a normal brain; normal and likeable in every other way. But when people first see me rolling along with my huge limp and guarding my left hand, which looks like a hook, they shy away. Nobody is drawn to me then. Quite the opposite—they almost run away. And if I do get to talk to them to try to get to know them, they treat me as though I am mentally defective as well.

So, what I also see in this mirror is a weak man. Well ‘weakened’ at least. I see a man who is a lesser being because of his deformity. I see a man weakened by being raised without the love of his real parents. I also see a man who is feared. He is feared because he is ugly and deformed. He is feared because he is ugly, deformed, and the Mafia Godfather. I see a man who is an ugly, deformed, bad man.

Lucky, you are too hard on yourself. You are a very, very good-looking, sexy-looking man. I know that you’ve had to live with deformities that bother you. They should have been fixed a long time ago, but now that you have had your orthotics made, nobody need ever know. Certainly, on the surface now, you look perfectly physically normal.

Yes. I am glad of that, and you are right. It’s just that most of my life I’ve spent hiding. And there are still many people who know I am deformed. But you’re right. It is petty and vain, and I must put it behind me.

And you’re not bad. You are the head of an organisation that is often bad—I’ll give you that. But you, yourself, are not. I know you. And I know you as soft and kind.

That means ‘weak’ in Mafia terms.

But you’re not. You are strong. I think you are the strongest individual I have ever known. I love you Lucky. And I love you because I know you as being the best person I’ve ever known. You are the best in every way. You are strong. You are strength personified. And at the same time you are loving and soft towards people. You have an natural form of empathy.

Thank you, Sal. He turned and smiled softly at her. But war, Sal? I’m worried. A Mafia war is always a horrendous thing. It could be disastrous for so many people, including us. I need time Sal. It’s up to me alone to protect my Family, to guide them all through this. But right now, I don’t know what to do.

When his phone rang, Lucky watched Sally leave the room to join Chance in the garden. He adored her. He couldn’t imagine life without her now. But because he loved her so much, he had to be honest with himself. She loved the good side of him, and that perhaps was the most of him, but he was only too well aware that it wasn’t all of him. He was, after all, the Godfather of the Maddison Mafia Family in Australia. Maddison was ‘the’ dominant Family. It was powerful. He was a powerful man. He was the top Mafia Man. So everyone knew he was no ‘angel’.

As if to prove the point to himself, he said into the phone, Then get rid of them, Carlo. If they’re obstructing the Family business, get rid of them. You know you don’t have to ask. It’s the way we do business, and they know that. If they don’t toe the line, if they go against us, then there’s no alternative. They’re aware of that from the outset. They knew the deal when they became part of this Family. Get rid of them Carlo. Don’t bother me with the details; I don’t want to be bothered. I have bigger things to worry about.

3

Lucky’s lovemaking was especially passionate and powerful that night. They both knew he was going through an inner struggle that had to be quietened. Satisfied and full of their love, they sat back smiling, but waiting. There was more talking to come.

Talk to me my dear. Love means sharing Lucky, and I want to share everything with you. I want to help you by sharing your pain. I know you’re struggling with something.

I don’t want to worry you, especially now while you’re carrying our child.

I’ll be less worried if I understand the whole picture. Ignorance isn’t bliss! It can’t be worse than I’m imagining, and our children will be better off with strong, fully aware parents. I wouldn’t have told you I was pregnant at this early stage if I’d thought you would block me out of your life.

Sorry. Really! I don’t mean to block you out, but you must realise what my life is now. In many ways I’m sorry, but I can’t go back. I’m committed.

You’re having second thoughts because of me and the children?

Yes. I knew from the start that I loved you and I loved Chance because he was yours. I knew you didn’t love me at first, but now . . . Now, I know you’ve grown to love me, Sal. I know you do. And my own love has grown to something that I would have never believed possible. My life would be a deep sadness without you, Sal.

Darling, you’ll never lose me. I’ll always be here. I’m completely committed to you—no matter what.

Sal, I’m the Godfather. I’m the head of a very heavy business. I worry more and more about you and my children being part of that. Whether I tell you details of what goes on or not, you are, and will always be considered part of it. It’s a dirty business. And I wasn’t always like that Sal. I was reasonably content with my life before. I was a good lawyer and I enjoyed it. I had some pretty dodgy clients I’ll admit. But when Yvette came and dropped the bombshell, I was . . .

I understand; it must have been a big temptation.

It was everything all at once. Shock! Horror! As well as Temptation! I couldn’t take it all in. Can you imagine how I felt Sally? I was a self-sufficient adult trying to make my solitary way in life. I’d never had parents. I was always fostered. I’d never known who my parents were, and not given very much thought to who or where they might be. Then, this woman turns up. And in one breath almost, she was telling me that she was my mother, that The" Godfather, Hector Maddison was my father. That he was dead. That he had left his enormous fortune and the power that went with it, to who he thought was his only son, and that son didn’t want either the money or the power. And, on top of all those revelations, in the same conversation, she was suggesting that as his second son, I should step up and take over.

"You can imagine the shock of it all. I told her to go away at first. I just couldn’t take it in. Of course I knew who Hector Maddison was. I had been brought up in a Mafia home; a pretty low level one, but everyone knew their Godfather.

Then it started to sink in. I think it was a bit like an insidious disease, Sal. The power! The money! This scoffed at, funny, crippled being! Could this lowly person really have that sort of money, that sort of power? The call of the power overwhelmed my usually sensible and sensitive being. Put simply, Sal. I was weak. I couldn’t resist. I knew the Mafia was bad, but I didn’t really stop to think about that. I just couldn’t resist having that power. I guess my deformity helped. As Godfather, people wouldn’t look down on me ever again.

That’s just very human, Lucky. There wouldn’t be too many people who could resist such temptation.

Graham Norris, Hector’s other son did. It was dumped on him but he didn’t want it.

Well, he was a cop. The shock of finding out his real father was Godfather went the other way for him. It wasn’t a good look for a cop— especially a cop who’d vowed and declared he’d rid Australia of the Mafia.

I admire what he did; he and Bruno Massimo. I admire good men. I wish I was one.

You are. In your way, you are.

In my way! Yes, but that way is very limited now. I was a good man once. I dealt with bad people, but I wasn’t bad myself. But now . . . Well I’ve made my bed, as the saying goes. There’s no going back. It’s too late.

Lucky, you could change course if you really wanted to . . .

No, Sal. Don’t go there. It’s much too late. Don’t go there, please.

OK, but . . .

No! he raised his voice. "What I have to do now is to find a way to protect you. There are two things . . . Two nasty things are looming at the moment—two very threatening, very dangerous things.

"One is Carlo Massimo. He’ll do anything to make himself Godfather. And the other is the Gambaro Mafia Family.

4

Lucky didn’t want to admit his relationship to Carlo. He’d have felt better if it would go away—if it just weren’t so. But it was. Lucky was a Maddison and so was Carlo. They were both directly related to the original Godfather of the Maddison Mafia Family, Hector Maddison. Lucky was Hector’s second son, and Carlo was Hector’s grandson. Carlo was Lucky’s sister’s son, so although Lucky didn’t like it, he was Carlo’s uncle. But he didn’t like Carlo. He had tried, because of the family thing, but the more he saw of him over the years, the more he disliked him. He disliked him to the extent that if he weren’t family, he would get rid of him.

Families were inevitably a complication. And because Lucky had been brought up not knowing who his real family was, he now had a stronger than normal yearning for family, and to be part of a family. But now that he knew who he really was, now that he was Godfather, it was very difficult to become close to anyone in his family, and that saddened him.

Lucky knew that his history coloured everything for him. He now knew that, as a deformed baby, his mother, Yvette Lucini hid his existence from his father, Hector Maddison and put him up for adoption. His birth was registered in the mother’s surname. She and Hector didn’t marry until later. But nobody wanted the deformed child so he was fostered in a Mafia family home. Luckily for him, it was with the one family for most of the time. They were good to him and he was grateful. Lucky always tried to reward them for keeping him. He tried hard at school. He did well and managed a scholarship to university where he studied Law and excelled.

But now, that deformed child Lucky Lucini had discovered that he was, in fact, Lucky Lucini Maddison. So he was the inheritor of the proceeds of the original Godfather’s Will. He was given the power and the wealth. Carlo, on the other hand, who believed he had claim to Hector’s estate instead of Lucky, could not claim the name Maddison. He was the son of Lucky’s sister Adriana Maddison and Bruno Massimo. So he was a generation removed from Maddison.

When he thought about it, to say the Maddison family situation was complicated was an absurd understatement. His father Hector was dead, and now, like his father, Lucky had become Godfather of The Family. The nature of his role now meant that he was distanced from everyone for one reason or another.

Lucky’s mother was distant. He hadn’t known her as his mother until quite recently, and it was clear to him that she favoured her grandson Carlo. It was understandable. After all, she didn’t know Lucky, but she had been part of Carlo’s life since his birth. Lucky was well aware that Yvette was the strength and the force behind Carlo’s push to take over as Godfather. And of course her daughter, Adriana was also a power behind her son. All three of them wanted Lucky out of their way.

Lucky now knew he had a half brother and sister in Sydney, who he believed to be good people, and who he would have liked to be closer to. But they were definitely not ‘Mafia’ followers and would not want to associate with him. Past history had removed them from his reach.

The only family member he had any reasonable contact with was Vincent Massimo, Carlo’s older brother. But he was on the ‘other side’, and he himself was also estranged from the rest of his family.

The time had come Lucky knew, to take control of the issue with Carlo. He went to visit him at his home—no appointment, no warning.

Irene greeted him warmly, smiling