Chapter 203: Chapter 203 The Commission Meeting

Tom took the old Godfather's suit from the coat rack and helped him put it on from behind. The old Godfather's injuries hadn't completely healed, and it was still difficult for him to stretch his arms.

Dressed in his suit, the old Godfather looked in the mirror again and smoothed down his white sideburns. He felt that he could still fight.

Tom accompanied the old Godfather to the hotel arranged by Barzini. Before getting out of the car, the old Godfather took a deep breath to appear more spirited.

The car door opened, and Vito Corleone got out and walked toward the hotel's conference room.

When the conference room door opened, the old Godfather saw Emilio Barzini, the head of the Barzini family. Barzini smiled slightly at the old Godfather, "Vito, long time no see."

"Yes, we haven't seen each other since the last Commission meeting. I thought you would come to my birthday party last time, but you went to Cuba instead."

Scanning the hall, he saw that almost all the family heads had come, more than twenty in total, filling the conference table.

The old Godfather also saw Philip Tattaglia, the head of the Tattaglia family. The Corleone and Tattaglia families had the deepest hatred; Sonny had killed Philip's son Bruno, and Sonny was later blown up, which the old Godfather knew was Philip's doing.

Philip's gaze toward the old Godfather was still unfriendly.

The old Godfather looked at the other family heads; some nodded slightly at him, some had indifferent expressions, and others fiddled with their cigarette holders.

The old Godfather understood that today's meeting was not simple. He might be attacked by the other families, just like during the previous months of war.

Reaching his seat, Tom pulled out a chair for the old Godfather, who sat down, and Tom took a seat behind him.

Once everyone was seated, Barzini stood up and said, "A lot has happened recently, some unpleasant things. Each family has suffered varying degrees of losses. The Commission was established to resolve conflicts between families, hence today's meeting."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Vito, I want to talk about the cause of these events. The cause is that all the families want to get into the drug business."

"The Corleone family holds influence over the entire New York legal and political circles, yet you are unwilling to share it with everyone. Vito, this is not very friendly of you. You must let us share in the profits, so we can all get rich together."

Barzini continued, "Sorzo's attack on you is Sorzo's business. He is dead, but the business is still there. You also know that business is not good now. All families need a better source of income."

After saying this, Basini glanced at the other family bosses.

At this point, someone stood up. It was Nicholas Civella, the Mafia boss of Kansas City, a short, curly haired, stout black man.

With a cigar in his mouth, he said to the old Godfather, "Mr. Vito, I don't like drugs either, but it's definitely a good business. My men buy them for three or four thousand and sell them for fifty thousand."

"Sometimes, I can't even control my men from doing this business because the profits are so high. You can ask the families here how many are willing to do this business."

The bosses nodded one by one, indicating their stance in favor of the business.

After Civella finished, the head of Boston's Mafia also stood up, expressing that they should do the business.

The other family heads nodded in agreement.

Tom, sitting behind the old Godfather, swallowed lightly. He deeply felt that because they refused to do the drug business, the Corleone family had been ostracized by all the families here.

He looked up at the old Godfather, the man who had adopted and nurtured him, his father.

He suddenly had a feeling.

The old Godfather was like an aging lion, surrounded by these people who were like a pack of hyenas, forcing the old Godfather to submit.

Otherwise, they would all attack him together.

They would kill the old lion king.

The old Godfather remained expressionless. No one could guess what he was thinking. After these people finished speaking, everyone looked at him, waiting for his statement.

What the old Godfather said next would likely influence the future direction of the entire Mafia whether to continue the war or to get rich together.

The conference room was silent for more than ten seconds.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense.

The old Godfather pursed his lips and finally spoke.

"I agree to do this business."

As soon as the old Godfather spoke, many family heads showed joy on their faces. The old stubborn man had finally agreed.

"However, I have a few conditions."

"Go ahead, what conditions?" Barzini asked.

The old Godfather glanced at Philip Tattaglia and said, "Philip's son is dead, and so is Sonny. This matter ends here."

"My second son and youngest son were both attacked. Here, I must get a guarantee that no one will touch them again. If anything happens to them in the future, whether they are shot dead, killed in a car accident, or sent to prison for some absurd reason, or even struck by lightning, I will blame every one of you here, and the Corleone family will seek revenge at all costs."

At this moment, he transformed back into a lion, a lion willing to fight to the death for his children.

Everyone knew that although the Corleone family had suffered setbacks, they were still powerful and fully capable of taking down any family or even several families present with a desperate strike.

Barzini glanced at Philip, giving him a look.

The message was clear: he should agree quickly.

Barzini's goal was clear: as long as the old Godfather agreed to the drug trade and used his family's connections to protect their interests, nothing else mattered.

Philip stood up, "I agree."

The old Godfather and Philip looked at each other for two seconds, then walked together and shook hands, reaching a verbal agreement.

"Vito, do you have any other requests?" Barzini asked.

The old Godfather looked at Barzini and said, "I remember you just said you were willing to pay to buy my connections, right?" Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Yes."

When it came to money, Barzini was less concerned.