The Godfather 3: The Last Godfather

Part One

/1990, Hollywood

? /Las Vegas

Chapter One

In the spring of California, the golden sunshine shines on Boz Scannett's red hair. With a strong and well-developed body, he is about to enter a big battle. He was in high spirits because his actions were about to be witnessed by billions of people around the world.

Scannett hid a pistol in the waistband of his tennis shorts, then zipped up his jacket and stretched the corners of the jacket to his crotch to block it. This white coat has red vertical lightning stripes. A scarlet turban with blue spots covered his hair. He was holding a silver "Evian" mineral water bottle in his right hand. Boz Scannett wants to present himself perfectly to the world of entertainment.

The crowd in front of the Dorothy Chandler Concert Hall in Los Angeles is waiting for the movie stars to attend the Oscar Awards. Spectators wait in specially erected stands, and the streets are buzzing with cameras and television reporters who send images of their idols around the world. Tonight, people will see with their own eyes the true selves of those movie stars, without the carefully crafted mystery, as they compete in the real world.

The security guard was wearing a uniform, and his shiny baton was carefully stuffed into his holster. They formed a circle to maintain order among the audience.

Boz Scannet didn't care about them. Compared to these people, he is stronger, faster, and more powerful. He has a talent for surprise attacks. He watches carefully as fearless television reporters and cameramen randomly stop celebrities for interviews. For emergencies, they are more willing to capture them rather than prevent them.

A white courtesy car parked at the entrance of the concert hall. Scannet saw Antina Aquitane—who many magazines had dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world.” As soon as she appeared, the crowd crowded the fence, shouting her name. Camera Surrounding her, spreading her beauty to the farthest corners of the world. She waved. Scannet climbed over the fence of the spectator stand and weaved through the barricade. He noticed that the security guards in brown shirts were gathering. The same thing happened, the angle of their attack was wrong. He used the skills he had used in playing rugby for several years to get around them with a single step. Antina was speaking into the microphone at the same time. Tilting her head, she showed her most beautiful side to the camera. After confirming that the camera caught him, Scannet poured the liquid in the bottle onto Antina Aquitane. Face. He yelled: "Sulfuric acid, bitch!" Then he turned and stared at the camera with a serious and calm expression. "She asked for it." " he said. A group of people holding batons and wearing brown shirts swarmed over him. He knelt on the ground.

At the last moment, Antina Aquitane saw him. She heard his roar. So she turned her head, and the liquid splashed on her cheeks and ears.

A billion people saw this scene on TV: Antina's beautiful face, the crystal clear liquid on her cheeks, the crowd. The moment she recognized her attacker, a real fear shattered her overwhelming beauty.

A billion people watched as the police dragged Scannet away. He raised his bound hands in a victory sign, as if he was a big star. But this moment was shattered by an angry police officer who found the gun in his waistband and shot him in the back. It hit hard.

Antina Aquitane was in shock, and she subconsciously wiped the liquid on her cheek. There was no burning sensation on her hand, and it quickly evaporated. . People crowded around her and tried to escort her away.

She shook it off and said to them: "It's just water. "To prove that what she said was true, she licked the water drops on her hand. She forced herself to smile: "My husband, he has always been like this. ” she said.

Antina walked quickly into the Oscars concert hall, showing everyone the courage that helped her become a legend. When she won the best actress crown, the audience Everyone stood and applauded, and the applause lasted for a long time.

In the cold penthouse suite of the Taoyuan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the eighty-five-year-old hotel owner was dying.

However, on this spring day, he felt like he could hear the sound of ivory-white beads spinning in the alternating red and black roulette grid sixteen floors below, and the sound of gamblers shouting and praying towards the rolling dice. , and the sound of slot machines spitting out coins.

Although Alfred Gronevelt's days were numbered, he was still very happy. In his nearly ninety years of life, he committed fraud, pimping, gambling, participating in murders, and engaging in political speculation, and eventually became the strict but benevolent owner of the Taoyuan Casino Hotel. He never really fell in love with anyone because he was afraid of being betrayed, but he was amiable to many people. He has no regrets. For now, he was looking forward to enjoying every little pleasure he could have for the rest of his life, like an afternoon tour of the casino.

Crocchificio "Cross" De Lena has been his right-hand man for the past five years. He walked into the bedroom and asked: "Can you go, Alfred?" Gronevelt smiled at him and nodded.

Cross helped him into the wheelchair. The nurse tucked the blanket for the old man, while the male assistant was responsible for pushing the wheelchair. The female nurse handed the pill box to Cross and opened the attic door. She doesn't have to follow him. Groenevelt couldn't bear to have her tag along on the afternoon outing.

The wheelchair passed briskly through the artificial turf in the attic garden, and went directly from the express elevator to the casino below the sixteenth floor.

Gronevelt sat upright in his wheelchair and looked left and right. He enjoyed observing the men and women who challenged him, and luck was always on his side. Sitting in his wheelchair, he leisurely passed the blackjack and roulette floors, the baccarat card pools, and the dice tables. Few punters noticed the alert eyes of the old man in the wheelchair and the smile frozen on his thin face. Gamblers in wheelchairs are common in Las Vegas. They feel that since they are so unlucky, fate should give them some luck as compensation. Finally, the wheelchair came to the tea room. The nurse sent him to the reserved small private room and waited for the signal to leave at another table.

Through the glass wall, Gronevelt can see the huge swimming pool. The Nevada sun shines on the blue water, and young girls and children are wandering among them, like colorful dolls. This was all his own creation - he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

"Alfred, have something to eat," said Cross de Lena. Gronevelt smiled at him. He liked the look of Cross. Cross's handsomeness appeals to both men and women. Moreover, there are not many people that Gronevelt can trust in his life, and he is one of them.

“I really like this business,” Gronevelt said. “Kross, you inherit my position at the hotel. I know you have to deal with our partners in New York. But don’t leave Taoyuan.”

Cross patted the old man’s bony hand. "I won't," he said. Gronevelt felt the sunlight reflected in the glass wall and melting into his blood. "Cross," he said, "I've taught you everything I know. We did a lot of bad things, very bad things. Don't look back. You know, the ratio of good to bad can always be changed. So, more Doing good deeds will be rewarded. I'm not talking about being blinded by love or blinded by hatred. Such things will only increase the proportion of bad things."

They all. Drinking coffee. Groenevelt ate only a small piece of the nut snack, while Cross drank orange juice with his coffee.

“Remember,” Gronevelt said, “people who cannot afford to lose a million cannot be allowed to live in those villas. Don’t forget. Those villas are the most valuable. . They are very important."

Cross patted Gronevelt's hand and put his hand on the old man's hand. His feelings are genuine. In some ways, he loved Gronevelt more than his own father.

"Don't worry," Cross said, "No one can move the villa. Is there anything else?"

Gronnevelt's eyes were cloudy, and cataracts dimmed the vicissitudes of life. look. "Be careful," he said. "Always be careful."

"I will," Cross said. In order to prevent the old man from paying attention to the death that could come at any time, he said: "When will you tell me about the Santadio family? You worked with them at that time. No one mentioned a word about this matter.

"

Gronevelt let out an old man's sigh and whispered a few words almost imperceptibly. "I know I don't have much time," he said, "but I can't tell you about this yet. Go ask your father. "I asked Pippi," Cross said, "and he wouldn't tell." "

"What is past is past. Groenevelt said, "Never look back." Whether it’s to make excuses, defend yourself, or have fun, never look back. That is who you are now, and that is what the world is like now. "

Back in the attic suite, the nurse cleaned Gronevelt in the afternoon and measured his vital signs. She frowned, but Gronevelt said : “It’s just good and bad sometimes.

His sleep that night was fitful. Just after dawn, he asked the nurse to help him to the balcony. She helped him into a large chair, wrapped him in a blanket, and sat down next to him to check his pulse. When she tried to move her hand away, Gronevelt held her hand and didn't let go. So they watched the sun rising from the other side of the desert together. The fiery red ball of the sun turned the sky from deep blue to dark orange. Gronevelt saw tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools, and seven villas with the flags of the Peach Blossom Hotel flying, shining like the Palace of Versailles. From a distance, it looked like a few white doves falling on the green grass. In the distance is the endless desert.

I created all of this, Gronevelt thought. I turned the ruins into a paradise and created a happy life for myself. I started from scratch. I try to be a good person in this world. Is this wrong? His thoughts drifted back to his childhood, when he and his friends were like a group of fourteen-year-old philosophers, discussing issues such as God and moral values ??like all boys of this age.

"If you press a button and kill a million Chinese guys, you can earn a million dollars," one of his friends said proudly, feeling that he had thrown out a great And there was the unanswerable moral dilemma, "Would you do that?" After a lengthy argument, they all agreed that it shouldn't be done. Except Groenevelt. Now he thinks that he made the right choice then. Not because his life was a success, but because this great moral dilemma no longer exists today. This dilemma now only has one scenario.

"If you pressed a button and killed a million Chinamen"—why did it have to be Chinamen?—"give you a thousand dollars, would you do it?" That's what's happening now question.

The sun turned the whole world crimson. Groenevelt squeezed the nurse's hand to keep his balance. He wasn't afraid to look directly into the sun - the cataracts blocked the glare. He thought sadly of several women he had loved and the actions he had taken; he also thought of the men he had ruthlessly defeated and the kindness he had shown. He thought of Cross as of his own son, and he pitied him, the Santadios and the Clericuzios. Now that it was all behind him, he was happy. Having said that, which one is better, a happy life or a noble life? Do you have to be a Chinaman to understand?

This last confusion completely destroyed his mind. The nurse held his hand and felt that his hands were getting colder and his muscles were getting stiffer. She leaned over and checked his vitals. There was no doubt that he was dead.

As the heir, Cross de Lena arranged a grand funeral for Gronevelt. Alfred Groenevelt is a recognized genius in the Las Vegas gambling community, so all the celebrities and top gamblers in Las Vegas, all Groenevelt's female friends, and the hotel's All employees received bereavement messages and funeral invitations. He sponsored funds for various denominations and encouraged them to build churches. He often said: "Those who believe in religion and gambling should be rewarded for their beliefs." He put an end to the emergence of slums and built the highest-end hospitals and schools. . He has always claimed that this is a matter of benefit to others and himself. He looked down on Atlantic City, which was run by the state and kept all its money in its pockets, refusing to spend a penny on city infrastructure.

Gronevelt was the first to convince the public that gambling was not a despicable vice but a middle-class pastime as common as golf or baseball. He made gambling a respected industry across the United States. All of Las Vegas will remember him.

Cross felt deeply lost. There was always a true relationship between the two of them, but he still had to put his personal emotions aside for the time being. He now owns 51% of Taoyuan Hotel, worth at least $500 million.

He knew that his life had to change. Being richer and more powerful means greater danger. His relationship with Don Clericuzio and his family would become even more delicate, as they were now partners in a giant business. Cross first called George in Covog. George informed him that no one in the family would be attending the funeral except Pippi. Dent would catch the next plane to complete a mission that had been discussed, but would not go to offer condolences. As for the fact that Cross now owns half of the Taoyuan Hotel, it was not mentioned.

He received a message from his sister Claudia, but when he called back Claudia was not there and there was an automatic answering machine. There was another message left by Ernest Weir. He liked Weir as a person, and he still had evidence of Weir's cash in the casino worth fifty thousand dollars. However, this matter will have to wait until after the funeral.

There is also a message left by his father Pippi. Pippi and Gronevelt are lifelong friends, and he will also consult Pippi on how to live his life in the future. What would his father think of his newfound status and wealth? That was a difficult question to deal with, and the question of what to do with the Clericuzio family was equally difficult. They now had to adapt to the fact that their western agents were so wealthy that they could dominate the country. Cross would have no doubt that Don would be fair and balanced, and his father would almost certainly support him. But what about Don's children, George, Vincent, and Petit -- how would they react? And Don's grandson Dante. It had been a family joke that the two had been enemies since they were baptized as infants in the godfather's private chapel.

Now, Dante is coming to Las Vegas to take action against the "cattle thief" Big Tim. Cross has always admired Big Tim, so he was very upset about this. But Big Tim's fate is Don's decision, and Cross is worried about how Dante will proceed.

The scale of Gronevelt’s funeral was unprecedented in Las Vegas. It was a tribute to a genius. His remains were solemnly placed in a Protestant church. He personally invested in the construction. It has the grandeur of a European church and a brown sloping wall with strong American Indian cultural characteristics. At the same time, it also conforms to the practicality that Las Vegas has always been famous for - the parking lot is huge. Instead of adopting European religious style, it was decorated in Indian indigenous style.

The choir sang psalms praising the Lord and praying that Gronevelt would ascend to heaven. He sponsored three professorships in the humanities departments of the choir's universities. The hundreds of mourners who were able to graduate from college because of the scholarships he sponsored looked truly devastated. Some were old gamblers who had lost their luck at the hotel and casino, and they all seemed grateful that they had beaten Gronevelt on that score at least. There were also some middle-aged women crying silently. The Jewish and Catholic churches he funded also sent representatives to the funeral.

If the casino closed, it would greatly violate Groenevelt's principles, so only the managers and dealers who were not scheduled to work were present. Even some of the people staying in the villa showed up and received a special tribute from Cross and Pippi.

Nevada Governor Walter Weaving also attended the ceremony accompanied by the mayor. The Las Vegas Strip was cordoned off, and a silver hearse, a black limousine, and guests walking to pay their respects snaked all the way to the cemetery. Alfred Groenevelt walked through the place he created for the last time in his life. world.

At night, Las Vegas tourists paid their last respects to Gronevelt in the most comforting way possible. On this night, the amount of money lost by players reached a record second only to New Year's Eve. Punters bid farewell to his body and their money as a sign of mourning.

As the day passed, Cross de Lena was ready to start a new life.

This night, Antina Aquitane sat alone in her beach house in Malibu, thinking about where she should go. The sea breeze came in through the door and blew on her body, making her shiver slightly on the bench.

When she was a child, it was hard to imagine that she would become a world-famous movie star, and it was also hard to imagine her transformation from a girl to a woman.

The sheer charisma of movie stars makes it seem as if these heroes and beauties were sprung directly from the head of Zeus. It’s as if they have never wet the bed, never had acne, never had an ugly duckling face, never shrank from shyness, never had the awkwardness of adolescence, never masturbated, never longed for love. , and never prayed for the mercy of fate. Who hasn't experienced this? Antina can't imagine it.

Antina feels that she is the luckiest kind of person. Everything just came naturally. She had very good parents who saw her talent and nurtured her carefully. They protected her beauty and educated her mind as best they could. Her father taught her sports and her mother taught her literature and art. Antina could not think of any unhappy time in her childhood, until she was seventeen.

She fell in love with Boz Scannet. Boz, four years older than her, was a well-known local football star in college. His family owns Houston's largest bank. Boz is as handsome as Antina is, and he is humorous and charming. He desired her. The two perfect bodies were attracted like a magnet, the pleasure in the nerve endings trembled like high-voltage electricity, and the blending fit together like silk and milk. They entered another kind of paradise. In order to make this never dissipate, they got married.

Within a few months, Antina became pregnant with the child, but she did not gain much weight and her figure was as perfect as usual. She never vomited, so she enjoyed being pregnant. So she went on to school, studying drama, golf and tennis. She was no match for Boz in tennis, but it was easy to defeat Boz in golf.

Boz went to work in his father's bank. Antina gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Bethany. Boz had enough money to pay for a wet nurse and a nanny, so she continued to go to school. Marriage made Antina even more thirsty for knowledge. She read voraciously all kinds of texts, especially scripts. Pirandello's works delighted her, Strindberg's words frightened her, and Tennessee Williams's brought her to tears. She became more energetic, and her intelligence added a dignity to her beauty. Therefore, many men, young and old, fell under her pomegranate skirt. Boz Scannet's friends were jealous of him for having such a lovely wife. At first, she was extremely proud of this perfection, but after a few years she discovered that this perfection made many people uncomfortable, including friends and lovers. Boz joked that it was like having to park his Rolls-Royce on the street every night. He was smart enough to know that his wife was destined for greater things, that she was so special. And he also knew very well that he was destined to lose her, just like he had lost his dream. Although he felt brave and fearless, without war, his courage would have no place to show off. He knew that although he was attractive and handsome, he had no talents. He has no interest in making big money.

He was jealous of Antina's talent and that the world had already reserved a place for her.

Boz Scannet simply embraced this fate. He drank endlessly, seduced the wives of his colleagues, and engaged in shady dealings in his father's bank.

Like anyone who has just learned something new, he was proud of his little cleverness to cover up his growing hatred of his wife - who could hate someone like Antina. Isn't it a majestic thing to be a beautiful and flawless woman?

Although he indulges in wine and sex, Boz is very healthy. He pays attention to this. He goes to the gym and takes boxing classes. He likes the feeling of boxing, and he can use his fist to beat others' faces. He likes the cunningness of suddenly switching from straight punches to uppercuts, the forbearance when accepting punishment, the killing game of hunting, and the romantic trick of teasing innocent women.

In order to maintain the status quo, he used his newfound cleverness to think of a way. He wants to have more children with Antina. Four, five, six, this will definitely bring two people back to the way they were before. This will stop her from jumping higher and higher and farther and farther away from him. But when Antina discovered his intentions, she said "no." She also said: "If you want to have children, have them with the women you have slept with." This was the first time that Antina had said such vulgar words to him. Boz was not surprised that she already knew about his infidelity; he had no intention of hiding it.

In fact, this was where he thought he was smart, because it would mean that Antina was driven away by him, rather than that she left on her own initiative.

Antina noticed the changes in Boz, but she was too young and too focused on her own life to pay enough attention. It wasn't until Boz became truly ruthless that twenty-year-old Antina discovered the stronger side of her character: she couldn't stand stupidity.

Boz played the trick like those men who hate women. In Antina's opinion, he was completely crazy.

He always picks up dry-cleaned clothes on his way to get off work, because he always says: "Baby, your time is much more valuable than mine. In addition to professional courses, you also have dedicated There are music and drama classes to attend." He felt that she couldn't hear his sinister and sarcastic tone.

One day, Boz came home carrying several sets of her clothes while she was taking a shower. He looked down at her blond hair and fair skin, her round breasts and buttocks covered with soap foam. He said gruffly: "What do you think if I throw this pile of clothes into the bathtub?" But he didn't do that. He hung the clothes in the cloakroom, helped her out of the bathtub, and used a rose-red towel to Dry her with a towel and then make love to her. A few weeks later, it happened again, but this time, he threw the clothes into the water. One night he threatened to smash all the plates, but he didn't. A week later, he threw everything in the kitchen. He would always apologize and have sex with her after such things. But this time Antina rejected him, and they slept in separate rooms. At dinner another night, Boz raised his fist and said, "Your face is too perfect. If I broke the bridge of your nose, you would look a little more characterful, like Marlon Brando."

She hid in the kitchen and he followed her. Terrified, she picked up a knife. Boz laughed and said, "You can't do this kind of thing." He was right. He snatched the knife away easily. "I'm just joking," he said, "your only flaw is that you have no sense of humor

Antina is only twenty years old. She could have asked her parents for help, but she didn't. She didn't find any friends either. She talked about her troubles and thought carefully about the solution. She believed in her own mind. She knew that she could not graduate, the situation was already very dangerous, and the school could not protect her at all. She also tried to make Boz love her again and change back. The Boz she once was. But now she resented him and felt sick at the thought of his touch. So she understood that although it was easy to pretend to love him, she couldn't do it anymore.

Finally. What drove Antina to the point of breaking out was not what Boz had done to her, it had nothing to do with it—it was about Bethany, the one-year-old daughter he kept playfully abandoning. into the air, and then pretended not to catch her until the last moment, but once, he let the baby fall and bounce on the sofa. Finally, one day, he finally let the baby go on purpose. It fell to the floor. Antina was so frightened that she rushed over to pick up the baby and caress it. She stayed up all night, watching over the crib to make sure that the baby's head was okay. Boz apologized tearfully and said he would never joke like this again, but Antina was determined to empty her checking and savings accounts. She made her schedule extremely complicated so that when Boz returned home two days later, she had disappeared with her daughter.

Six months later, Antina came to Los Angeles alone. , launched her career. She easily found a mid-level agent and worked in small theater companies, which helped her land small roles in small films and then big-budget films. A supporting role in the film finally made her a popular movie star, but Boz Scannet entered her life again

Three years after she became famous. , she sent him off with money, and she was not surprised by this scene at the Oscars. This time, it was just a joke... but next time, there was real sulfuric acid in the bottle.

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