After triggering Family Pride, I received the quest for Bigger Fish and went ahead and did it. Went to Ezzali to persuade her to parley with the Valeras. Meanwhile, got the information for A Sinking Feeling so that blocked the option for starting the meeting (i.e. when I returned to Ezzali I had no choice but to give her the information and decide whether to side with her. If I went to the Valeras they would speak of the heist and ask me to side with them). I sided with the Valeras and slaughtered the Bardattos.
However, went I returned to the Valeras, the option for the conference appeared and it went ahead, with Ezzali appearing when she was supposed to be dead. Managed to achieve a peaceful resolution. Surely this is some kind of bug?
Assuming the game runs smoothly, is there some kind of a timeframe within which I must trigger the conference before the heist takes place?