Sold To The Mafia Don

I fired a shot once. Then another and another, all in the space of ten seconds. 

I watched the body drop to the ground in fulfillment even as blood splashed everywhere and stained my white T-shirt.

I had taken it upon myself to shoot this spy with my very own hands.

He had been caught trying to pass more info to the Castillos and when my attention was called to it, I knew I had to see for myself.

"Clean this up" I said as I walked away from the torture room to take a call. 

It was Tomas.

"Don,"

"What's going on?"

"The Castillos tried intercepting one of our shipments but we have it under control. Lorenzo poached some of our clients."

"That motherfucker." I cussed under my breath almost wishing I had killed him when I had the chance.

"We're working on a retaliation. I hope you weren't affected by the attack in Rome."

"Not at all. I just killed the spy who ratted out my location." I told him clenching my jaw at the reminder.

"Those motherfuckers." He cussed as well. "When do you get back?"

"Soon. I need to put some things in order." I responded.

"How's the Mrs holding up?"

I thought about Mira for a fleeting moment.

"She's fine I guess," I answered with a shrug.

"People have been asking about her. They've been trying to track down her past." He told me.

"What?" 

I was stunned by that piece of information but then I also expected it.

"Yes." Tomas concurred..

"Take care of it." I ordered. 

"Yes, Don."

"Anything else?"

I could tell he had something more to say. I had known him for that long. 

"The police have started sniffing around Navarro again."

I sighed. These people never got a hint.

"Speak to the accountant. Pay someone high up to get them off my back."

"On it."

That was the end of the conversation. I hung up.

~~~

I walked down the stone path leading to the back of the castle. I went through the gardens and eventually got to the place I so badly wanted to be since I got here.

My father's grave. 

It was well tended to as always. He was buried next to my grandfather and grandmother. I barely remembered my father's parents but from the little I know, they were a vicious couple that made the Romano empire what it is. Kudos to them.

Focusing on why I was there in the first place, I faced the my father's grave stone. My eyes trailed over what was written there.

''Don Vittorio Romano.

Beloved Husband. Fierce Father. Ruthless Leader. May his legacy never be questioned.''

I chuckled every time I got to read this. He wrote this by himself long before his demise. My mother made sure it was written.

I squatted, getting a closer view of his framed photograph that hung on the wall. I would never admit it out loud but I missed that stern face of his, his firm baritone and his no nonsense demeanor. And even though he was very hard on me as his first son, I appreciated those rigorous trainings that I thought would take my life at some point.

"I am raising you to lead this family when I am gone. You cannot be a weakling." He would say to me anytime I was bold enough to complain about being exhausted.

I started shooting guns from a very young age. By eleven I was learning to perfect my aim. By the time I was thirteen, I was able to hold the gun with one hand. 

"Don Vittorio. The man who ruled with an iron fist." I started off. "You're gone now but I'm the one bleeding." 

"I hope you would proud of me Papa." I rasped out feeling an odd sensation in my chest as I tried to breath.

I was not a man of many words just like he had schooled me to be. I carried so much weight on my shoulders from when he passed. There were times I wanted to drop everything and run away but if I failed, I would be a disgrace to the legacy he had built. I had big shoes to fill and despite the fact that it had been years since I filled his shoes, I didn't think I was doing it well enough. Every now and then I wondered what he would say if he was here to see all that was going on.

If I flopped, I would fail my mother, I would fail the entire Romano lineage, I would fail even my wife whom I had vowed to protect. Mira may not have been able to grasp why I wanted her in my life. I did not want to get married to another rigid and bitter woman of mafia descent. I had had enough of that.

I needed someone as oblivious and innocent as her by my side so I could at least say I had something pure and untainted. She felt like my redemption. But I didn't know how to express that without looking weak.

No I was not in love. I was intrigued by the thought of having someone like her by my side to ease me of the day's struggles. I did not need a rival as my woman.

If I had married Caterina I would still be on my toes because her father could launch a takeover at any time and I would be either blindsided or constantly guarded. I did not want that for myself.

I needed Mira to be the one good thing I had. 

"See you another time, Papa." I said giving him a salute.

I didn't know when I would be back in Rome again especially with all that happened during this trip but whenever I did come back, I hoped I would not be back here feeling like a disappointment to my father's legacy.

The Castillos may be winning the battle right now. But when the war comes, it would be total extinction for their entire lineage.

That was a promise.