Chapter 10
629words
He pushed the door open. Sophia was crouching in the corner, frantically prying up floor tiles with a rusty kitchen knife. Stacks of cash lay scattered at her feet, money she hadn't managed to stuff into her bag yet.
That was the last of the survival money Marco had hidden here.
"You're stealing my money to run?" Marco's voice was hoarse.
Sophia flinched. Seeing she was busted, she simply shoved the cash in her hands into her shirt and screamed at him.
"Marco! You're a stray dog wanted by the whole city! The sharks are just going to take this money anyway. I might as well take it and start fresh somewhere else. I'm not letting the Romano name die in the dirt with you!"
Marco rushed forward and gripped her shoulders tightly. Looking at this woman filled with greed, the doctor's words from the ceremony suddenly rang in his head.
"What about the child? I'm asking you one last time, where is my son?"
Sophia laughed hysterically, tears streaming down her face.
"Marco, you are hopeless. You think your gutter genes are worthy of me carrying your line? I just saw how desperate you were for a title, so I fed you a lie to turn you into my personal ATM!"
Marco slapped her hard across the face, feeling a chill run through his bones.
For a lie that wasn't even a decent knockoff, he had personally pushed me—the principessa who had bled for him—into the arms of his rival.
Just as Marco and Sophia were tearing at each other on the ground over that bit of cash, the door was kicked open with a violent bang.
Abu and Old K walked in, carrying cheap whiskey they had just bought off the street. These two soldatos used to follow Marco around like lapdogs. Now, they had been sent by Don Vito to keep an eye on Marco and confirm the seizure of this last piece of turf.
"Yo, Don Antonio. Fighting over drug money?" Abu sneered and stomped hard on the back of Marco's hand.
Marco twitched in pain but still tried to pull rank. "Abu, I need to speak to Don Vito. Take me to him..."
"Take you? The Don thinks looking at you would dirty his eyes." Abu took another swig of booze and turned to complain to Old K.
"This is bullshit. Miss Elena is going to the West Suburbs Slaughterhouse tonight to count that stash of Corleone gold. That's her private nest egg from when she first rose to power. I can't believe Don Vito is letting her handle it personally while we're stuck here babysitting this piece of trash, missing out on the action."
"Shut your trap!" Old K quickly covered his mouth, looking around warily. "Miss Elena said almost no one knows about this. She's only taking one made man tonight because she doesn't want to alert The Commission. If word gets out, we'll both be sleeping with the fishes!"
After venting their grievances, the two staggered into the next room, bottles in hand, to keep drinking.
Marco lay in the muddy water, his ears pricked up. West Suburbs Slaughterhouse, gold bars, only one person.
In his eyes, I was still that soft-hearted, gullible woman. He thought he had found my "weakness." He saw this as his last chance in this life to turn the tables.
