Page 84 of The Proposal

“Yeah?”

“Wake me when you get home if you need to de-stress.”

Fuck. This woman. Her words hit me straight in the chest.

“Okay.”

By the time my men get back with Edoardo, the warehouse has been cleaned out, and all the internal cameras have been removed. One lonely chair sits in the middle of the expansive space, ready for the interrogation to begin.

I had one of the guys box up everything from the office so I can sift through it later. I’m not expecting Edoardo to come clean; he knows the score. He’ll be wiped off the face of this earth before the night is through. I intend to extract whatever information I can before that happens. Hopefully, the contents of his office will be enough to piece the rest together.

I remove my suit jacket and cufflinks, sliding them into my pocket before rolling the sleeves of my dress shirt around my elbows. I feel like I’m preparing for battle, and in a way, I am.

Sammy tugs on the heavy chains, opening the large roller door at the front of the building, enough for Romeo’s car to enter.

When he exits the vehicle, he makes his way to me while two of his men alight from the back seat. They move around the rear of the car to collect Edoardo from the boot, dragging him over to the chair.

My murderous gaze doesn’t leave him as he passes, and I notice his complexion is as white as the shirt he’s wearing. He looks quietly terrified, and so he should be.

The Cosa Nostra operates under an unspoken code. Each member is expected to have unwavering allegiance to the family. Betrayal is seen as the ultimate act of disrespect and dishonour. It undermines the strength of the entire organisation, creates vulnerability, and can lead to disastrous consequences for everyone involved.

This betrayal is unlike anything my family has ever experienced. Given that it comes from someone who’s been at the heart of the Mancini empire from the start, cuts deep.

I’m glad my father isn’t alive to witness this. He trusted this man like no other. If Edoardo was the brains behind thedrug heist, then it’s probable he played a hand in my father’s assassination. For that alone, I want to gut him like a fish.

As the boss, this is more than just a threat to our operations; it’s a personal insult. A stain on my father and everything he built. I can’t let this slide. It’s my duty to ensure order is restored and that everyone here tonight is reminded that disloyalty has a price. I’ll handle this the only way I can … ruthlessly and with no mercy.

I roll my shoulders and try to regulate my breathing as I wait for him to be seated. Only then do I approach. My initial reaction is to tear him limb from limb, but I have to keep my cool … for the time being, anyway.

I witnessed many of my father’s interrogations over the years, and they always started with psychological manipulation. I’m going to follow his lead by trying to break Edoardo mentally by using intimidation, guilt, and fear. I want to remind him of everything he’s been a part of. The loyalty he was shown, the power my father gave him, not to mention all the financial rewards.

It’s imperative that he feels the weight of his betrayal before I fucking end him.

Chapter 19

Dante

The dim lights in the warehouse flicker, casting long shadows across the concrete floor. The air is thick with tension, and the humidity makes it hard to breathe.

Edoardo is now tied to the chair, his face pale but defiant. He has blood stains on his shirt where a few of my men roughed him up before bringing him in, but the arrogant fucker’s head is still held high.

My posture remains relaxed, but the fury simmering beneath the surface is unmistakable. I don’t need to raise my voice; my presence is enough to instil fear. My brother inherited my mother’s softer side, but I didn’t. I am my old man through and through.

“You know why you’re here, don’t you?” My voice is calm, too calm.

Edoardo swallows hard and dips his face, but his jaw is clenched tight as he refuses to answer me. It’s enough to make me lose some of my resolve as I fist a chunk of his thick, greying hair in my hand and tug his head back until our eyes meet.

“You’ve been with us for a long time. You were like a brother to my father. Why did you turn your back on thefamily after all these years? After everything we’ve done for you?”

“You have done nothing for me, you smug little fuck. You took what was rightfully mine … I was supposed to inherit the title of Don.”

Something inside me fractures as my clenched fist connects hard with his traitorous mouth. It sends his head snapping back, and a sickening crack echoes through the room as a trickle of blood starts to drip down his chin.

“Listen here you smug fucking cunt,” I seethe, getting up in his face, “you were never meant to inherit anything. You may have been my father’s closest friend, but that’s all you were. You are not a Mancini … you don’t have my father’s blood running through your veins. None of it was ever destined to be yours.”

The look he gives me is filled with pure malice. He’s finally revealing his true nature. “If you had died like you were meant to?—”

That’s all he manages to get out of his filthy mouth as my hand shoots up to grasp his throat, squeezing it so tight his face turns an unhealthy shade of red, and his eyes bulge out of their sockets.

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