Chapter 4 Dante

DANTE.

"Don, Mr Orpheus is here." When he didn't get any response, he said again, "Don, Mr -"

"Do you think I'm deaf?" I sat up.

"N-no sir. I apologize, when you remained quiet I assumed you were sleeping." He explained, keeping his head lowered as a sign of respect. Or fear. I didn't know, and I didn't care.

"So? If I was actually sleeping, you would have woken me up because Orpheus wants to see me?"

"I-I apologize sir, your meeting-"

"Who do you serve?"

"Sir?"

"Do I have to ask again?"

"N-no sir, of course not." He dropped to his knees, one hand placed firmly on his chest. "I serve you, Don."

Bored of the sight in front of me, I got up and casually strolled out to the meeting area.

I already knew what the meeting was about, and if I had the choice I would be doing literally anything else than having it.

"Dante, you look well." Orpheus said with a smile as he reached out for a handshake.

I didn't offer my hand and instead poured myself a glass of whiskey as I sat across him. "Let's keep this brief, shall we?" I downed the alcoholic drink one sip and returned the empty glass on the marble table.

"Of course." The older man leaned back in his seat and folded one leg over the other. "As I'm sure you've heard, old man Arno is dead."

"And?"

He raised a brow, visibly surprised by my reaction. "His district is left unprotected, and you know it's only going to cause trouble."

"And this concerns, how?" I knew what he was hinting at, only an idiot wouldn't. "Orpheus, Arno passed of old age and from the looks of it, you're next. So instead of worrying about someone's unprotected territory, I'd worry about your health."

His wrinkled face turned red and he spoke in a loud voice. "I know what your plan is. You think you can use your devious ways to take control of his district. Well let me tell you, it won't work!" His nostrils were flared and he kept pointing his aged finger at me like it was supposed to intimidate me.

In one swift movement, the golden pistol tucked at the back of my pants was aimed at the old man.

"You think because -" his rants were stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. "What is this?" His tone was much calmer, and even a bit jittery.

"In seven days, the four territories will have a meeting to decide on what to do. Why don't you save this little outburst for that time?"

"Do you realize you're missing out on a golden opportunity to control thirty percent of the Seraphine Circle?"

"We're done here."

I was tired. Too tired.

"Take your golden opportunity somewhere else." I didn't wait for his response before walking back into the room.

"Sometimes I feel you might be too harsh on others."

I sighed and turned around. "Ma, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" I immediately walked up to her and held her by the shoulders, leading her back into her bedroom.

"Dante, I understand the nature of your work requires you to be firm, but it doesn't mean you have to keep yourself from feeling at all."

There was worry in her weak voice and the reason touched me and annoyed me at the same time. "If this is about me having kids again-"

"Dante," she reached up to cup the side of my face. "I don't have much time left in this world. I want to be sure that when I go, you won't be left all alone."

"Ma, let's bring back this issue when I turn thirty." I helped her get in bed and tucked her in. "I'll tell Gloria to bring up your meal, then you take your medication. Okay?"

She looked like she wanted to argue but the sound of my phone interrupted her. "What is it?"

The stern voice on the other end explained that some guys were causing trouble in my territory and had been captured.

"I'm on my way." I hung up and left the room before Ma found something else to say.

When I arrived at the holding center, I immediately sensed something was off. Smiling, I confidently walked in. "Drey, where are the imposters?"

He flinched, almost as if the sound of my voice was painful to him. "Uh they're in the cell."

"Bring them to me." I sat in the only leather chair in the room.

Click!

I smirked. Who did these fools think they were dealing with?

Drey watched with keen interest and was almost too visibly pleased when I sat in the chair. He disappeared into one of the dark rooms and returned seconds later, not with prisoners, but with three armed men.

"Your time is up Dante. All these years, you have been nothing but a bully and a pain in the ass! Everyone knows I'm supposed to be the head of La Rosa Nera, but you stole it from me. Now, I'm going to take it back."

My eyes scanned the room, checking for any hidden subordinates that I might have missed on my way in, but I was almost disappointed when there were none.

"So? You want to kill me and take my place, and you decided to bring three imbeciles from Orpheus?"

Drey threw his head back and laughed maniacally. "Do you even know the situation you're in right now?"

"No. But it seems to me that you forgot who you're dealing with." Before either of them had the time to react, the sound of gun shots echoed through the silent room and the bodies of the three goons from Orpheus group dropped to the ground with a dull thud and my pistol was aimed at Drey.

Sweat trickled down his face as he stared at the lifeless bodies on the ground with horror. He opened his mouth but nothing but slow raspy breaths came out.

I leaned back in the chair, not entirely enjoying the scene in front of me. "Why?" I asked, not that it mattered. Regardless of the reason, betrayal is the same.

"I-I-"

I took the first shot, hitting his left thigh. Drey cried out in pain and collapsed to his knees.

"Why?" I asked again.

Silence.

I took the next shot, hitting his right arm and Drey let out another pained scream.

"It's just a gun shot, Drey." but it wasn't. My guns were customized so the trigger was stronger and the bullets were much sharper and they didn't stop spinning even after piercing through the skin. It was deadlier and definitely more painful.

"Die, you motherfucker!" He took out a small rectangle device with a big red button in the middle but he didn't have the chance to press it.

I fired another shot at his hand and the device flew to the side, along with two of Drey's fingers.

This time, he collapsed to the ground, rolling around. He cradled his hand, crying loudly.

"Drey," I was losing my patience, and it would be a waste to leave without learning anything.

"It wasn't my choice." He finally confessed mid sobs. "Orpheus promised me he would make me the Don if I got rid of you."

"And you thought that was possible?"

"H-how did you know? Did Orpheus betray me?"

"No. But you just betrayed him by spilling. Your traps were just too stupid not to see through." I heard the same clicking sound from before. My cue to get up.

I stretched my legs as I got up, and adjusted my jacket. "Next time, maybe go with a bomb that doesn't make so much noise when activated." I turned like I was about to leave and I heard the light sound of a gun being cocked. I smiled.

Some people just didn't learn.

I heard the gun fire but my reflexes were faster. I dodged and immediately delivered the final blow to Drey. A shot to the head.

As I started to leave, I heard his phone ring and I answered it after seeing the familiar name on the screen.

"Well? Did you finish the job?"

"I was trying to be lenient Orpheus, but you were stupid enough to do something like this. Drey was my favorite bodyguard too, I have to avenge his death, don't I?"

I heard Orpheus swallow hard but he offered no response and instead just hung up the call.

I didn't have the intention of attending the meeting, but things had changed. I called my personal assistant. "We're heading back to Italy tomorrow. It's time I addressed things in person."