Escaping my Mafia Lord.

The transaction.

Cassandra's POV The warmth of the morning rays which peeked through the window hugged my weary body, driving away the cold hand of fear. I woke up to a loud bang on the door–it was Maria, Antonio's twin sister, who does nothing but spends her brother's money and orders the maids and guards around. She was accompanied by two maids as they made their way into my room. I jerked from my bed as I tugged off the s**t brown blanket covering my slender body and rubbed my tired eyes. I could feel Maria's gaze on my tit down to my hips as I was now standing in a night gown that barely covered my body with my messy hair and swollen face. I cleared my throat to bring back her attention. “Rise and shine, pretty face. We’ve got some important guests to visit today. The maids will get you ready, according to the boss's instructions,” she declared, barely trying to gain balance before sauntering away from my room. "Jerk," I cursed both her and Antonio under my breath. Hearing Antonio's name made my heart boil. I was just too weak to do anything. After the birth of my triplet sons, Antonio took them away from me, holding them as ransom, in case I tried to escape from the hell which he created from me. I stretched my slender body with my feet that were already kissing the cold floor. Letting out a deep sigh, I made my way to the bathroom. After washing off, the maids adorned me in all kinds of makeup, with a black gown that grasped my petite stature. The maid no doubt did a perfect job hiding the mess I was inside and portraying me as one who was in charge of her life and had everything in control. “You look beautiful Carinó,” Antonio said, a soft smile on his face as he complimented my outfit when he walked into the room. Sitting on the exquisitely designed wooden chair placed in front of the large mirror, I ignored his compliment as I remained mute and expressionless. “Didn’t you hear me praise you or are you plain deaf?” he thundered, firing triggers at me as he smashed his fist against the table, almost sending everything on it to the floor. With my heart filled with the mix of hurt and anger towards Antonio and even myself, I snapped, losing control of my emotions. “Your compliment means nothing to me, Antonio. I'm no different from one of your slave girls,” I said, with irritation echoing through my words. Immediately, Antonio sprang at me, his muscular arm grabbing my petite waist, ready to bend me over as he threatened “one more word, and I'll have you here and now.” "You are supposed to be glad that I shower you with compliments. Have you forgotten so soon the miserable life you lived with your peasant parents when I met you?" He paused then continued, "You should be kissing the very ground I walk on. If not for my kindness, you would have been rotting in the streets,” he growled into my ears, while I trembled in fear of what he was capable of doing to me at that moment. “I'm sorry,” I managed to utter, my voice feeble and almost a whisper. “Better!” he said, releasing his strong grip around my waist, allowing me to fall flat on the chair I sat on. “Oh, no, no, don't cry. You are going to ruin your beautiful makeup and a bad mood is bad for a business day." He let out as he caressed my cheeks. "Now, let's get back to the business of the day, my love." he continued as he stuck a piece of his favorite cigar in his mouth while he gave me details of the task I had to carry out. Antonio was a tall and devilishly handsome man, no doubt. His dark-colored hair which poured down his shoulders formed a perfect frame of his face. His piercing blue eyes and his strong jawline made him desirable. Of the truth, physically, he was every woman’s desire. But beneath all that handsome-ness, was a monster, a beast. “Boss, the car is ready,” a tall, bald man who walked in on us announced. “Time to go, love.” Antonio smirked as he yanked me by the arm. Our journey to the meeting place was a quiet one. Neither Antonio nor I said a word to each other. Antonio, like his typical self, buried his gaze into his phone while he caressed my lap roughly with his free hands without eye contact. I was nothing but a property to him. A wife on paper and in the presence of his business partners. But at home, I was no different from a piece of furniture. He only needed me for two things. One, to satisfy his every erotic s****l desire and secondly, to run business deals and errands for him. Yes, I am slender and maybe feeble, but negotiating and sealing business deals was, somehow, something I knew how to do. “Just a short reminder. Don’t do anything to make me look stupid” he said, without sparing me a glance, his eyes still fixed on his phone. "Okay" I barely uttered, my voice almost inaudible as we alighted from the car and walked into the hall. "Good Morning." One of the men dressed in a navy blue suit saluted as we came towards the entrance. Antonio, being rude as always, ignored his salutation and tugging me along with him, he crossed through the glass doors. We met another man who led us into a dimly lit room. The room was littered with some major mafia cartel leaders, the looks on their faces portrayed they meant business. Immediately we entered the room, everyone in the room stood up to pay respect to my husband as we both walked in. With a cold and unyielding gaze, he looked around, surveyed the assembled faces of the Mafia cartel leaders, and then waved to them to sit. Antonio's reputation as a ruthless mafia boss was one no one joked with. He could kill a man on the spot and no one would dare question him. He was untouchable. “Gentlemen,” he began, his voice a low menacing growl that filled the room. "Our empire is growing exponentially. Our cartel has grown to be feared by all, even our rivals cower at the whisper of our name,” His lips formed into a smile as his eyes sparkled with pride. "But, we have more to do." He continued. "It's time we expanded our dominance into the neighboring countries and beyond.” As Antonio spoke with a stoic expression on his face, silence like a thick cloud covered the room. “Tonight, I'll finalize the deal that will solidify our dominance in this city. We will ship the largest consignment into the country from Venezuela. With this, no rival gang will be able to be a match for us." In two hours, the meeting was over, and it was time for me to meet up with the foreign business partner as planned. I remained in my seat, maintaining a high level of composure and a soft smile on my face as the Mafia cartel leaders left the room one after the other while I waited for the business partner. Antonio's empire had indeed grown so much in such a short time. He had men planted in every corner of Naples. Street kids had cell phones, enabling them to communicate information across the city. Even the police in the city backed him up. He was invincible. “Greetings. Nice to meet you Ms. Castilago, my name is Macron Alexius,” A dark, tall man greeted me as he walked towards my seat. His hands stretched out for a handshake. I stood up elegantly, giving out my right hand professionally as I maintained eye contact. He was a French man, and I could tell from his accent. He had a scar on his left cheek with amber-colored eyes and sleek blond hair. “I believe you have the product, Ms. Marcini?” he asked. "Yes, I do." I replied in affirmation. “And I believe you have the money with you?” I asked back, my brows slightly furrowed. “Hmmm… a lady that knows her business. I like that,” he grinned at me. My expression remained stoic, as Antonio had already given me the lesson of never engaging in lengthy conversations with clients. Especially male ones. “So tell me, how is it that a woman like you is involved in a business like this?” he asked. “I find it hard to comprehend.” "Where's the money?" I asked, my brows furrowing deeply. "I'm not here to discuss my life’s choices with you. Pay up so I can leave,” I added, putting up a stern face. "Okay! No need to get all the feisty warrior princesses." He smirked as he pointed to a bag beside him. Immediately, I gestured to one of the guards to count the money. What Macron didn't know was that Antonio had men positioned in different areas of the room. Men who were watching closely and had the order to eliminate him if things went south. Taking a deep sigh, I walked back to meet up with Marco, who had been standing by the stairs, watching as the transaction went on. Is everything okay, madam? What did he say to you? I noticed the discussion took longer than expected.” Marco asked, his voice steady and lacking any emotion. “Nothing!” I replied. Giving out a heavy sigh, I entered the black SUV car parked in front of the building.