Heir In The Shadows

EPISODE 45

Elder Montavio

The car ride was silent except for the faint hum of the engine. Draco drove with a steel gaze, while Jax sat in the back, his expression unreadable. He adjusted his cufflinks, his sharp suit a reminder that tonight he wasn’t just Jax—the lover who had left Luciano upstairs—but the Kingmaker, Don of Dons.

The convoy came to a halt outside an old villa on the outskirts of the city. Ancient stone walls, guarded heavily, loomed in the night. This was the residence of Elder Montavio, one of the oldest surviving council members of the Mafia—a man whose voice still carried weight across Europe.

As Jax entered, silence fell in the hall. Montavio sat in his grand chair, wrapped in an embroidered shawl, his frail body betraying age, but his eyes still sharp.

Montavio: (raspy voice)

“You finally came, Kingmaker. I was beginning to think you had forgotten the old man who once put the crown on your head.”

Jax: (calm, but deep)

“I forget nothing, Elder. Not who raised me, not who betrayed me, not what I must protect. You asked for me. Here I am.”

Montavio chuckled weakly, though his tone was heavy.

Montavio:

“The council is stirring. Some whisper that you have grown soft. That love has made you… vulnerable. You must be careful, Jax. If you do not remind them who you are, they will turn wolves against you.”

Jax’s jaw tightened. He thought of Luciano, the warmth of his embrace still lingering on his skin.

Jax:

“Let them whisper. I built this empire with my blood. I crushed their fathers, their brothers, their kings. If they doubt me—” (he leans closer, voice low and sharp) “—I’ll remind them why they once trembled at my name.”

Montavio coughed, a chilling smile playing on his lips.

Montavio:

“Good. Then remember this—power is not just about fear. It’s about balance. If you lose yourself in love, you risk losing your crown. But if you cast love aside… you risk losing your soul. Choose wisely, Kingmaker.”

For the first time, Jax’s mask faltered. His eyes flickered with unspoken conflict.

Jax: (after a pause)

“I will not lose either.” Thanks for the heads-up Sire Montav I appreciate and do take

He turned, his coat swaying as he strode out, Draco following like a shadow.

---

Milan – The Ghost in the Flesh

The Kingmaker’s convoy entered Milan just before dawn. The streets were half-empty, shrouded in mist. Draco’s voice broke the silence as they approached a secluded mansion on the edge of the city.

Draco:

“They confirmed it, Boss. He’s here. But…” (hesitates) “…we all thought he was dead.”

Jax didn’t answer. His gaze hardened, but deep in his chest, something twisted. He had buried this name years ago, buried it with blood and fire. And yet here it was — resurrected.

The convoy halted. Jax stepped out, his polished shoes clicking against marble as he strode inside. His men flanked the hall, their presence heavy. The doors to the lounge opened.

And there he was.

Adriano.

Once Jax’s closest brother-in-arms. Once the man he had loved like family — some whispered even more. The man who had betrayed him to their enemies, whose death had been confirmed in a fire years ago. But now, Adriano sat casually in a leather chair, a glass of wine in his hand, alive.

Adriano: (smirking, voice smooth)

“Well, well. The Kingmaker himself. You look just the same, Jax. But your eyes… colder.”

The air snapped with tension. Jax stood frozen for a moment before walking forward, each step like a storm building.

Jax: (low, dangerous)

“I buried you with my own hands, Adriano.”

Adriano: (chuckling darkly)

“And yet, here I am. You should know better than anyone — in our world, no one really dies unless it’s convenient.”

Draco’s hand twitched near his gun, but Jax raised a hand to stop him. His eyes never left Adriano’s.

Jax:

“You betrayed me. Because of you, twenty men died. I nearly lost my empire. I nearly lost myself.”

Adriano: (mocking)

“Betrayal?” (he leans forward, voice soft but venomous) “I gave you everything, Jax. I stood beside you when no one believed in you. But when the council whispered, when they dangled their crowns, you chose power over us. Tell me… was that not betrayal too?”

The words struck harder than a bullet. For a brief second, Jax’s mask cracked — memories flooding of nights in their youth, their shared laughter, the loyalty that once seemed unbreakable.

Jax: (cold, regaining himself)

“You lost the right to speak of loyalty when you turned your blade against me.”

Adriano: (with a sly smile)

“Perhaps. But look at you now. Even the Kingmaker bleeds inside. I hear whispers, Jax. That you’ve taken a new lover. That you’ve let another man into that blackened heart of yours. Be careful, old friend. You know what happens to anyone you hold close. They either betray you… or die.”

The room thickened with silence. Jax’s men tensed, ready for orders. Draco’s jaw clenched.

Jax stepped closer, until he stood just inches from Adriano. His voice was low, deadly, but heavy with something only he and Adriano could understand.

Jax:

“You should have stayed dead.”

Adriano smiled faintly, as though he’d expected nothing less.

Adriano:

“Oh, Jax… don’t you see? I came back because your story isn’t finished without me in it.”

For a long, unbearable moment, Jax considered drawing his gun and ending it right there. His hand even hovered near his holster. But something in his eyes betrayed hesitation — the ghost of brotherhood, of something deeper than hate.

Finally, he turned sharply, his coat whipping as he barked to Draco:

Jax:

“Keep him alive. For now. But chain him. I want him where I can see him.”

Adriano laughed softly as guards pulled him to his feet.

Adriano: (whispering as he was dragged away)

“You can chain my body, Jax… but you’ll never chain the past.”

Jax stood still, his chest rising and falling in silence. His men saw the rage in him — but also the pain he tried desperately to hide.

---

The Warehouse – Pietro’s Betrayal

The warehouse was cold, the dim lights flickering, shadows stretching long across the cracked floor. The air reeked of oil, dust, and fear. Jax walked in with Draco at his side, boots echoing with authority. His men had already dragged Pietro in, beaten and bloodied, tied to a chair in the center of the room.

Pietro looked up, eyes swollen but still burning with shame. When he saw Jax, he lowered his head.

Jax: (voice low, deliberate)

“Pietro… of all people. Why?”

Pietro: (hoarse, trembling)

“Boss… I didn’t want to. They had my family. My little girl—she’s only seven. They said they’d slit her throat if I didn’t give them what they wanted.”

Jax circled him slowly, every word laced with venom and disappointment.

Jax:

“And so you betrayed me. You betrayed us. Do you know how many men died because of your weakness?”

Pietro: (tears spilling, voice breaking)

“I know, Boss. I know. And I’ll burn for it. But I beg you… don’t let them touch my wife, my daughter. Do whatever you want with me, but save them. Please… I’ll rot in your prison, I’ll carry the chains, but don’t let my little girl pay for my sins.”

Draco shifted, his jaw tight, watching Jax. The Kingmaker’s face was carved in stone, but his eyes betrayed the storm inside.

Jax: (stopping directly in front of Pietro, leaning close)

“You should have come to me. You should have trusted me to protect them. Instead, you sold your brothers out to the wolves.”

Pietro: (sobbing now)

“I was a coward. I know. But I swear on her life—I never meant to turn on you. I just… I couldn’t lose her.”

The room went dead silent. Jax’s hand lingered near his gun, but he didn’t draw. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, as if weighing Pietro’s soul.

Jax: (cold, but with a shadow of mercy)

“You’ll live. But not as a free man. Draco, take him to the underground prison. Lock him where he’ll remember this betrayal every day until his last breath.”

Pietro flinched at the sentence, but then relief washed over his battered face.

Pietro: (voice shaking, whispering)

“Thank you, Boss… thank you. Please… my family—”

Jax: (interrupting, voice sharp but heavy)

“I’ll see them protected. Your daughter will grow up untouched by this filth you dragged her into. That much, I promise you.”

Pietro broke down, sobbing openly, his forehead pressed against the cold floor as the guards untied him only to drag him away in chains.

Jax stood there, unmoving, his face unreadable. But Draco, watching closely, saw the flicker of pain in his boss’s eyes—the agony of punishing a man he once trusted, the weight of betrayal balanced against the promise of mercy.

Draco: (quietly, to Jax)

“You spared him.”

Jax: (without looking away)

“I spared his family. Pietro… is already dead to me.”

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