Bound to the Mafia Prince

Chapter 5

“How much?”

Luca muttered coldly; his razor-sharp voice echoed against the corrugated metal walls of the warehouse. The cool night breeze hissed through the gaped doors. The moonlight came and went through the cloudy sky; its only entrance was through the skylight above.

“How much did it take to betray me, Crow?” repeated Luca, his dead gaze fixed to the gun in his hands, feeling its cold, heavy metal on his palm.

A man was bound to his knees just a foot before Luca. The man, Crow, was staring at him in fear-filled eyes as he panted. His face was bruised and bleeding, and the blood rolled down his temple.

“B-boss, please–” Crow stuttered, crawling on his knees closer to Luca. He stopped sensing the movements in the shadows of the warehouse. Luca’s men.

Luca raised a lazy hand to halt his men; instantly, they retreated back to the darkness. Luca tilted his head as he watched the desperate face at his feet.

“You know,” Luca started. “I hate doing this,” he eyed the gun in his hands, examining it carefully as its metal reflected the moonlight.

“T-then please don’t do this!” Crow begged, his voice desperate as he struggled against his restraints. “Please, I’ve a family!”

Luca hummed, considering. “Then–”

“Why didn’t you think of them before you decided to run to Nathan for money?”

Crow was stunned, his eyes darted to glare at the mismatched orbs staring at him, and he felt the coldness radiate off of him in waves. His sharp features were stripped of any emotions; he regarded Crow as nothing more than a nuisance, a pain he wanted to get rid of.

“H-how did–”

Luca interrupted. “You are asking all the wrong questions. I’ll do the talking now, okay?”

Crow nodded carefully, never daring to blink. All it took was a heartbeat for a bullet to shatter his brains.

“I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself,” Luca said, turning his head up from staring at his mud-stained boots.

“Anything–”

“Shh,” Luca said, his brows flinching in annoyance. Crow almost swallowed his tongue.

“You go back to Nathan,” Luca continued, his voice quiet but asserting dominance. “And do as you have been doing, snitching on me. But this time–”

Luca paused, kneeling to level with the beaten man’s ears and whispered.

“This time you will utter only what I desire, nothing beyond my will.

Crow’s eyes widened as he physically felt the threat, the cold metal of the gun pressing on his side. The quiet whispers of Luca in his ears sounded as if a devil was whispering to him. He came to witness where Luca’s reputation came from.

Tyrant of the underworld…

Mafia prince…

The devil of Terra…

Always quiet, always composed, the death he inflicts was quick–but most of all, silent…

“Answer me,” Luca hissed, tapping the gun on Crow's belly.

“Yes!” Crow exclaimed loudly. “I’m your loyal dog starting today!”

Luca was silent for a moment as he stared up at the skylight hovering over them. He watched the clouds part and go before he sighed and gestured to the shadows.

“Release him,” Luca muttered. Marco popped out of the shadows as he was one himself, followed by three other men in black suits.

“Yes, Don,” Marco said, bowing slightly.

Luca sighed again as he turned around on his heels, heading to the door. He fished around in the inner pocket of his suit for a cigarette, held it on his lips, and searched for a lighter. He cursed when he didn’t find it, snapping the cigarette between his fingers.

This wasn’t how he wanted to spend his day after the blissful night he had with the redhead. It would’ve been nice if today were quiet and non-eventful. He would’ve spent his day in his office, going over the memory of Penelope.

The way she looked underneath him, struggling for her every breath because of him. The feeling of her delicate curves in his hands. The arch of her back as trembled against him.

He shuddered the thoughts away, locking it out of reach.

Something clattered and thudded behind him. He snapped out of his trance irritated as he turned towards the commotion. One of his men was bleeding on the ground, Marco was racing towards him.

And Crow was dashing at him with a dagger in hand.

“Don!” Marco yelled. He was too far to catch the injured prisoner.

Luca’s eyes shadowed. “And here I thought I gave you a chance.”

He raised his gunned hand, aiming at Crow’s head.

I’ve a family!, The words flashed in Luca’s mind, and he hesitated, but only for a minute before he pulled the trigger.

The sound echoed with a loud bang. Crow was petrified, blood seeping through the hole in his forehead, his knees buckled underneath him, and he fell with a loud thud, his eyes wide open and staring daggers at Luca.

Luca towered over the limp body, his face void of any visible emotions. But he felt the usual tug inside his heart. It ached each time he pulled the trigger, yet he never hesitated.

It was silent for a long moment before Marco joined him, eyeing Crow’s body briefly.

“Are you alright, Don?”

Luca nodded. “Take care of this mess,” he said, tucking the gun back into the holster under his jacket.

“Yes, Don.”

Luca started at the door and halted. “Also–”

“Find out where his family is, compensate them gracefully –school tuition too.”

Marco only nodded, and Luca didn’t wait to hear a reply. He climbed into his matte black sedan, resting his head on the leathered chair.

“f**k…” he whispered to the emptiness of his car. He brought his hand to rub the bridge of his nose; the smell of cigarettes nauseated him as it mixed with the blood.

Surprisingly, he thought of Penelope again…

Secretly wishing for her to be in his arms again…

But it was just wishful thinking…

Right?

~~~~

The next morning, Luca gathered every bit of his willpower to head to the head office. Being the Director of Terra Enterprise meant that time for himself was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

This was the other side of his life, the side in the light. Like two sides of a coin, or how day is so different yet so similar to the night. His double life is something he had lived and built for years along with his deceased father, Robert Salvatore.

“We’ve arrived, Don,” Maro announced, pulling over in front of the main entrance to the tower of Terra.

Luca got his own door and climbed out, Marco joining him after giving the key to the valet. He secretly eyed his boss, noticing the dark circles reaching his cheeks.

“You did not sleep again?” Marco asked as they walked into the reception.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he sighed, heading towards the elevator.

“Good morning, Boss.”

They both turned around in the direction of the sound. A man in a light gray suit and a navy-blue tie approached, his brown curls fringed over his forehead.

Luca acknowledged him with a nod.

“Good morning, William,” Marco replied instead.

William Davis had more than one job in the hierarchy of Terra, mostly because of his smart and strategic mind. His official title was the Legal Counsel of Terra; he handled all the trouble for both the company and the Salvatore family. Luca trusted him with his schedules and meetings as well.

“Crow has been taken care of?” William asked, checking if there was someone to hear him.

“Yes,” Luca finally spoke, his voice sounded tired. “Send my condolences to Nathan Grant.”

“Will do,” William smirked. “I still can’t believe he tried to infiltrate our lines and buy one of our men!”

Luca shook his head. “I don’t think it was him, he is too dumb to do such a thing, a coward. I think it was the Chairman of Verdatech.”

“His father, David Grant?” William started, crossing his arms over his chest as he considered the possibility. “You have a point, Boss. I’ll look into it.”

“And also,” William continued. “Arthur Sterling is waiting in your office.”

Luca turned to glance at William. It took him a moment to remember the name and his reasons to be here. He silently bid goodbye to drinking his coffee in peace.

“Alright, I’ll see him,” he sighed.

When Luca walked through the polished wooden door, he saw Arthur just like William said. He had hoped that Arthur would get tired of waiting and leave. Luca felt that it was unnecessary to come all this way to see him. After all, Luca planned to send him the contract via email.

“You didn’t have to come here, Mr. Sterling,” Luca said, the moment he walked in.

“Mr. Salvatore,” Arthur said, rising to his feet, nervously watching as Luca hung his coat on the hanger by his desk. “It is urgent!”

“My legal team was going to send you the terms of the contract,” said Luca, setting down gracefully on his leathered chair. The sunlight silhouetted his frame as it poured through the tinted facade behind him.

“You can have your time going through the terms. Is there anything you want to include?”

“I-I’m not selling my company, Mr. Salvatore!” he said, his voice shaken but determined. Arthur knew vaguely about the identity of Lucian Salvaotore, Luca. The tyrant of the underworld.

Luca leaned on the desk, supporting his elbow as he looked at Arthur. “Might I remind you, Mr. Sterling?”

“You're indebted to Terra with over seven hundred million dollars,” Luca started. “Funds for your new projects, which failed horribly two years ago. The terms of our contract stated that you will compensate Terra for all damages.

“I was understanding enough and gave you two years extension for the deadline, and you paid–”

Luca paused, turning to his computer and digging for the files he had saved. He flipped the screen for Arthur to see.

“You only paid twenty percent of the total price. As such, we are taking over Sterling Enterprise to make up for the money we lost. And believe me when I tell you, I’m being generous by only taking your company and appointing you as CEO.”

Luca’s words were knives twisting and turning in Arthur’s gut. He wasn’t here to hear it all over again; he knew that his company was doomed. Not even a decade would be enough for him to repay that amount, not since they were trying to recover their name in the market again.

He was here to strike another deal with Lucain Salvatore.

“Marriage.”

Luca’s eyebrow flinched at the word. “Pardon me?”

Arthur gulped in hesitation, but he straightened his back as he started, “I know you are trying to inherit your father’s legacy and become Chairman of Terra.”

Luca clenched his fists till his knuckles went white. “What nonsense are you spewing, Mr. Sterling?”

“It’s been a year since Robert Salvatore died, and no one took his place. The rumours are spreading around like wildfire–”

He cleared his throat. “You need a bride for your inheritance.”

“And I have your bride.”

“Are you selling your daughter for seven hundred million dollars?” said Luca, his heterochromic eyes staring daggers at the older man. “To save your company?”

“Call it what you want,” Arthur said, prideful.

“I keep my company, and you inherit yours. What do you say?”