Mrs. Lucifer (Completed)

Dropping Like Flies

It was all over the news. 

The murders of known mafia don, Giovanni Vincenzo, was the most horrendous crime in the last decade. But also similar in a way. Papa Stephano Ricardo turned off his tv feeling a bad feeling sinking into his stomach. Looking at his wife who was nervously twisting her hands he grabbed them, "Don't worry love." 

Anastasia looked at her husband scared but didn't say anything. He kissed her head gently and grabbed his phone. Walking to his office, he called his son who immediately answered, "You saw too." Stephano's response was simply, "Grab your brother and come here. Now." 

Thirty minutes later Stephano's brown eyes was locked on his eldest son, Mateo, and youngest Massimo. Mateo stood in front of his father, his cold blue eyes he inherited from his mother passive. Massimo's brown eyes however were less cold, but more fearful in the presence of their intimidating father. 

"Something is going on sons, I'm...nervous about this. No one had access to get Giovanni. And yet they managed to get to him and nine other mafiosos."

 Mateo looked at his strong papa who usually never admitted to anything as weak as nerves. Seeing his sons' shocked faces Stephano stood and looked at them. "I know...I know I'm not the best father, but your safety is important to me." 

Mateo not liking the way his father was talking gruffly huffed, "We can take care of ourselves papa." Stephano smiled a little, his face softening as he observed his eldest. "I know son, but what concerns me is familias dropping like flies. Business being thrown off or falling behind because of...whoever the f**k is doing this. I don't know if we'll be a target next." 

Massimo looked at Stephano and gently told him, "But it was Giovanni and the revolting mob bosses he has running in his circle. All of them are murdering, rapist, who traffic kidnapped women. It could have just been a revenge murder." 

Stephano hummed in thought, "Very true my son," Walking to his desk, Stephano threw down twenty seven files. "These are murders of mafia bosses and their crew. All brutal, all savage, no witness to any of it either." 

Mateo looked at the picture of the once great Giovanni Vincenzo. Mateo had the displeasure of meeting the older man only once. When he was younger, and had been green in the familia business. Mateo had been out of depth when the silver fox had snorted a line of coke, and then proceeded to harass a girl no older than eighteen right in front of him. 

Mateo was supposed to conduct business with him, but in seeing the man up close and personal, he knew he wanted this man nowhere near his family. So he called the meeting off and left, his father agreeing with his choice since he had made the same when he first started working with his papa.

They could handle a lot of s**t. Money laundering, embezzlement, murder, weapon and drug deals. But the abuse of women? That crossed a line they refused to go over.

Giovanni had claimed they were fools, that they were missing out on money. "Do you not know how much I profit off my whores? I get them, pimp em, sell em, and if they get pregnant I ship their brats to the highest paid white puta who can't have any. It's a win/win." 

Mateo had wanted to put a bullet in his cranium then. But instead they had declined the offer to ever be in business with him. 

'Now he's dead...' Mateo thought. 

Throwing the file back on his father's desk Mateo huffed, "We won't cry for his ass that's for damn sure." Stephano lit his cigar, "But we might have a problem?" 

Massimo looked at the files, "All the men were brutally killed in some way. All mutilated and beat, one was even thrown in acid. Alive." Mateo whistled lowly, "Who ever got their hands on them wanted them to suffer alright." 

Massimo sighed, "It could be one of their girls. He could have raped her, or worse they could have shared her. With Giovanni's track record we'd be looking at thousands to the ten thousands of women he's smuggled over in the last two decades." 

Stephano shook his head, "We don't have time for that. Not with every familia in a 100 mile radius dropping like flies." Stephano looked to his eldest as he blew out his cigar smoke, "You are my eldest, you will being sitting on this chair soon enough. You might have a target on your back and it worries your mother." 

Mateo nodded, "I will find out what I can papa. I promise." 

Stephano smiled and smacked his son's shoulder, "Just be cautious Mi hijo. You know your value to this family." Mateo nodded and Stephano released the boys to carry on. 

Massimo and Mateo walked down the hall in silence stopping to look at each other. "This is a f*****g mess." Massimo cursed nervously. Mateo sighed, "I don't think we have to worry little brother-." Massimo snorted in disbelief, "Come on bro! You saw dad's face! He willingly admitted to being scared of whoever the f**k is doing this!" 

Massimo shook his head, "Besides Giovanni was always armed and guarded to a tee, so whoever got him, they knew how and when. We might be out matched here." 

Mateo didn't like the idea of some unknown slicing through familias with no sign of slowing down. It didn't bode well for his. "We'll find them and end them." He assured his brother. Looking up when a door opened, both smiled when their sweet little sister peeked out at them, "Sorry...I heard you two and I wanted to say hi." Bella whispered nervously. 

Mateo hugged his little sister and Massimo kissed the sixteen year old girls head, "You okay sis?" Bella nodded and peeked at her older brothers. Seeing the stress lines marrying their faces like their papa's she whispered, "Is something happening?" 

Neither man responded, they didn't want to tell their sister anything about the unknown yet. They didn't have reason to believe she would be in danger, but they couldn't be so sure.