MAFIA’s OBSESSION

Chapter Ten

You heard him, move.” One of Marcus’ men stepped forward.

Kimberly and Vee didn’t argue, and neither did I. The time for pushing back wasn’t now. Not yet.

We were led up a grand staircase, down a long hallway with polished floors and arched windows that overlooked the villa grounds. The guards stopped at a large room, opening the double doors before ushering us inside.

The door shut behind us with a finality that made my stomach sink.

For a few beats, we just stood there, taking it all in. The room was absurdly luxurious, with a massive four-poster bed, a sitting area, and a terrace that overlooked the ocean. The kind of place someone would pay thousands to stay in, except we were prisoners.

Kimberly sank onto the bed, pressing a hand to her forehead. “This is bad.”

“No s**t Sherlock,” Vee muttered. “We’re literally being held captive by a gorgeous mob boss.”

At that, I frowned. “Wait. You recognized his name. Who is Marcus Donovan?”

Kimberly looked hesitant, like she was debating how much to say. But then she sighed. “My dad’s mentioned him before. Marcus Donovan runs I Guardiani, a crime syndicate that operates all over Italy. They control a lot of shipping ports and smuggling routes. But unlike other crime families, they keep a clean public image. I don’t know much about them but one thing I’m for certain about is that their dangerous and ruthless.”

Vee groaned. “Oh, great. We didn’t just stumble into a Mafia deal, we stumbled into the Mafia.”

I crossed my arms. “And you’re just telling us this now?”

Kimberly shot me a look. “Well, sorry that I didn’t think to brief you both on every criminal organization my dad has ever warned me about.”

Vee flopped onto the couch dramatically. “So what now? Are we officially Mafia hostages? Is this the part where they demand ransom money?”

Kimberly chewed on her lip. “I don’t think it’s about money. If they wanted ransom, they would’ve called our families by now. No, they’re keeping us here because we saw something we weren’t supposed to.”

I exhaled sharply, pacing the room. This was bad. Worse than bad.

Marcus Donovan wasn’t just some random criminal. He was powerful. Untouchable. And we were trapped in his world now.

MARCUS POV

I should have been at the auction. Instead, I was trapped at my cousin’s engagement party, forced to endure pointless conversations while my men handled business without me.

The event was being held at one of my family’s estates in the countryside outside Naples, an old vineyard that had hosted far too many of these formal gatherings.

So, while millions in smuggled artwork exchanged hands at Palazzo d’Art, I was nodding at toasts and feigning interest in floral arrangements.

The first call came as I was swirling the last of my whiskey in my glass, barely listening to my future in-laws ramble about destination weddings.

I stepped away from the table, moving toward the open balcony before answering. I didn’t have to check the caller ID. Only a handful of people had this number, and none of them called for small talk.

“Tell me.”

“Boss.” Raffaele’s voice was clipped, urgent. “The deal went south.”

I stilled. “How bad?”

“Those Moretti bastards tried to play us. Don’t know what they were thinking, they swapped the payment briefcase with a fake Nico caught it. Things got… complicated.”

My grip tightened around my glass. “And?”

“We handled it.”

There was a weight behind those words. A confirmation of what I already knew.

“Casualties?”

“Three Moretti men. No one on our side.”

A quiet exhale. Good. At least they weren’t sloppy.

“And the art?”

“Secured. No damage.”

Efficient, as expected. This wasn’t the first time we’d dealt with the Moretti’s trying to pull something like this. They were ambitious, reckless, and desperate to expand their hold on the market. They should’ve known better than to cross me and now my men have made an example of them.

But then Raffaele hesitated. And I knew there was more.

“What?”

“There were witnesses.”

I went still. “Witnesses?”

“Three women. They stumbled in at the worst possible moment. We secured them before they could run.”

A slow, simmering silence stretched between us.

My grip on the phone tightened. “Any info on who they are?”

“One of them is Kimberly Bennett.”

That caught my attention.

I turned my back to the party, walking further onto the balcony where no one could hear me.

“The daughter of that Bennett?”

“The same.”

I let out a low breath, rubbing my temple. Charles Bennett was a name that carried weight, old money, deep connections, and a reputation that ensured he could get answers when he wanted them. If he realized his daughter was missing, he wouldn’t stop until he found her.

“And the other two?”

“Friends of Miss Bennett. Tourists, probably. I closed my eyes for a second, considering my options. If we eliminated them here and now, it would raise questions. Three missing foreigners, last seen at an exclusive auction? Too messy. Too much attention especially with a Bennett involved.

“No bodies. No police. Bring them to the villa. Now.”

Letting them go was risky. Keeping them was dangerous.

And yet, my instinct told me I wasn’t letting them walk away.

“Alright boss”

I’ll decide what to do with them when I see them. Just get them out of there.”

Raffaele sighed. “Understood. What do you want to do about the Moretti’s?”

“They’ll retaliate,” I said easily. “We’ll be ready before they do.”

The moment my men informed me about the witnesses, I had already decided what they were. Their existence alone was leverage for anyone looking to put a target on my back.

So, I chose the only viable option.

Keep them.

I observed them carefully during our first meeting. The blonde, Kimberly, knew exactly who I was her body language had shifted the second I said my name. Olivia, the chatterbox, was more unpredictable. Humor was her shield, but beneath it, she was calculating. Then there was Cleo. I had dealt with defiant people before. But Cleo Harrison wasn’t just defiant, she was reckless. That much was obvious from the way she looked me in the eye, unflinching, challenging. There was fear, but not enough. Not yet.

She didn’t understand the game she had walked into.

I had my men gather all the information they could on the girls, and now I knew exactly what I was dealing with: bratty, insufferable, stubborn and far too nosy for their own good.

With the girls temporarily dismissed from my focus, I turned my attention to my Capo Dante for a strategic discussion.

“Well,” he drawled. “That went well.”

I shot him a look. “Is that your professional opinion?”

He smirked. “They’re not dead. That’s progress.”

I exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose. Dante shoved his hands in his pockets, considering. “You made the right call. They stay here, under watch, until we deal with Moretti.”

I clenched my jaw. Moretti. That was the real problem. The altercation at the auction had already lit a match under the situation, and keeping the girls only made things more volatile.

“We need to find out how much they actually know,” I said. “Kimberly’s family is old money; her father might have ties. The other two? We’ll see.”

Dante hummed in agreement. “That Cleo girl is the one to watch. She’s got a mouth on her.”

“They’re not leaving until I say so,” I muttered.

Dante smirked.