HIS RUTHLESS MAFIA QUEEN

CHAPTER 3: Three weeks earlier

Mateo POV:

The rain pours down hard over Palermo. I hold a glass of whiskey that I have no intention of drinking. I sit at the head of the table. Eight men are around me, it’s time for the meeting. They know what exact they are here for. None of them speaks.

That’s how it has always been when I am around. No one dare speaks to the Il Lupo, the wolf. And silence is one of the most useful tool. It gives people time to think about what they have done, and also save people most of the time.

My eyes settles down on the man kneeling down at the center of the warehouse.

“Capo Ricci, eleven years in the De Luca family, eleven years of loyalty. or so I thought” I mounted, as I walked towards him.

his hands were tied at the back of him. His expensive suit, stained with his unloyal blood. He looks a mess, he is meant to look worse.

He then raises his head up, his eyes, afraid, weak and scared. I should feel sorry for him; too bad I lack emotions.

“ so tell me again” I said, Ricci swallows

“I made a mistake, Il Lupo” he scoffed

“ a mistake, there is nothing like mistake in the mafia world, everyone is calculative of what they do. Your actions can either save you or kill you. So i definitely know you didn’t make a mistake” I pulled his hair as i blurted.

“ it was a mistake, I didn’t think it through I am sorry…”

“ you know one think I like about you, you know how to act innocent. But guess what the wolf isn’t falling for it. You stole two hundred thousand euros, you have been stealing from the de Luca for four years now Ricci” I punched him hard

“ I was going to return it, please don’t kill me”

“ when? It didn’t seem like you were going to return it”

I walked to a chair and sat down. His blood stain was on my knuckles. I leaned back in my chair. He didn’t seem to answer my question.

“ hmmm, so I thought” I glance at the folder in front of me. Bank statements, invoices, shipment records, numbers doesn’t lie. But people lie, Ricci has been lying to me for months. I open the folder.

“three shipments passed from Naples’s month” Ricci remains silent.

“ three” I place the first document down on the table.

“ if my calculations are right, each of them should have brought in close to four hundred thousand euro”

I pick up another document “ instead only two hundred thousand reached our accounts, I must commend you for your bravery”

I look at him and laugh. “ Do you know what these means”

His lips part “ I can explain”

“ No” my voice is calm

“ you will listen” he shuts his mouth

“ and now consistently for three months now, money has been going out, they have been disappearing”

Another page “ small mouths four years ago”

I flip another page “ then now large one, Ricci”

“ Two hundred thousand euro, if not more Ricci, you worked for us. How could you betray” I said looking straight to his eyes.

Ricci lowers his head “ i needed it”

i study him

“ for what?” I questioned him

“ for my daughter’s surgery” he answered stuttering

The statement makes me pause, I say nothing. He looks up at me.

“ she needs surgery” his voices cracks “ I didn’t know what else to do”

I believe him, that’s the worst part. But understanding someone’s reasons doesn’t erase what they have done.

“ you should have come to me”

his eyes widen

“I was afraid” he wiped

“ of me?” He doesn’t answer. I give a quite laugh.

“ That’s unfortunate” I said Calmly

“ Il Lupo, please”

I hate the way he says my name, not because he is afraid of me but because he is asking me to forgive what he did . And I can’t. Not when eight other men are sitting round the table, I will look weak and I am not weak. Everyone is watching, waiting for me to make a decision. They depend on me to keep them alive.

“ you served this family for eleven years. But started to embezzle four years ago”

“ yes, Il Lupo”

“ you could have come to me”

“ I know”

“ and you had the audacity to steal from me, not only me but the De Luca family”

“ I had no choice” tears gathers his eyes

“ everyone has a choice” I set my glass down “ you chose yourself”

Ricci shakes his head, “ no, no I chose my daughter”

I stare at him for a long moment. Then I nod

“ fair enough”

hope flickers across his face. I see it immediately, he thinks I forgave him. He hasn’t learned. That’s the problem with hope, sometimes it’s crueler than fear. I reached for my phone. I make a call

“ find out which hospital Ricci’s daughter is in”

Ricci heads snaps up

“ Il lupo” he mumbled

“ I will pay for her surgery”

his eyes were filled with tears.

“ Thank you”

I nod once

he exhales, for a second the tension in his shoulders disappears. Then I look directly to his eyes, and stared

“ but you are still going to die”

His face goes completely still

“ what?”

I stand, “ I can forgive desperation”

I walk towards him. “ I can not forgive betrayal”

“ please “

“you knew the consequences”

“I swear it won’t happen again”

“I know, that’s why I am making sure it doesn’t happen again” he looked confused after hearing what I said

he begins shaking his head.

“ wolf, please, my family”

“take him outside” I commanded

I stare at the rain through the ware house windows. He stops begging for a second

“ your wife will also receive enough to take care of your family”

his eyes meets mine

“ and me?” he asked with mixed feelings

I finally look at him “ you already received your mercy”

I turn away.

The guards drag him towards the door. His voice follows me “ Il Lupo”

The warehouse doors opens, then they close the doors. Pick up my whisky. A gunshot echoes outside. One. That’s all it takes. Nobody around the table moves, nobody looks at me. They know better, I set the glass down.

“ now” I speak, everyone’s eyes lift

I looked around the room, every man here knows what happened tonight. Not because I killed Ricci but because I didn’t lose control while doing it. That’s the difference between a man with power and a man who needs to prove he has it. I didn’t shout, I didn’t need to threaten. I don’t need to put a gun on someone’s head for them to understand me.

“ one more thing” the room goes silent

“ if a one had been stealing from this family” i let the silence stretch before I speak again

“ you have until sunrise to tell me, if i find out myself” i fake a sip of the whisky

“ you won’t get mercy Ricci just received”

Nobody answers

In my world loyalty isn’t a promise, it’s a price. And everyone eventually chooses if they are willing to pay it.