15 Years Later
"Hah!" The man jolted awake with a gasp when a bucket of cold water was emptied over his head. Heaving and gasping, his gaze darted around frantically, bile rising in his throat when he realized he was bound to a chair. His stomach churned in unease the moment his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings which consisted of multiple tables standing in the desolate shadows, the chairs stacked on top.
The sound of a chair being lowered behind him had the man's skin crawling with fear, the bullet wound in his thigh bleeding and pulsating with pain. The wooden legs screeched against the marble flooring as the chair was brought to be resting in front of the captive.
He didn't dare look up, his blood rushing through his veins as he shook with suppressed anxiety. The sound of rustling fabric was accompanied by the musky scent of his captor's cologne. The fragrance wafted around him and mingled with the stench of his blood to concoct the pungent flavor of death. He heard the man sit down as his coin grey slack and polished brown dress shoes came into view as he inhaled deeply, holding his breath.
"Theodore." His voice called out to him, the authority having him snap his gaze up at the man before him.
He sat in a white button-up, whose sleeves had been rolled to his elbows. A navy blue tie around his neck with his grey blazer hanging over the back of his chair. The man's legs were crossed at the ankles with one hand leisurely slipped into his slack's pocket with the other holding a gun.
"I can make this right!" Theodore struggled against his bonds. "Just talk to me!"
"Oh, yes, Theodore." The man before him nodded. "We're going to talk alright." He held out his hand and a bottle of clear liquid was placed into his waiting palm.
Taking a sip of the drink, he poured the liquid over the gaping wound, the skin burning as the alcohol came in contact with the open gunshot. Theodore squirming and whimpering as he squeezed his eyes shut from the pain.
"I've come for your banker." He took another sip from the bottle, exhaling deeply. "Who is your banker?"
"I...I can't..."
Just as those words left his mouth, the man before him stood from his chair, pouring the vodka over his bound figure, forcing him to gag against the wretched smell and squirm at the cold sensation against his burning skin.
Theodore gasped for breath as he watched the other man pick up a cigar from the table beside him, placing it into his mouth before striking the match against the box. His breathing coming out in rapid successions as he watched him light the cigar, taking a puff before holding it in his fingers,
"Sir," He whimpered as the match was brought closer to him, tears welling in his eyes and his heart hammering against his chest. Just as the match was about to come in contact with the highly flammable liquid covering him, his captor extinguished it with a flick.
"The banker," He demanded, bringing the burning cigar threateningly close to the man.
"Please..."
"Let me make this easy for you. There are 7 banks in the East that are capable of financing a mission such as Gerard's. I run money through 4 of them and own the other 2. So tell me, which one?" He brought the cigar impossibly closer, one wrong move and the burning ash will have him combust in flames.
"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!" Theodore relented, watching him pull back the cigar. "The money was wired from the Dundas Bank in the Italian Office; we have a man there who had it done. I swear that's all I know!"
"Thank you."
"It's-okay, so we're finished?"
"Yes, we're finished." The other man nodded in assurance, watching Theodore hang his head in relief before gasping for breath when he emptied the remaining bottle over his head. The captive coughed, suddenly finding the lit cigar to be placed into his mouth as he panted at the sight, trying his hardest to stay still while the man watched with fascination.
He had this look in his eyes that made him wonder how many people he had killed. And this grin that made him realize he had probably lost count.
"I hate cigars." He chuckled, raising his gun and pulling the trigger. The sound of the bullet leaving the barrel ricocheting off the walls as blood splatters flew everywhere, staining his suit.
Lowering the gun, he retrieved an inhaler from his pocket and took a hit from it before exhaling. Grabbing a napkin from the table, he wiped away the blood and grabbed his suit jacket, draping it over his shoulder as his retreating footsteps echoed through the interior.
The bright May sunlight blinded him momentarily as he pulled on his sunglasses, making his way towards the open door of the Range Rover. Climbing into the back, the door shut behind.
"Did you get what you wanted?" A voice spoke beside him as the car pulled away from the curb.
"Let Piero know to comb through the activity in the local office of the Dundas Bank. There is a man there who has been wiring the money to Gerard."
"Of course, sir," He nodded.
"What's on today's agenda?"
"You have to meet with Mr. Lombardi to finalize the negotiation deal at 10," Tazio informed, typing away on the screen of his phone as the bloodied man scrunched up his face, opening his mouth to respond before being cut off. "And no, you cannot send a representative again because this is the final stage of the negotiation which you need to sign."
"Fine, and?"
"After that, you have to review the contract with Rolls Royce, who are asking about their planes-"
"-Mafia agenda, Tazio."
"In that case, after the negotiation with Lombardi, you have been invited to lunch at 12 with the Richards. Then you have to go to the construction site of our new warehouse by 2. You will be expecting a call from Mr. Alfonsi around 2:30 who wants to settle a date for a meeting. Speaking of meetings, Mr. Ricci called, canceling the 4'O clock conference-"
"-Why?"
"His son fell down the stairs, sir." Tazio put away his phone. "Then at 5, you have to make with a visit to the Adams Bank in regards to the emptying of your account, which needs your verifying signature, from there on out, Marco will handle the transfer. You will have an opening from 5:30 to 6, so you might want to call your mother. And from 6 to 9 you have those files to attend to. After 9 you wanted to inspect the nightclubs."
"Alright," He nodded. "Before going to Lombardi, I want to shower first."
"You don't want to shower, Salvatore," His second-in-command teased. "You need to shower." The man, Salvatore, chuckling at the remark.
Once he had showered and dressed in a two-piece tan suit with a navy blue tie, he made his way to the location chosen by Mr. Lombardi. Arriving at the little café, he stepped into the limited crowd, the older man reading the day's paper by the window was pointed out by his representative as Mr. Lombardi.
"Mr. Lombardi?" Salvatore's second-in-command, Tazio called out. The older man jumping in fright, causing some of the coffee to spill onto the table as Salvatore watched with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, that's me." He rushed out, standing up in haste. "Are you Mr. Regnante?"
"That would be me." Salvatore walked forward as Tazio bowed his head.
He watched how the older man's eyes widened as he looked him up and down, looking like he had expected someone else. Mr. Lombardi must have been in his early to mid-60 with greying hair, smile lines at the edge of his hazel eyes, and a slightly protruding stomach under his white button-up.
"Pleasure," He stuck out his hand, watching with indifference as Mr. Lombardi stared at him with a gaping mouth and bulging eyes.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" He jumped out of his stupor as the man next to him cleared his throat. Grasping Salvatore's hand, he gave it a firm shake, grinning up at the taller man. "Pleasure's all mine, Mr. Regnante. Please, take a seat.
With that, the three men with Salvatore settled down as he took a seat, Mr. Lombardi sitting before him with a wide smile still sported on his lips.
"Forgive me for my delayed reaction." He chuckled as Salvatore ordered a coffee. "I was just expecting a man of your stature to be..."
"Older?"
"To put it mildly, yes,"
Nodding, Salvatore took a sip of his coffee as Mr. Lombardi continued to watch him from over his mug.
"How old are you, son?"
"28." The guard behind Salvatore piped in with a smile that instantly melted when his Boss regarded him with a cold look over his shoulder. “Forgive me,”
"Oh! Wow!" Mr. Lombardi exclaimed with bright eyes as if though he had just won a lottery.
"Let's finalize the contract, shall we?" The younger man sighed as he was handed the file. "So we negotiated that I will export your products and in return I will get 35% of the total income, correct?" He questioned, taking out his pen from his inside pocket to sign the document.
"Actually..." Mr. Lombardi halted him as Salvatore glanced up from below his lashes. "I would like to suggest something else."
Sighing, he leaned back, taking a sip of the black coffee before gesturing for him to continue.
"Well, Mr. Regnante. I heard you have your hand in a multitude of businesses."
"Yes."
"In that case, is it correct that you supply weaponry, and sometimes in the crates, there are various dealings as well?"
His smile grew when Salvatore stared at him blankly, neither denying nor confirming the allegation put forth.
"Mr. Regnante, I would like to suggest that you sell my product as well as export it to your clients at your usual rates, and give me 90% of all the earnings."
"And why would I do that, Mr. Lombardi?" Salvatore raised an eyebrow in amusement, folding his hands on the top of the table.
"Because I hadn't realized that you'd be 28!" He laughed to himself as the other man watched him patiently. "And I'm assuming you're single by the lack of a wedding ring and I doubt you're in a relationship given that a man of your standing would not have time for such notions."
Salvatore leaned back, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, not understanding what the old man was trying to insinuate.
"Mr. Lombardi, as you just said yourself, I'm a busy man. So if you wouldn't mind, get to the point." Salvatore glanced down at his Tag Heuer. "Why would I conduct your business transactions alongside mine and get only 10% of the total earnings?"
"Mr. Regnante." He chuckled, leaning forward with glinting eyes and a wide grin. "How do you feel about a political merger?"
The sun began to recede behind the mountains by the time Salvatore returned back to his estate."What do I have left?" He closed the car door behind him, looking down at his watch once more."The files and an inspection of the nightclubs, sir," Tazio got in sync with his steps."Move the inspection to another day, and bring the files to my personal study,""Not the office, sir?""No," Salvatore shook his head and he made his way towards the marble staircase, stopping short as a thought occurred to him. "Also, call my Consigliere. Tell him I want to meet as soon as possible.""Of course,"With the instructions given, The Mafia Boss made his way up one flight of stairs before going up another. On the second floor, he walked down the immaculate hallway, the white marble glinting in the bright lig
The closet doors stood open with more clothes strewn out than inside; littering the room and the bed with a young man seated in the corner, watching the clothes flying out one by one."What am I supposed to wear!?" The girl pulled out a red dress, standing before the full-length mirror before throwing it onto the bed. "This is the worst birthday ever!"Her brown tresses were all over the place as her green eyes looked around her hopelessly."Happy birthday?" The boy in her corner spoke timidly as she glared at him. "I'll help you.""Please." She flopped onto her clothes. "The lunch is in a few hours and I couldn't sleep all night because of the anxiety.""I'm coming with you, right?" The boy mixed and matched a silk blouse with leather pants before shaking his head. "To the lunch, I mean.""Of course, Luca," The girl
Throughout the weekend, Nicole had been avoiding her mother, afraid of what she would have to say regarding her fiancé. She never left her room, even went so far as to locking herself in with food being brought to her, and sleep had become a vice. She couldn't manage to get a wink of sleep, anxiety, and a racing heart having her stay up, and when she finally managed to close her eyes she was awoken by knocking, her white Husky standing up on her bed and barking at the door."Percy, shut up!" She slurred at the dog, placing a hand on its snout as she snuggled into her comforter. "The door is open!" Nicole resumed calling over her shoulder.She waited for her best friend's exasperation as she couldn't bring herself to care much for his irritation, groaning into her pillow and she cocooned herself into her blanket."It appears you didn't receive my message,"Nico
Nicole had spent the last two weeks doing various wedding preparations and the time was finally here for her to walk down the altar. During that time, she and Salvatore had interacted a little since they had to corporate on all the wedding errands. She didn't get the big white wedding she wanted, instead, they compromised on a simple and small June wedding in a church.She had just met the man less than a month ago and now she was marrying him.The sudden realization had her stomach twist in discomfort and she found herself clutching the front of her silk robe, her bridesmaids all too busy setting everything up for them to notice the evident distress Nicole was experiencing."Come on!" One of them turned to her, blissfully ignorant to her emotional turmoil. "Let's get you fitted into the dress!"A knock on the door had everyone look up, seeing Rosalie sta
Salvatore's eyes fluttered open on their own, inhaling sharplyhe turned onto his back before rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand before the movementbeside him drew his attention to his right. He stared at the back of the head for a second, before remembering it was his wife and that he had gotten married just yesterday. Looking at the wedding ring on his left hand, he played around with it for a second before glancing at the time displayed on his phone.7:15 a.m.Pushing the blanket off him, he swung his legs over the edge and ran a hand through his hair. Picking up the phone on the side table, he pressed the dial and waited."Bonjour," The man greeted. "Good morning. This is room service, how can I help you?" He asked in a thick French accent."Bonjour," Salvatore rubbed a hand ov
“Before we go to your estate, can we drop by home for a second, I need to pick up Percy.” Nicole looked away from her window towards Salvatore who was driving the car. “Percy?” “My husky, Persephone,” “You…you have a Siberian Husky named after the Greek goddess of spring?” Salvatore chuckled. “Why not Khione - the Greek goddess of winter?” “Ha-ha, make all the fun you want, I need to pick her up. And I named her Persephone because she loves spring and rolling around in flowers,” Nicole scrunched up her nose at his teasing. “You don’t mind
Marriage was not what Salvatore imagined it to be, rather it was meticulous, dutiful, obedient, and unsettling. Very, very,veryunsettling.The Mafia Boss had a certain routine, and every morning, he would be up at 5:30 and work out for an hour and a half. When he would get back into his room, his wife wouldn't be asleepanymore, so he always took the hour to do some yoga, and then shower. Getting dressed, he would go down to the sunroom for breakfast and find his wife dutifully standing there, or setting the table, all made up and ready for the day in a beautiful dress with her hair made and an apron around her waist."Good morning," She would greet him with a smile and a nod of her head, waiting for him to settle down before offering him the breakfast she had made and pouring in his coffee just the way he liked it.And then she never spoke.
Salvatore entered their bedroom at 9:30 p.m., thinking to find Nicole working on something, but instead, he found her dressed in a golden sequence bustier crop top with a high-waisted leather skirt, leaning over her vanity to apply her make up."Going somewhere?""We're going out to a club," Nicole informed, applying on her mascara."Who is we?" Salvatore pulled off his blazer and the button-up beneath, having decided on a suit and lay it out on the bench."Just a couple of people from work," She stepped away from the mirror, looking at the golden shimmer eye makeup and red lipstick. "Want to join?""No, I have work," Her husband shook his head before making his way into the washroom to shower."Of course you do," Nicole found herself muttering under her breath as she sat down to pull on her he