THE MAFIA’S HEIR

MANUEL’S POV

I blinked furiously as I came back to consciousness. I looked around the dark room and frowned. Where was I? The next minute, I tried to get up and walk, but nothing. Rather, no movement. Why the hell couldn’t I move my body?! I wanted to talk, but realized I couldn’t. Nothing was shutting my lips, I could feel it. So why then, couldn’t I talk? Slowly, the events of earlier flooded my mind, and I found my anger intensifying. What the fuck was this about? Who had taken me, and what did they want?

I continued trying to struggle in the dark room, but to no avail. I literally couldn’t even move my muscles, I felt like a vegetable. Fuck! I was in deep shit, because that was when I realized what was going on with my body. I may have been shot a high dose of sedative, now I couldn’t feel my body. The moment I realized what situation I found myself, I quit struggling and waited for whomever had taken me, to show up. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, waiting for the bastard to wake me whenever they were ready to converse.

I may have slept in for a few more hours, after which I heard the creaking sound of a door being opened, and heavy footsteps following after that. The footsteps kept getting closer and closer, until I could literally feel someone above my lying figure.

“What do you want?” I finally found it possible to speak, though my words sound quite slurred. I half expected the person to answer me, but all he did was grab my weak figure from where I laid on the cold floor, before lifting me and dropping me on what felt like a chair. A metal chair. With the way the person inhaled and exhaled, I was so sure that my heavy weight must have put a toll on him. “I said, what do you want?” I asked once more, still got no response from him. Just then, the door creaked open again, and white blinding lights came on, making me squint my eyes sharply. What the hell?!

The next second, a few men walked into the room. One of the men caught my attention, and I released a sigh when I realized it was indeed him. Jacobo? What stupid game did he think he was playing? I should have known all along, that this was the work of X. So I spared Jacobo’s life, only for him to turn back and hunt mine?! Did he think that Russo wasn’t going to catch onto his lame plans and finish him?

“Wipe that cocky look from your face.” He bit out, making me automatically throw him a glare. What I had truly not expected, was for him to land a hot slap on my face with the back of his palm. I recognized the metallic taste of blood on my tongue, and gnashed my teeth in anger. How dare he? “If you think you can fight, then get up and do so!” He yelled into my face, looking into my eyes. That action of his, only made me start to laughing. Oh God, so hilarious. Jacobo’s family was far from being as industrious and powerful as that of the Russos and many other founding mafia families in Italy. To us, he was like a little boy who came to play. A servant basically. It was no suprise how much seeing me incapacitated and unable to put him in his place, made him feel. Powerful? Victorious?

Well, the victory was for only but a short time. I didn’t know the current situation of things outside here, but I trusted my family to already be fighting tooth and nail, looking for a way to get me out of here. My family. How was Bianca doing? I hope she wasn’t worrying so much about me? She probably was, and it only intensified my need to get out of here!

“Enough of your hanky panky Jacobo.” I heard a familiar cold voice, and I looked up to see who it was. I guess they expected me to jump in shock, but I didn’t. Because I actually wasn’t. Francisco. I had found out he was X, just before his men ran into my car. Well, I guess my shock was actually piling and waiting for me, because the things I was about to hear, were quite infuriating. “I see you are slowly getting out of the mild vegetative state that I put you in. How about you go in again?” He asked, and I threw him glare. “Okay, fine!” He chuckled like a kid. “I wouldn’t do that now, because I need you to be very conscious for the torment that is about to come. I see you are not suprised to see that it’s been me all along, huh? Francesca must have told you already.” He shrugged.

“So she knows about this?” I muttered, actually feeling sad. I know we were both no longer together, but I had trusted her with my life to a certain extent. Everyday, there was a new reason why a mafia was supposed to be less emotionally attached.

“Oh boyyyyy…” He laughed out loudly. “Don’t tell me that you feel sad now? Don’t worry, she didn’t really know as much as she was supposed to. And the little she did, I used against her for the longest time.”

“Then why did she save me five years ago?” I felt my anger rising to the surface, and the effect of the drug in my system, slowly fading out.

“Oh dear, you were just lucky!” Francisco sighed, before signaling one of the guards to bring him a seat. The seat was positioned before me, and he made himself comfortable.

“Why are you doing this? What do you stand to gain?” I asked, truly confused.

“Oh, I see…” He grinned. “So ready to hear it all, huh? I’m not suprised though. You have always been the hyperactive and stubborn one. What else was a better way for me to get my revenge, if not through you?”

“Revenge for what?” I called out weakly. “We were not responsible for the death of your wife.” I wanted to yell at him, but my body wasn’t strong enough.

“Let me be the judge of that!” He snapped, and after a while, he regained his composure. “So, let’s go down the memory lane.” He grinned. “You see, I particularly have a thing for cars as well. Just like you used to do, 12 years ago.”

“And how is that any business of mine?” I asked, hoping to rile him up. But he seemed to have seen through me.

“Of course, it has a lot to do with you, my boy.” He slapped my back, very not affectionately.

“I’m not your boy.” I gritted out.

“But you are.” He shrugged, smiling widely in contrast to the scowl on my face. “Not only are you are boy when compared to me, you become MY boy when you proved useful to my plans.”

“And what stupud plan of yours is that?”

“You remember the very accident that landed you in a prison for the first time?” He asked, and immediately I held my breathe. The memories of many years ago flooded through my mind. “The poor girl you had rammed your car into, while in a hyperactive mode during your illegal car race?” He asked, and I remained quiet. “Well, to be very honest, I was hoping more blood would be on your hands, but it only ended up being a teenage girl who didn’t even die.” He sighed, looking bored and I couldn’t help but be shocked at how psychotic this man was. So it had been him?! He didn’t need to say more, because I already understood his role in this story. He had tampered with the car I rode in that night, hoping I would cause an accident. That was an innocent girl! We were mafians, but we respected innocent lives!

“Oh, God.” He laughed maniacally. “You endangered someone’s life nonetheless, and you can’t imagine the joy I felt when things went exactly as planned! Emilio had always been predictable. I definitely knew he wouldn’t let you off the hook, and I knew that your delinquent ass was gonna feel wronged. Instead of fixing your mistakes, you would go on to create more! And then, when you create more, who better to pull you out of it, if not your mom or your grandmom?” He grinned, doing a little dance in excitement. I remained quiet because I felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice over me. “I had always planned for it to be one of the Russo wives. You know, a wife for a wife.” He smiled. “It’s just so sad your Nonna was the unfortunate lamb to be sacrificed. Oh, poor woman. She fought so hard, but the impact of that hit the driver had on her, was soooo fatal. She died eventually, leaving you crying like a lost puppy and eventually losing your family for how long? Six years?” My head was aching me now. I felt tears sting my eyes at his words. My Nonna didn’t deserve all that. “Oh, big man, don’t cry now.”

“But she never did anything wrong!!” I yelled out with all the strength I could muster.

“Oh, but she did!” He raised his hand in disagreement. “She have birth to your uncle; Dante. Do you understand now?” He smiled, making the tear finally drop from my eyes. “And then!” He continued. “You returned six years later, after your exile.” He giggled. “And I thought to myself, why not instill a little more pain in Emilio’s heart? Hmm? At least, for being a father to Dante.” He shrugged. “I would have just killed him, but how then would he feel the pain? So I thought to myself in my state of boredom. How else do I cause Emilio pain, if not to take away his favourite grandchild that had finally returned home after so many years? Hmmm?” He asked. “Well, I thought it would hurt him more because you died before he was able to make amends with you. My plan was going on well, and I ordered that epic hit on you!!” He yelled in victory, before robotically slumping his shoulders and wearing a childish frown. “But then, your body disappeared, and it left me feeling confused for weeks. At least, that was until you came back from the dead, and I realized my stupid daughter had saved your sorry ass. Stupid, foolish, shameless, good for nothing Francesca. A slut, just like her mother. She was already opening her legs to you in a matter of weeks, huh? Opening her legs to a Russo man, just like her slut of a mother did!” I didn’t see it coming when he landed a slap on my face, his breathing intensifying as he battled with his anger.

“Well, I knew she knew something. She must have seen Bernardo at the accident scene or something. She definitely knew something, and that was why she didn’t take you to a hospital where your safety could be further jeopardized by me. That was why she had taken you to that veterinary. Well, I would agree with her on one thing. That you are an animal.” He laughed out so loudly that his men visibly grimaced. “So, I gave her two options. Tell your new boyfriend the truth and risk losing him. Also risk me probably dying at the hand of the Russos. You definitely know the other option. But then, the stupid stupid stupid girl.” He shook his head in disappointment and in that moment, I felt sad for Francesca. Was this all she had been putting up with? “She didn’t want to lose her papa, so she remained quiet and continued to date you in soooo much guilt that made me soooo happy. I told her I would kill you the day she tried to marry you. You all didn’t deserve the happiness of love, when you stole mine away from me!!!” He yelled out in anger again. Maria Rossi was a touchy subject for him, I noticed. He was clearly obsessed with the dead lady. “Little did I know I was doing you a favour, because you didn’t even love her?!” He feigned sadness and wiped an invisible tear from under his eyes.

“Is that why you tried to kill my wife?”

“Well, yes.” He rolled his eyes. “No Russo man deserves love, especially after tarnishing the image of the Ferraris, by dumping that daughter of mine.” He shrugged. “You didn’t deserve to be with that lady that clearly loved you too!” He put his palm on his forehead, acting like the fact Bianca loved me, gave him a headache.

“I may not have loved your daughter, but I cared about her.” I muttered.

“Hmmm…” He nodded in understanding. “But I don’t really care who loves her or not. Why do you think I decided to still put her through a little bit of suffering? You know that child in her belly is not yours, right?” He asked, and I looked at him in shock. Fuck! This was all messed up, but it was really suprising. Deep within, I couldn’t believe Francesca was pregnant for me.

“Then why did she have to lie?!”

“Because that was what I wanted! For her to lie that the baby was yours, and then make you marry her at all means. There by, causing you unhappiness and a rift in your love life. And causing her sooooo much unhappiness as well. There’s nothing like being with a man who doesn’t love you. Especially when you no longer love him too.” He grinned. “But to be fair, she never wanted to do it. Had to give her a slap or two, to make her align with the way things had to work. The slaps? Nothing she wasn’t used to. She has received worse tortures from me.” He shrugged. What the fuck?! “Actually, she had played right into my hands. She has no idea that I know the baby is yours. She outrightly lied about the paternity of the child, when I threatened to kill Massimo.”

“What has Massimo got to do with anything?” I asked in confusion.

“Everything!” He grinned, folding his arms in happiness. “He is the father of her child, and her new love interest. You see, the girl has done a lot of crazy things for love. Something I was never bent on letting her have. Do you even know why I finally agreed to let you both get married? The stupid girl tried to kill herself.” He laughed out loudly. “In a way, I knew it wasn’t entirely because of you that she tried to commit suicide. It was her only way to get out of my grasp. She wanted to run away from meee!!! She wanted to die and leave meeee!!” He laughed in disbelief. “But then, I had to do my fatherly duties, and not let her die.” He sighed, making me so…. I didn’t even know how I felt at that moment. Shocked, disgusted, disappointed, sorry for Francesca.

“But she is your daughter!” I yelled in disbelief.

“Exactly why I had to do her the little favour. But that was until you messed it up by cheating on her and making a fool out of me.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Arrrgghh! Why are we going back and forth? The story is supposed to move forward!” He clapped in excitement. “So where were we?” He asked, and I found myself responding.

“You tried to kill Massimo.”

“Awwwwnnn… yes, I did. I actually killed him, you know? Bernardo killed him last night.” What??? What the fuck?!

“Why?!!” I felt pained knowing that I wasn’t able to tell him how sorry I was for everything I did. Now I understood it all. His reaction that day wasn’t because of my wife, but Francesca. She tried to take his child away from him. “But your daughter needs him now, more than ever.”

“And do I look like I care?” He asked. “She can’t bring me shame by settling for a common bodyguard. So I had to do the needful, knowing the extent to which she would go for love.”

“You would pay for this. Massimo did not deserve to die.” I muttered.

“I know, but he was just…. a collateral damage.” He shrugged.

“My men, are not collateral damage. They are my family. Massimo was my family, and you would pay. For everything. For my Nonna. For what you did to my wife, for all you did to your poor daughter. For what you did to Massimo, and for what you did to Bella. For all your crimes against the Russo family.”

“Oh please!” He waved off my words. “You talk so boldly for a man who is about to die and be dumped in the sea!” He chuckled, hoping to elicit fear in me, but it didn’t even faze me one bit. “And about Bella, I didn’t want her dead. Tawan did. The fool almost jeopardized my plans by wanting so badly to inflict revenge on the pregnant hottie. I almost got caught because of his lack of patience. Now, he is dead.” He sighed. “What was the point of supporting him and letting him gain access into Italy again? He just got wasted over an American slut. Maybe it was worth it.” He shrugged. “I heard their pussies taste better.” He laughed. What was funny about that? Oh, I almost forgot for a moment that the man was a psychopath. “Back to my interesting moonlight tale. So I captured you to kill you, through the same car method again! The same car method that killed Mariiiaaa!” He sang her name in excitement.

“But my uncle didn’t even kill Maria?”

“Ohhh? You sure sound like you are asking!” He chuckled. “You’re not sure.” He muttered. “So what? You’re finally letting me be the judge of that?” He asked, and for a moment I contemplated it. What if it was true? What if Uncle Dante killed her? “If you are, then let me tell you another story.” He smiled. “Once upon a time, Francisco Ferrari loved a woman named Maria Rossi, who also had an interest in Dante Russo. Just after she started dating Dante, she realizes she had fallen pregnant for Francisco, before she started dating him. Of course, Francisco convinced her to marry him for the sake of their child. She marries Francisco, but it is clear that she never stopped loving Dante. Same as the Russo fool!” He gritted out.

“Dante goes ahead to marry Annalise whatever, and they remained in alleged harmony for years, giving Francisco a little peace of mind. Maybe as Dante had moved on, Maria eventually will.” He sighed. “But what happens when both couples attend a public function and end up having a huge fight? Dante goes ahead to defend his wife, and warns Maria to stay away from his family.” He chuckled happily. “Hmmm… it seemed Dante had really moved on after all. Or was that what they wanted to have us believe?” He asked me. How was I supposed to know?! “Francisco was happy deep inside because now, his wife wouldn’t have a choice but to learn to love him. That was what he thought until his wife started acting funny. Some days, she’d go out without having a tangible explanation of where she had been. Sometimes she’d let her kid remain home alone the entire day, while she went out doing what?”

“Seeing Dante.” I muttered, finally understanding the story.

“Hmmmm… really smart, aren’t you?” He patted my cheeks. “You can imagine poor Francisco’s reaction when he eventually found out! The man was heartbroken and slowly dying in silence. All along, his wife had actually been sleeping with Dante, and after making it seem like they had become enemies after their huge public fight. Nobody’s mind would ever think that the two were at it.” He sighed. “So Francisco did what he thought was best.” He batted his lashes like a child. “He paid a Russo worker to kill his wife, so it would implicate his wife’s lover!” He chuckled, and my eyes widened in disbelief. Jeeeezzz! What the hell?! I could understand that the man did a whole lot of dreadful things. To others. That was his wife, for crying out loud!! “But the Russo worker didn’t carry out his job properly.” He sighed. “He died in the process of killing Maria. So who was going to point an accusing finger at Dante, if not him? All Francisco could do was blame Dante for the death of his wife, but he had no concrete evidence. And he had to avoid a thorough investigation, because it would only be traced back to him.”

“So all these while, you killed your own wife?”

“Oh, I did. I forgot to let you all know. My bad.” Was this psychotic idiot blushing at the moment?!

“Then why did you continue to do all you did? Why did you kill innocent people?!”

“Because they were related to Dante Russo and Maria Rossi.” He grinned. “Don’t think your uncle would go scot free from this.” He shook his head in disagreement. “The man has to die as well. I just wanted his to be the last. You know the saying. ‘The best for last’?”

“You are crazy.”

“Of course, you can feel free to say so before you die, because after you’re dead, you can’t anymore. And you would die pretty much at the same time with your uncle and his family.” He winked, making me squint my eyes in confusion. What did he mean by ‘his family’? “There is a time bomb currently planted in their own side of the Russo estate. It goes off in about…. 15 minutes give or take. And that’s the same time you would die.” He chuckled. I remained silent, feeling so shocked. I couldn’t believe what would befall Russo within the next couple of minutes. No no no!! Uncle Dante’s and his family couldn’t all die like that! That was insane.

“Please, his family have done nothing wrong. Let them go.” I muttered my plea, and he only laughed.

“I don’t react lightly to appeals. It only makes me want to do worse.” He winked at me, stood up and walked away, Jacobo smacking my head before following him behind. The next minute, two of his men held me down as I could barely struggle, before piercing my skin with an injection needle. Before I knew what was happening, I fell limply to the floor, hitting my head so hard on the chair that Francisco had been sitting on, and blanking out instantly.