Page 14 of Chaos
I zoned out most of the day. Nothing could compare to what I had planned for tonight. I needed to make a serious move with Serena. To once and for all get her away from those leeches. To minimize the damage that would be done to her if she stayed with them.
I know I am a sadistic bastard that is too focused on my vengeance, but if I could spare her even the smallest amount from that, I would. She is innocent, and I don’t want her to get caught in the middle of this. Though if she chooses to stay, then I know I could use her.
I stare down at the twenty-four-karat gold Rolex watch that adorns my wrist. It was one of my Papa’s watches. He wore it the most out of his collection. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of the good time I shared with him.
Time seems to be at a snail's pace today. Each meeting feels longer and slower than the last. Thankfully, this is the last meeting of the day. Every week, I have a meeting with Michael and a few others higher up in my organization. To keep on top of things and to make sure Richmond is running smoothly.
When I took over control, more than one member of my organization questioned my rule. And even a few distant family members in the same line of business never thought I could succeed. Because of their arrogance and ignorance, I had to prove them wrong. I like to think that I have.
Though we still use the name The Shadow Brotherhood, it doesn’t represent what it once did. My great-grandfather started this as a way to move away from his mafia background, but eventually he returned to it. He kept the name to keep the feds and other law enforcement agencies off his back.
Now, the name doesn’t mean much. Sure, it is still used by some, but we are the Lupo family, and I am the Don.
The meeting tonight is being held at home. This isn’t the usual setting for it, I like to keep my space private. But I couldn’t be bothered with spending another minute in the main office building. After an entire day there, I needed some home comfort, and this meeting couldn’t wait.
We spent the last hour discussing business. As much as I wish I were more interested in this meeting, my mind is somewhere else.
“We have had another problem with the Russians. We found a few of Dimitri’s men skulking around lately, trying to push into our territory.” Gino reports.
Dimitri is the current Pakhan (leader) of the Russian mafia. Normally, I don’t mess with the Russians. They leave me to my business, and I leave them to theirs, but their business shouldn’t be in my city.
He and I have had a few problems over the year, being rival leaders will create that tension, but he is usually generous enough to stay out of my city. He knows Richmond is under my control, and the last thing I ever plan on doing is letting go of that control. This city has been under my family’s reign for far too long.
“Keep some of our men tailing him. I want to know the second he steps into my territory again.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Another three girls disappeared last night.” Michael starts saying.
That instantly gets my attention.Fuck.In the last six months, more than twenty girls have disappeared from my city. They all just vanished without a trace. I have taken every single one personally.
The fact that someone has been ballsy enough to come to my turf and take what doesn’t belong to them, is a personal offense that I plan to give proper justice to. It’s one of my top priorities to figure this out.
“One of the girls was Tony’s daughter.” Michael finishes.
Tony is one of my enforcers, and one of the scariest men I have ever met. No one messes with him or his family, it’s a death sentence if you do. He has been a part of this organization since before I was born. He is like an honorary uncle to me. He helped raise me when I was younger, and he helped me when I first took over. His wife became like a second mom to me after my parents were killed. She took me in like it was nothing and gave me the guidance and wisdom I needed.
I watched his daughter, Sarah, grow up into an intelligent young lady who will go far in life. Sarah has always been at the top of her class and loves to play the piano and violin.
“Fuck,” I growl out. Anger seeps into every bone in my body. It’s one thing when girls disappear that I don’t know, but the thought of poor, sweet Sarah being taken is killing me. “She was only fifteen.”
“Fourteen.” Michael corrects me.
“What happened?” I demand answers right now. I need as much information as possible, so I can track down the bastard that did this and kill him with my bare hands.
“Tony dropped Sarah and her two friends off at the movies. He left to get a couple of errands done before coming back to pick her up. When she didn’t come out almost half an hour after the movie ended, he went in to find her. Only there was no sign of her. He demanded security tapes of the building, and all it showed was her and her friends going into the movie, then the feed cut out across the entire theatre. It didn’t come back until the movie she went to see was over. No one knows what happened.” Michael states.
So, there is no evidence of what happened. Fuck. These guys are good. It’s their usual MO. They have been taking young girls from across the city. The girls ranged from fourteen to twenty-two. They seem to pick at random. None of the girls has any sort of connection that we can see.
I have my suspicions about what is going on, but with no proof, I can’t do anything. Yet. When I have the proof I need, I won’t hesitate to put a bullet between their eyes.
We discuss the disappearances at length. The sun is setting in the distance, and I know I need to end this quickly so I can do what I want to do.
It takes another hour before we finally wrap up, and I wait until everyone leaves before getting up and making my way to the garage. I hop into the closest car, a black Mercedes G-Wagon, and pull out of the driveway. I hit Nico’s name, waiting for him to answer.
“Cugino.” Nico’s bright voice fills the car.
I can’t help but smile when I hear him. Nico and I have always been close, even if we live on opposite sides of the country. We may be cousins, but we have always been as close as brothers.
