My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 77

Aidan

I strode purposefully toward the line of my Mafia members. Their faces revealed both anticipation and fear, their eyes never leaving me for a moment. Could one of them be working for Giovanni? The thought gnawed at me, but I had to know.

"James," I called out, eyes narrowing on my right-hand man. "Tell me about your recent activities. Anything suspicious going down?"

"Boss, everything’s been smooth," he replied quickly, his gaze steady. "Been handling some business with the warehouses. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Good." My attention shifted to the next member. "Marco, what about you?"

"Same, Aidan. Been keeping an eye on our loan sharking collection," Marco said confidently. "No unusual activity to report."

I nodded, taking note of his assuredness. It was just like Marco to be calm under pressure. But were they all being honest with me?

"Alright," I muttered, scanning their faces for any sign of deceit.

"Vince, what’s been going on during your patrols?" I asked, my voice sharp as a blade. "Why didn’t you see who delivered those packages at my front door?"

"Boss, I swear, I didn’t see anything," Vince stammered, sweat beading on his forehead. His fear was palpable, hanging in the air like a thick fog. "The packages were there before my shift started."

"And Maurice?" My gaze pinned him like a butterfly under glass. He flinched, but held my stare. "You’ve been rather quiet."

"I, uh, I’ve been keeping an eye on the clubs, boss," Maurice said quickly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Everything’s been normal."

"Normal," I repeated, letting the word hang heavily between us. Something wasn’t adding up. Maurice had always been chatty, ready with a report before I even asked for it. But now he was hesitant.

"Maurice," I pressed on, not breaking eye contact. "Did you notice anyone new? Anyone acting suspiciously?"

My gaze narrowed on Maurice, the youngest and most inexperienced of my men. His fingers trembled ever so slightly, and his eyes darted around the garden as if searching for an escape. A cold realization washed over me - could he be the one?

"Are you alright, Maurice?" I asked, my voice low and intense. "You seem...nervous."

"J-just tired, Boss," he stammered, avoiding my piercing gaze. "Been working a lot lately, is all."

"Is that so?" I pressed, not letting him off the hook. The weight of betrayal bore down on me, but I knew I couldn’t let emotions cloud my judgment. I had to be certain before taking any action.

"Yes Boss," he said.

"Maurice," I kept my voice low and intense. "Why are you acting so suspicious? Are you working for Giovanni?"

Maurice’s face paled at the mention of our rival’s name, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to form words. "I...I don’t know what you’re talking about, Aidan."

"Cut the crap," I snapped, my patience wearing thin. "Your nervous energy is practically radiating off you. Give me one good reason not to believe you’ve betrayed us."

"Boss, honestly, I swear..." he stammered, beads of sweat forming on his brow. But his eyes, those panicked, unsteady eyes, gave him away.

My grip tightened around his arm, making it clear that I wouldn’t tolerate any more lies. He flinched under the pressure, but still couldn’t bring himself to speak the truth.

"Look at me," I commanded, my voice cold and unforgiving. Maurice hesitated for a moment before finally meeting my gaze. The fear in his eyes only fueled my anger. "You’re going to tell me everything, or you’ll wish you had."

In that moment, I knew that I would do whatever it took to protect my organization and family. Loyalty meant everything to me, and betrayal would not go unpunished

Maurice’s trembling intensified, and I could feel the heat of his fear as I stared him down. I pressed closer, my voice a venomous whisper. "Tell me, Maurice, when did you last meet with Giovanni?"

He swallowed hard, eyes darting around as though seeking an escape. "I...I never met with him, boss." Maurice’s voice cracked under the weight of my interrogation, but he still tried to maintain his innocence.

"Enough!" I roared, slamming my fist on the table beside us. "You think I’m blind? Do you think I’m stupid? I’ve had enough of your lies!"

"Please, Aidan," Maurice pleaded, tears streaming down his face. "I didn’t want to do it! Giovanni...he threatened my family."

I paused at that, but I couldn’t show any vulnerability to my men. Betrayal was betrayal, no matter the reasons behind it. "So you admit it, then? You’ve been working for him, feeding him information about us? Putting packages on their behalf."

"Y-yes." He sobbed, head hanging low. "But I swear, I only did it to protect my family. I never wanted to betray you or the organization."

"Did you think about our family, Maurice? Did you think about Ivy?" My voice trembled, anger and hurt intertwining in a painful mix. "You put us all in danger because of your cowardice."

"Forgive me, Aidan. Please, I beg you," he cried, his body shaking uncontrollably.

"Save your apologies," I spat, disgusted by the sight of him. "You’ve made your choice, and now you’ll face the consequences."

"Please, Aidan," he begged, tears streaming down his face. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Didn’t you?" I sneered, my voice dripping with contempt. "Did you think I wouldn’t find out?"

"Boss, I swear I tried to keep them off your trail. But Giovanni...he’s relentless. He knew things about my family, things I couldn’t risk getting out."

"Then you should have come to me," I growled, inches from his face. "You should have trusted me to protect your family instead of throwing us all to the wolves."

"Giovanni Promised me that he wasn’t planning on hurting your family. He said he had business with Ms. Ellie. And he just wants to talk to her," Maurice said.

I furrowed my brows. "He wants to ’talk’ to Ellie?"

"That’s what he said," Maurice said.

"He sent Slava’s severed finger to her because he wants to...’talk?’" I asked slowly.

"He said he wouldn’t harm her," Maurice repeated, desperation evident in his voice.

"How can you trust anything that man says?" I spat, shaking my head in disbelief. "You’ve put Ellie in danger all because you were too weak to come to me."

"I’m sorry, Aidan," Maurice sobbed, falling to his knees and grabbing onto my leg.

"Get up," I barked.

Maurice got up quickly, his shoulders still slumped.

"Call him right now," I commanded.

"Call Giovanni?" Maurice stuttered, eyes wide with fear.

I glared at him, impatience seeping through my pores. "Yes, call him now."

Fumbling with trembling hands, Maurice pulled out his phone and dialed Giovanni’s number. As he lifted the phone to his ear, his fearful gaze met mine.

"Speak," I ordered with icy calmness.

"Giovanni," Maurice choked out, "It’s... it’s Maurice." There was a pause as he listened to whatever Giovanni was saying on the other end.

"I-I’ve got Aidan here," Maurice stammered. "He wants to talk to you." With that, he hesitatingly held out the phone towards me.

Snatching the phone from his trembling hand, I put it to my ear. "Giovanni," I said coolly.

"Aidan," came the oily voice from the other end of the line, "I see you caught my little rat."

"Cut the crap, Giovanni," I spat into the phone. "You’ve made a big mistake messing with my people."

"You can’t really blame a man for doing what he must to survive in this business," Giovanni retorted.

"What the fuck do you want from my sister?" I asked.

"Your sister?" he chuckled, a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. "Now it all adds up why Slava’s little bird is under your care."

"Enough games. What do you want?" I gritted out, the veins in my neck throbbing.

A low chuckle echoed from the other end of the phone. "Just a little cooperation, Aidan."

"You’ve got some nerve," I sneered, my grip on the phone tightening.

"Eh, do I?" Giovanni inquired, his voice laced with a false innocence. "I think it’s just a small request. Your sister is holding onto something that belongs to me, capisce?"

"And what’s that, Giovanni?" I asked, my voice a deadly whisper.

"A man doesn’t reveal all his cards at once, Aidan," he replied smugly.

"Is that so? You must be bluffing, Giovanni. I don’t believe you. My sister owes you nothing," I fired back.

"Ah, the arrogance of youth," he taunted. "Why don’t you ask her?"

I clenched my jaw, trying to control my anger. "I don’t negotiate with scum like you, Giovanni."

"Oh, but this is not a negotiation. Slava Morozov stole something from me and gave it to your sister. I guess she was the one he trusted the most. And now I want it back. Semplice e chiaro (Plain and Simple)," Giovanni said.

"But you won’t tell me what it is?" I asked, growing frustrated.

"No. You forget we are not exactly allies, Blackwood. I just need some alone time with your sister. Fifteen minutes tops," he said.

"No way in hell I am letting it happen!" I roared.

"Very well," he replied, his voice still laced with amusement. "You leave me no choice but to take things into my own hands."

The line went dead, and I was left gazing at the phone, my mind racing. That rat was going to pay for messing with my family. Dead or alive, I was determined to make him regret the day he even thought of threatening us.

My gaze drifted to Maurice, who was still fretting about in the corner of the garden. He was up to something and it reeked of disloyalty. Now wasn’t the time for second chances - not when betrayal was afoot.

"Maurice!" I barked out his name, marching towards him as men quickly made way for me. Maurice’s eyes widened as he turned around, sweat beads visible on his forehead.

"Boss," he greeted nervously.

"You’ve sealed your fate, Maurice," I announced coldly as men closed around him, cutting off any possible escape routes. "No one betrays me and gets away with it."

Maurice whimpered as my men grabbed him by his collar and hauled him away from the garden. With that sorted, I had to plan Giovanni’s downfall and protect my sister at all costs. Amidst this chaos, there was only one thing crystal clear - all hell was about to break loose.