Roselle’s POV
“What exactly is your role, Mr. Sylvester?” I stared directly at him.
“From everything you’ve explained, it seems everyone in this estate has a specific position. So what is yours? Aside from the obvious role of being the butler, of course.”
I still didn’t fully understand every position within the Belladonna hierarchy, but I understood most of what he had explained.
What I needed to understand now was which roles I could assign to my own commanders and which responsibilities were beyond my authority.
The structure itself wasn’t difficult for me to grasp.
In fact, it was strangely familiar.
Most of the terms Sylvester had used were ones I had once been very familiar with.
At my question, a smile slowly spread across his face, accompanied by a hint of surprise.
“You are understanding this much faster than I expected,” he said.
Before I could respond, he continued.
“I am one of the commanders serving the Don. However, my responsibility isn’t on the battlefield. My duty is to oversee this estate and ensure not only its wellbeing but also its security.” He gestured slightly around us.
“All the guards currently stationed within this estate belong to my team.”
I thought he was finished, but he continued.
“The head maid is also a commander. She is the head of the snipers. All the domestic staff in this estate, with the exception of those who came with you, belong to her team of snipers.”
My mind immediately returned to the first day I had entered this house.
I remembered the feeling I had gotten from everyone I encountered.
The maids, the guards, the servants, there had been something different about all of them, they felt like they weren’ t ordinary workers.
Now, everything was beginning to make sense.
As I processed Sylvester’s explanation, a strange mixture of apprehension and clarity settled over me.
I frowned.
The structure was far too familiar.
No. “Similar” wasn’t the right word.
It was the same.
The Belladonna hierarchy was structured almost exactly like the knight order.
Silas was the crown.
The Commission was the council of ministers.
The Underbosses were the generals.
The commanders were the officers beneath them.
And the soldiers… They were exactly what their name suggested.
Soldiers.
My mind began putting the pieces together one after another.
Perhaps that was why I had been able to understand everything so quickly.
I had spent years learning how to command armies, organize soldiers, delegate responsibilities, and maintain order.
The Belladonnas had simply given those same principles different names.
But then another question surfaced.
“If I am supposed to be an Underboss, and I am still expected to prove that I am worthy of the position, how am I supposed to prove myself if the authority of that position hasn’t actually been given to me?”
I looked at Sylvester.
“You said I would have to prove myself before the Commission. But how am I supposed to do that without being given the authority to actually perform the role?”
“You have already been given a role.” His answer came so simply that confusion immediately took over.
“That wasn’t what I was told by the Boss.” He watched my expression for a moment, clearly seeing the confusion written all over it.
Then he asked, “What exactly did the Don tell you on your first day here?”
I thought about it.
“That I was to treat Jeremy with the same love and care I give Jasmine.”
“No.” He shook his head.
“Before that.”
I paused.
Then something clicked.
I wasn’t entirely certain it was the answer he was looking for, but I said it anyway.
“He handed over all the businesses belonging to the former DeLuca family to me.”
“There you have it.” Sylvester’s expression changed slightly, as though the answer had been obvious all along.
“The DeLuca family controlled both legitimate businesses and businesses belonging to the underworld. Just because those businesses are now considered Belladonna property doesn’t mean the people who have been running them suddenly disappeared.” He paused.
“You were given the authority to take control of those businesses and oversee them.”
I remained silent.
“For the legitimate businesses, taking control shouldn’t be particularly difficult. But what about the gambling operations?” His eyes remained fixed on mine.
“What about the drug trade?” He continued before I could answer.
“Who are those workers answering to right now? You? Or the former DeLuca leadership?”
I opened my mouth but said nothing.
“If I were to make a very safe guess,” he continued, “I would say those operations are still running exactly as they were before. Drugs are still being moved. Gambling operations are still generating money. And I doubt much of that money is making its way to the former DeLuca elders.” He paused.
“Nor is it being kept for you.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you haven’t exercised the authority you were given.” His words struck me harder than I expected.
“Ever since the Don handed those businesses over to you, have you gone to inspect the warehouses?”
I remained silent.
“Have you checked the incoming shipments?” Another pause.
“Have you demanded reports from the people running those operations?”
I couldn’t answer.
The truth was obvious.
I had done none of those things.
Sylvester continued.
“You were given authority, Madam. But authority means nothing if you don’t use it.” His words settled heavily over me.
“If the people running those businesses have no one above them demanding reports, checking shipments, monitoring their earnings, or enforcing your orders, what do you think they will do with the money they’re making?”
I didn’t answer.
“Do you honestly think they will leave it untouched and patiently wait for you to appear and claim it?” He shook his head.
“Of course not.” His voice remained calm, but every word carried weight.
“They will pocket it.” He paused.
“They are taking full advantage of the fact that, despite the change in leadership, there is no one standing above them to answer to.”
Silence filled the room.
I stared at him.
For the first time, I understood what I had actually been doing.
I had been waiting for someone to tell me how to become Madam Belladonna.
Meanwhile, the authority had already been placed in my hands.
I simply hadn’t bothered to use it.
It wasn’t until Sylvester finished speaking that I truly understood what had happened.
When Silas handed me control of the DeLuca businesses, he had never once said that he was giving me authority over only the legitimate ones.
I had simply assumed it.
And that realization unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.
Perhaps years of being looked down upon had made me subconsciously look down on myself too.
Why else would I have assumed that Silas wouldn’t trust me with control over the illegitimate businesses?
Why had I automatically decided that I was only capable of handling the legitimate side of the DeLuca empire?
The answer was uncomfortable.
Somewhere along the way, I had begun to see myself as incompetent.
I clenched my hands slightly.
That was a thought I needed to beat out of my mind before it became a weakness someone else could exploit.
“What do you suggest I start with?” I asked.
If I were following my instincts, I would have charged straight into the DeLuca operations, taken control with my own hands, and proven to everyone including myself that I was capable of wielding the authority I had been given.
More than anything, I wanted to do exactly that.
I wanted to walk into those businesses, find the people who had been taking advantage of my absence, and remind them exactly who they were supposed to answer to.
But I knew better.
That would be reckless.
There was still far too much about the mafia world that I didn’t understand.
Charging in without knowing the structure, the people involved, or the rules governing these operations would not be strength.
It would be foolishness.
Sylvester glanced down at his wristwatch, checking the time before looking back at me.
“First, I suggest you go downstairs and have your afternoon meal.” He gestured toward the door.
“By the time you return to this office, I will have gathered all the necessary documents you need. You can go through them and properly prepare for your next move.” He paused.
“At the same time, I will explain everything else you need to know, one thing at a time.”
I nodded.
“That sounds reasonable.”
We left the office together and began making our way toward the dining hall.
But my mind refused to settle.
It kept replaying everything Sylvester had told me.
Even with all this new information, I knew I still didn’t understand the mafia.
If anything, Sylvester’s explanation had only made me realize how much I didn’t know.
The Belladonna family wasn’t simply large.
It was deeply organized.
Every position had a purpose.
Every person had someone above them.
Every branch connected to another, forming a structure far larger and more complicated than anything I had initially imagined.
And somehow, I was now expected to stand somewhere near the top of it.
We passed Silas’s office.
Just as we were about to continue down the hallway, I heard the office door open behind us.
Then it closed.
I hadn’t even turned around when Sylvester’s voice reached my ears.