Somewhere…
“Italy is not a bad country to expand our business into. Their women are pretty. When we kidnap them, we can sell them for millions of dollars.”
Matteo’s eyes darkened, but he tried not to react.
Xavier was discussing the cities they could get women from. Apparently, the authorities in New York had caught a whiff of what they were doing and had warned them. They were no longer going to cover up their crimes anymore, or so Xavier thought.
Matteo had been the one reporting the kidnappings behind their backs, but the authorities barely did anything.
Even then, he would rescue the girls from the places Xavier had kept them before they were shipped to the main location.
“Italy is home to the underworld mafias. Kidnapping their women can cause a war between us,” Matteo responded, wondering if Xavier had any common sense left.
Just like New York, Italy was filled with criminal syndicates. If they dared to take a woman they shouldn’t touch, it could lead to war instantly.
“Then what about Russia or Mexico?”
Matteo looked up at Xavier from the file he was reading, his green eyes fixed on Xavier’s forehead. He was deeply concerned and curious to know if his brother had any sense left.
“Don’t you realize that these three places you’ve mentioned are home to underworld mafias, or are you intentionally trying to make us go to war?”
Xavier slapped Matteo’s shoulder and laughed as though he had just said something funny.
“You’re such a scaredy-cat, brother. But I don’t see anything wrong with taking women from those three places. Our main base is New York, and we have bases in some other countries in Europe. If we really want to be number one, we have to take down the most powerful mafias in these countries.”
“You can go ahead and do that, but don’t involve my soldiers or me.”
Xavier’s lips thinned into a straight line. He didn’t even have access to instruct their soldiers to go to war. Matteo had been able to do that before because their grandfather favored him so much. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
He found it stupid.
He was the older one.
He was the one who was supposed to be sitting in the seat Matteo was currently in. The office should have been his as well.
“As for the kidnappings, don’t do anything for now. We have to lay low. We still don’t know who has been infiltrating our hideouts and rescuing those women. In addition to the warnings from the authorities, I don’t think this is the right time to continue the operation. Let’s lay low for a while.”
Xavier scoffed, stabbing the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
“And what’s the fun in that? Grandpa needs this business to be successful, and that’s what we’re going to do. Fuck the authorities and whatever they have to say. The market isn’t stable right now, so we have to dominate every inch of it as soon as possible.”
Matteo stared at Xavier for a second too long, wondering if this person was actually his brother.
When they were younger, they had always competed for the best of everything.
Initially, Matteo didn’t care about winning or proving himself, but Xavier being older made him feel like he needed to prove a point and show their grandfather his worth, especially since their father didn’t care about such things.
However, no matter what Xavier did, he just couldn’t beat Matteo. It ate away at his ego, but he still wouldn’t let it go. He never could.
All his life, his main objective had been to beat Matteo, but every single time, he lost.
“One thing you need to understand is that I’m not asking for your opinion, Xavier,” Matteo responded, his eyes lazy. “That’s an order. I’m putting a pause on everything until further notice. Do you understand me?”
Xavier clenched his fist under the table, his teeth gnashing together.
“Grandpa hasn’t even made you Don yet, and you think you can order me around?”
“How dare you?!”
“If you want to confirm the halt with Grandpa, you can go ahead. I informed him first before making the decision, and he agreed. Even he knows this isn’t the right time to continue the business.”
Xavier’s lips thinned into a straight line, and his knuckles were already turning white from how tightly he was gripping his fists.
“You’re starting to feel too big for yourself, Matteo. You’re not Don yet.”
“But I’ll be soon, and you can try anything you want to stop me.”
Matteo said this because he knew Xavier couldn’t become Don unless he died. But was Xavier heartless enough to kill his own brother for a single position?
“By the way,” Matteo suddenly said, his tone low and devoid of emotion. “I don’t want to see Fiona come close to Bianca ever again. If she does, I might have to take matters into my own hands to make sure she never does again.”
“She’s the girl’s mother. She has every right to see her daughter.”
“She lost that right, every single bit of it, when she abused her. She pushed her own daughter down the stairs and watched her fall, crying for help, but she just stood there and watched, enjoying the whole thing. If a restraining order isn’t enough to keep your wife away from Bianca, you know what I’m capable of doing, especially when it comes to Bianca.”
Xavier let out a loud scoff.
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes,” Matteo replied immediately. “Keep your wife away from Bianca, or else I’ll cut off her legs so she can’t walk anymore.”
The threat hung in the air for so long that Xavier actually believed him.
But Fiona wouldn’t listen.
They had both started their own family with their son, but Fiona was still obsessed with Bianca and continued causing more trauma for the girl.
Matteo wasn’t someone to be messed with, especially when it came to his daughter.