Chapter 17: Her Decision

Chapter 17

Everyone’s eyes grew wide in shock, all eyes fell on Anna who still held the gun firmly.

The butler crumbled to his knees, blood gushing out of his shot arm.

“I figured it’s better to clear the problem from the grassroot rather than focus on the weeds which have spread far. If the butler had supervised the maid’s work properly, this would never have happened. It would teach him to do his job right from henceforth,” Anna spoke sharply.

Her face hardened, her eyes remained fixed on the butler who now whimpered in pain. She bit her own tongue to control the flicker of guilt from passing through her eyes.

She dropped the gun on the table and gave a polite bow to the Don before seeing herself out of the dining hall. As she walked, she could feel the boring eyes on her back, but she didn’t let it deter her as she left the dining hall.

The shock took its time to register on them, then the Don let out a smile of approval before seeing himself out of the room. Domenico left too, leaving Leone, the butler, and the maid who remained on her knees.

“Interesting,” a chuckle flew out of Leone’s lips. “Go get your wound treated, Steward,” he dismissed the butler and the maid, who could only thank her lucky stars for being alive.

……..

Anna paced back and forth in her room. Honestly, she didn’t know where she summoned that courage from to shoot the butler.

Even if the butler had been nothing but a thorn in her flesh, she felt bad. The guilt weighed heavily on her heart, but it was the only way she could think of to make sure no one died.

She figured if she had shot the maid on her arm, certainly they would want her to finish the job of killing her. But the butler, a loyal servant of the mafia clan—he was an asset they wouldn’t want to lose.

Thanks to her quick thinking, she had escaped this, but that didn’t mean she would if she were to attempt such again. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t gone through that door last night, if she had just returned back to her room. And then there was also Leone, who made it his life’s mission to ensure she didn’t get out of this unscathed.

She hoped the butler would recover quickly. At least now, he would be off her neck, right? With this issue barely swept out, she had to start thinking about Domenico all over again.

Leone’s words that night hit her: “I must admit that your fear entertains me. You might have gotten it over with last night if I didn’t interrupt, but where’s the fun in that? He’s on a trip right now, and till he’s back, you’ll have to continue living with that fear of it happening, which I feed on.”

True to his words, she was living the same fear all over again.

………

Leone’s Mansion…

Leone stood at the balcony, smoking weed from his vape pen as usual. His eyes narrowed when he felt someone behind him.

“Nice of you to show up and finally pay a visit, brother,” he said without even looking back.

Domenico narrowed his eyes, he balled his fist tightly. “I’ve been all over the country and Albania for the past two weeks, gathering my weapons which you destroyed,” he seethed.

“That is a strong accusation, Nico. Why would I do that to my dear, loving brother?” He turned back to stare at him, a smirk on his face which irked Domenico even more.

Domenico didn’t need a soothsayer to tell him this maniac was the one behind the fire, behind Diego’s death, and every other mayhem in this empire. He just needed evidence—just one slip-up from him was all he needed to make sure this bastard landed in a cell right next to his precious prisoner.

“You may think you’re smart, but you’re only inching closer to the trap I laid out for you,” Domenico’s brown eyes hardened, the level of distaste toward Leone evident in them.

“Inching?” Leone let out a dark chuckle. “I already jumped right into your trap and made the territory my own. You’re simply a part-timer there,” he winked.

Domenico shook with rage, tongue-tied. He always acted savvy, like he knew it all, like he was above everyone all the time.

“Say what you want, you’ll always be nothing more than the son of a wretched servant,” he smirked before taking his leave.

The smile on Leone’s face had evaporated into thin air, to be replaced by a grim expression. His eyes as cold as metal, his lips set into a thin, firm line.

Rico walked in, and his back straightened on noticing Leone’s foul mood. He had seen Domenico make his way here and had patiently waited outside because he didn’t want to be dragged into the middle of their heated conversation.

One reason why he had lasted in this empire for so long was his ability to avoid trouble. He didn’t like Domenico, but that didn’t mean he would try to get in the way—not when he was powerless compared to Leone.

Of course, he wanted his boss, Leone, as the future Don of the Vicenzo empire, but there was only little he could do on his end other than following his boss’s orders. Sometimes his crazy-ass boss would send him to dig his own grave in the so-called name of an errand—those times, he had to use his brains to save his own life.

He bowed politely before clearing his throat to deliver the news which had brought him here. “The investigator just brought this in, boss. The girl isn’t the biological daughter of the Lorenzos,” he reported, handing the document over to Leone.

Leone took the document from him, his shrewd eyes scanned through it for confirmation, and a dark glint appeared in his eyes.