Chapter 3

"Are you making the food or not? My boyfriend's people will be moving into this neighborhood any day now. You'd better start kissing up to me while you still can, or you're gonna regret it."

I smiled at her threats. "What a coincidence. Kissing up has never been my strong suit. Since your boyfriend's so powerful, I'm sure you can find someone else to cook for you."

I turned and went back inside.

A second later, my phone started buzzing nonstop.

[You're just some pizza shop worker, and you think you can talk back to me?]

[Just wait. I'm not just going to get you fired. I'm going to have my boyfriend throw you out of this whole neighborhood!]

I stared at the threats lighting up my screen and did not even know what to say.

I was the little sister of one of the most powerful Dons in the country. I oversaw every operation on this street.

Yet my neighbor was threatening to run me out of my own territory.

If word of this got out, my friends would not let me hear the end of it for a year.

One thing in her messages did catch my attention, though.

Her boyfriend was only a Capo. By all rights, he should not have had the nerve to make threats like these, not unless someone higher up was backing him.

That meant the rot I had been tracking inside the family might run deeper than I had thought.

I sent Dante a text message: [I've figured out what's been going on with that street. Tomorrow night at 9:00 pm, I want a meeting with every person in charge of this neighborhood.]

His reply came almost instantly: [If you're the one calling the meeting, of course. Send word. No one skips.]

…

The following evening, I came home at my usual time.

The moment I stepped out of my car, I saw Bianca standing at the entrance of the apartment building with her arms crossed.

Next to her stood a heavyset man wearing a gold watch, his expression smug and superior.

I glanced at the tattoos on his arms and recognized him immediately. He was Enzo Moretti, the Capo in charge of this neighborhood.

Bianca spotted me and jabbed a finger in my direction. "That's her!"

Enzo looked me up and down and said coldly, "So, you're the neighbor who's been giving my girlfriend attitude?

"How long have you been living on this street? I've never seen you before."

I had been deliberately keeping a low profile to investigate the irregularities in this neighborhood.

I never brought bodyguards, never used the family's cars, and rarely even wore jewelry.

Someone at his level would never have had reason to cross paths with me.

The moment Bianca heard Enzo's question, her eyes lit up as though she had just found the proof she needed.

"She's only been here a month! You don't even know her, so she's obviously some nobody with no one backing her up! Get rid of her! Kick her out of this neighborhood!"

Enzo smiled, his eyes full of disdain. "So, you're new around here. Guess it's time someone taught you how things work."

He lifted his chin, his tone dripping with arrogance. "Since you've been cooking for Bianca these past few weeks, I'll let you stay in this neighborhood. But you'll have to agree to a few conditions.

"First, pay a protection fee of 50,000 dollars.

"Second, you cook dinner for Bianca every night. If she has guests, you serve them too.

"Third, you refused to cook for her last night and she had to spend her own money on delivery. That's 1,000 dollars.

"She went hungry because of you and was in a bad mood all night, so that's 30,000 for emotional distress. Then there's the phone she broke because she was so angry. That's another 5,000.

"Your total comes to 86,000 dollars. You wanna transfer it now, or should we walk you to the bank?"