CHAPTER 3: THE PLAN

Carmine’s POV

“What’s wrong, grandpa?” I asked the moment I stepped inside his office.

There were papers scattered on grandpa’s desk and even on the floor. The distressed look on their faces already tells me that something isn’t right.

“Sylus Crivello, he keeps on meddling with our business again.”

Sylus Crivello is none other than my family’s and every other businessman’s ultimate enemy and competitor. He is also an infamous mafia boss as what my father and grandpa always say, probably also the reason why no one dares to go against him.

“What did he do this time?” I asked.

“He probably noticed that our company is starting to be more successful again, so he started sabotaging us again. If this continues, our company will probably go into vain,” dad said.

“That can’t happen. We should never let that happen, grandpa. We gave our blood, sweat, and tears for this company. We need to do something. We need to think of a strategy, so he would finally stop messing with us.”

“You are right, Carmine. Actually, we asked Leo to investigate about Sylus Crivello.”

“What? Then what did you gather?”

“Read that,” dad said as he handed me a folder with papers inside.

I read the paper and realized it was all about the mafia boss’ personal life.

“That man is good at keeping his personal life to himself, that’s why we didn’t get that much information. All that we found is the fact that he has a wife,” grandpa started explaining.

I put the folder down and looked at them, “That man has a wife?”

“And they also have a child named Natalia who is already five years old. Sylus loves his child so much that he sends ten bodyguards to guard her at the kindergarten whenever he’s not around.

I nodded my head, “I can’t imagine him being a good father to that child. I mean, he obviously killed a lot of people already. How can he even face his wife and his child without feeling so guilty? Or maybe his wife also knows about what he does aside from sabotaging other successful companies.”

“His wife used to be the one managing his company, so he could focus on being a mafia boss. But then one day, while she was on her way home, the plane that she was riding crashed.”

“W-What? S-So, his wife is already dead?”

“More likely so. But for Sylus, he still believes that his wife is still alive somewhere. He still orders his men to look for every possible place where she could be.”

“I see. So, what are we planning to do now regarding our company?”

Grandpa leaned on his swivel chair then looked directly at me, “You know this company is all we have right now. Your great great grandfather built this empire through his blood, sweat, and tears and so we cannot just let some bastard put all of his efforts into waste.”

“I know that, grandpa. That’s what I also think about, that is why I will do everything to save our company no matter what happens. Wait, don’t tell me you’re planning on killing that mafia boss?” I said while looking skeptically at them.

“It’s far impossible to do that, Carmine. Sylus is a mafia boss and for sure, it would also be impossible for us to go even near him. He would be able to kill us before we even had the chance to attack.”

“Then what are we going to do, grandpa? Can you think of any other solution?”

“We need your help, Carmine.”

I blinked a few times, “W-What? I mean, of course. What can I do? You know I will do everything for the company.”

“Exactly. That is also the reason why you are the only choice I have to be the next director of our company. You are smart, independent, and reliable. You’ve already proven yourself for so many times, Carmine. But this time, this company only have you as its only hope.”

My heart was beating so fast as I listened to my grandfather, “G-Grandpa, I don’t understand what you’re saying. C-Can you explain it?”

“Take a look at those photos, Carmine.”

I looked at the photos scattered on my grandpa’s desk. “W-Why are my photos here? W-Wait, who is this woman I am with and why is my hair short? I don’t remember having short hair. And why am I with that mafia—

“That is not you, Carmine. That is Sylus Crivello’s wife, Charlotte Greene.”

My eyes widened, “W-What?! H-How can she look exactly like me? I-Is that even possible?”

“That was exactly our reaction too upon seeing her photos. She looks exactly like you, that is why we also wanted to investigate whether she is related to us, but it’s still impossible to do that since no one has found her yet.”

“A-And what are we going to do with that information? Don’t tell me—

“You are going to pretend as Sylus Crivello’s missing wife, Charlotte Greene.”

“W-What?! N-No way! There is no way I would agree on pretending as that bastard’s missing wife!”

Dad heaved a sigh as he walked towards me and patted me on my shoulders, “You already said that you will do everything for our company, right? This is now your chance to prove that you deserve to be the next director, Carmine.”

“But dad—

“You won’t have to worry about anything, Carmine. We have planned this for quite a long time and we will make sure he wouldn’t find us out,” grandpa added.

“How sure are you? That man is a beast. For sure he would be able to find out in no time!”

“He would be able to find out if you give him a reason to be skeptical. That is why we are going to prepare for it. We need to know everything about Charlotte Greene first. But first, we just need your consent. We want to ask you if you’re willing to do it for the company.”