Chapter 5

The men reached the dungeon and Miquel paused for a moment, savoring the feeling of power that surged through his veins. 

With a wave of his hand, one of his men unlocked the door, revealing a small, dimly lit room.

In the center of the room, a man was chained to a metal chair, his head bowed and his body trembling. He lifted his head at the sound of the door opening, his eyes wide with terror.

"Boss, please," he begged, his voice shaking. "I can explain." 

"Explain?" Miquel repeated, his voice dripping with contempt. 

"Explain how you betrayed me, Diego? Explain how you thought you could steal from me and get away with it, huh?" He chuckled menacingly.

Diego's eyes darted from Miquel to Gio and back again, his face a mask of fear. "I'm sorry, Boss. I was desperate. I needed the money for my family."

"Your family?" Miquel spat, his eyes flashing with rage.

 "You think that excuses what you did? You think that excuses stealing from your own Boss?" He yelled, his veins popping up his neck.

"Please, Boss, I'll do anything. I'll work off the debt, I'll..." Diego trailed off, his voice hoarse with desperation.

Miquel silenced him with a cold, hard stare. "Anything? You think that's enough, Diego? You think that'll make up for the damage you've done to my reputation? The disrespect you've shown me?"

He gestured to Gio, and the man stepped forward, his gun pointed at Diego's head.

"You know the punishment for betrayal, Diego," Miquel said, his voice dripping cold.

The room fell silent, the only sound heard was the rasp of Diego's breath as he waited for the end.

"Any last words?" Miquel asked, an evil smirk plastered on his handsome cold face.

Diego swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on Gio's gun. "I'm sorry, Boss. I'm sorry for everything. But—Please—" His voice quivering in fear.

Miquel smiled, a cruel, twisted smile that sent a chill down Diego's spine.

"I'm sorry too, Diego," he said, the evil glint in his eyes becoming more apparent. "I'm sorry that I ever trusted you."

With a blink of Miguel's eyes, Gio squeezed the trigger, the gunshot echoing through the dungeon like a thunderclap.

 Diego's head snapped back, blood splattering against the wall behind him.

Miquel watched, his eyes cold and unblinking, as Diego slumped forward in his chains, his life draining away in a pool of crimson.

"Clean this up," he ordered, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. 

"And make sure the rest of the men know what happens to those who betray me." He sneered.

Miquel turned and strode from the dungeon, his men following like a pack of obedient wolves. 

Gio fell into step beside him, his expression grim and hard.

"You know," he said, his voice low and serious, "You're not going to be able to keep this up forever. Sooner or later, someone's going to come for you. And when they do..."

Miquel cut him off with a sharp gesture. "When they do, we'll be ready for them. No one takes what's mine, Gio. No one." Miguel snapped in anger.

"B—" Gio was about to say.

"Hold on!" Miguel cut him off abruptly.

"Whose side are you, Gio? You are acting weird!" Miguel asked, suspiciously glaring into Gio's eyes.

Gio froze, his expression stony and unmoving as he stared back at Miquel. 

For a moment, the two men stood in silence, their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills.

"I'm on your side, Boss," Gio finally said, his voice Stern and controlled. 

"But you can't ignore reality. We both know the game is changing. The other families are growing restless, and we're stretched thin. If we're not careful, we could lose everything."

Miquel let out a low chuckle, his eyes flashing with amusement. "You're as paranoid as an old woman, Gio. Relax. We've been through worse than this. And we always come out on top." He uttered with a smirk.

Gio's expression didn't change, his features still set in a mask of worry. "We have, Boss, but you can't deny that things are different now. The Moretti family is making a power play. And if we don't act soon, we're going to find ourselves cornered."

"You should stop overreacting. I'm done here! It's past 3am already." Miguel snapped.

Miguel's words hung in the air like a challenge, the coldness of his voice a warning to Gio not to push his luck further.

Without another word, Miguel spun on his heel and stalked towards his car, his men trailing behind him like shadows in the night.

 The engine roared to life, the sound echoing off the walls of the building like a thunderclap, and he peeled away, leaving Gio standing alone in the darkness.

Gio watched the car disappear into the distance, his mind racing as he considered his next move.

Miguel arrived at his mansion at past 3am in the morning. With soundless footsteps, he strode to his bedroom.

The room was dark, the curtains drawn against the dawn, but he could see the silhouette of his new wife's body on the bed.

He rolled his eyes and began undressing himself. Once he was left in his pants, he climbed into his side of the bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling.

His little man was suddenly aroused in his pants. "Damn you man!" Miguel hissed in anger.

"If I should touch her again after brutally taking her virginity earlier, she might pass out. You've got to relax.." he murmured while gently tapping on his phallus to hopefully calm it down.

'Do you now have a conscience, Miguel?'his inner voice suddenly rang in his head.

"Damn you!" Miguel scoffed and covered himself with the duvet.

As early as 7am in the morning, just before Joanna would wake up, Miguel was off to his company like he had never returned home the previous night.

Joanna stirred awake and sat up on the bed. She ran her eyes around the room and discovered she was alone.

"Didn't he return last night? Why do I even care?" Joanna scoffed and tried getting off the bed when an excruciating pain slammed her hard.