2

Ace De Santis

"So you're telling me that someone has all the evidence necessary to send me to jail for the rest of my life?" I clenched my jaw, barely controlling my anger as I glared at the man.

"Not just you, boss. Another Mafia family as well," He replied, sweat forming on his forehead. Knowing he was afraid brought me satisfaction. It called my anger, a little bit. "Their name?"

"Hale, sir."

That was interesting revelation indeed.

"From what I've gathered, there has been a traitor among us and none of you have noticed? I haven't noticed?" I questioned, slamming my fist on the table in front of me. If there was one thing I couldn't tolerate, it was betrayal. I always made sure that traitors were dealt with as they should be. I hated myself for not catching that traitor. If I did find him, he'd wish he never betrayed me. "Now, whoever the traitor is, why don't you show yourself so I can reward you for being the best fucking actor I've ever encountered?"

I eyed each and every one of those men. All of them remained silent. Their silence was starting to piss me off. "Well? Say something before I end all of your pathetic lives."

"It was William, sir. He gathered all the necessary evidence and fled," A man at the back finally spoke up out of fear, for sure.

"Find this William and bring him to me.

Alive." I ordered, earning nods from all of them. "I need to have a meeting with The Hales. We are probably sharing the same enemy." I looked at two of my trusted men. "Jeremy, Paul, you two be ready at 10 sharp. We'll pay a little visit to the Hales."

They both nodded, and everyone left as soon as I said, "You are dismissed."

Once the meeting was over, I headed to my room, took a shower, and then went downstairs to have dinner with my family. As usual, my mother, Christina; my father, Vincenzo; and my brother, Alex, were all gathered around the dining table, waiting for me. They only began eating once I took my seat.

"How was the meeting? I saw a couple of men leaving the house." My mother asked. I was about to reply when Alex scoffed. I glared at him when he said, "More like a hundred."

"Didn't have time to go to the other house. I held the meeting here. It was important," I shrugged.

"What's wrong, son?" my father asked, making me snap my gaze to him. "You look worried."

"I am," I sighed, not bothering to lie to my father. After all, he was the leader before me. "We had a snitch. Apparently, he has incriminating evidence against us. Evidence that could be used to send us to jail for the rest of our lives," I drank a glass of water before continuing, "Not just our family, but the Hales as well."

"That's messed up," Alex was the first one to speak, "What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to pay a visit to the Hales.

Maybe we can work together on this one," I said, looking at my father for any other suggestions. Instead, he smiled at me and said, "That's a good idea. I say go for it."

I returned his smile, nodding. I planned to.