Prologue

The car drove smoothly over the paved road as two men sat in the front with Arcangelo and his son in the back. The Mafia boss opted to wear a dark blue suit with a black undershirt as he typed on his phone, acting so at ease and relaxed as if though he weren't meeting with his enemies and fellow allies for an annual Mafia meeting.

It was a tradition, that once the Mafia Boss's son turns 13, he attends his first annual meeting. It didn't matter if he attended the ones after that, but he had to attend the one following his 13th birthday to be introduced to the world of crime and corruption.

Ironic, how men with morals and priorities did things that were immoral.

As far as Salvatore knew, his late Uncle Onofrio and his father had attended their first meeting together. The current Boss had been ten at that time and scared witless because these were men with guns. It was scary, knowing that if you step out of line, instead of getting a beating or an admonishing, you'd get shot dead.

That was the fact that had Salvatore on edge all day.

The fact that if he steps out of line, he'll die.

However, according to his dad, they can't do that without declaring war on the Regnante Mafia. Which, so far, is the strongest and most influential Mafia to exist. But even that didn't reduce the younger Regnante's nervous fidgeted as the chauffeur in the front informed them that they were nearing their destination. 

"You have nothing to worry about." Arcangelo put away his phone into his jacket's inside pocket. "Hulk, Major, and a few other guys will be there. Vincent and I will be with you throughout the meeting, and more men will be stationed around the room. But, none of the men will be armed."

"What?" He couldn't help but shriek at the idea of sitting in the midst of dangerous Mafia bosses without being armed with a single weapon.

"None of the bosses will be armed. Everyone has to leave their weapons with a safe keeper before they settle down for the meeting." Salvatore breathed out a breath of relief knowing that. "That way, if any one of the bosses loses his temper, he can't reach for his gun."

"Since when has this rule been in play?" He couldn't help but ask as he watched the car approach an abandoned warehouse that had various cars parked outside with men standing around the premises.

"Since I took over," Arcangelo informed as he got out of the car, fixing his jacket and buttoning it up.

Shaking his inhaler, Salvatore took one quick hit before getting out, following after his father with Major's instructions ringing in his head. "Back straight, shoulders squared, chin up and don't let them know what you're thinking. Blank face. Watch your dad, and learn, kid. Learn. He is the best Mafia Boss of his time. You might wanna learn a few things from him."

Matching his father's posture, they approached Vincent standing outside the door. Greeting each other with their handshake, they exchanged a few words before he informed the boss that everyone was inside and that this 'Rico' character brought his son along with him since he turned 13 a few months ago. Arcangelo nodded and took a swig of the drink handed to him. 

"You'll be needing that." The second-in-command spoke as his superior chuckled darkly.

"I'll be needing something stronger in order to deal patiently with this group of people." He retorted and Vincent laughed at his comment. Taking one last swig, the second-in-command ruffled Salvatore's hair in good nature, chuckling when the younger boy grumbled about how long it took to settle them.

Exhaling deeply, Salvatore swallowed the nervousness growing before he entered the warehouse, his ears were greeted with numerous voices chatting all at once. He watched his father walking over to a table that stood in the middle, going through with the same procedure as Vincent and he forewent. One of the men grabbed the younger Regnante too roughly for his liking.

"Hey! Don't manhandle me." He couldn't help but snap at the guard, immediately noticing how everything fell silent. Looking up, his face paled as everyone's gaze was on him. Well, there goes his plan for laying low.

"You heard him," Arcangelo spoke authoritatively, a tone of voice his son never heard before. "He doesn't need you manhandling him. He isn't armed."

The man gave a curt nod and apologized before backing away. The second-in-command sent a smirk towards the boy as his father gave an acknowledged nod, his face completely blank of any sort of indication about how he felt. Making their way ahead, every man at the table stood up and Salvatore noticed one guy, who looked about his age, still seated and glaring at his phone screen, tapping away at a game. The man next to him, hit him on the top of his head as he snapped his gaze up to glare at the man.

"What?" He hissed.

The man gave him an unamused look before cocking his head in their direction. The kid looked up and jumped out of his seat, sending it toppling backward as the sound reverberated around the room, causing a few people to wince at the loud noise, Salvatore included.

"Pleasure seeing that you're mentally present with us today, Paolo," Arcangelo spoke with a hint of amusement as the boy, Paolo, blushed a dark red.

"Forgive me." He muttered under his breath and looked down in embarrassment.

"That is quite alright," He stated dismissively. Giving everyone present an acknowledged nod and they greeted him with bowed heads as 'boss' rung through the warehouse.

Taking the seat at the head of the table, both the second-in-command and the future heir took the seats on either side of him. Everyone followed the example and settled down as Paolo's chair was fixed for him.

"I believe we should start the meeting by introducing the two new youngsters among us today." The mafia boss spoke up as Salvatore's heart jumped to his throat. "Salvatore, why don't you begin?"

He wanted to ask if he was referring to him, but the hard glint in his eyes told the boy not to embarrass himself in front of these people. Getting up, he cleared his throat before locking eyes with Major, who gave Salvatore an encouraging nod, before gesturing for him to take a deep breath. Doing as suggested, the heir addressed the group of men in front of him with a bit more confidence than he actually felt.

"Good evening everyone." He spoke clearly. Confidently. "I am Salvatore Emilio Regnante, son to Arcangelo Regnante and future heir to the Regnante Mafia."

Glancing at his father, he received a nod telling him to settle down as a proud smile peeked through his mask of indifference.

"Paolo, if you may." He spoke up once more as the kid stood up from his place. Nodding to everyone in greeting before speaking.

"Hello. I am Paolo Costa, son to Ricardo Costa and heir to the Costa Mafia Family." He began shakily, but his words gained confidence. Arcangelo gave him an appreciative nod as Paolo settled down, bunching his hands in his lap. From where Salvatore sat, he had a clear view of him and could see how nervous he felt.

And like that, everyone settled down into a momentary silence before one of the men stood up, introducing himself to the two boys before addressing a matter that had everyone concerned. Security. More and more threats were coming in from America, but not from Russia since they worked with the Italians now, i.e. the Regnante's.

The meeting continued on for a while regarding that topic as Salvatore intently watched his father, seeing him handle every sort of question or accusation that came his way. Uncle Vincent looked bored out of his mind before he took out his phone, smiling down at the screen while Paolo had a similar expression of awe at how professional and well-rehearsed everything seemed to be. One of the men had lost their temper but was instantly reined in by the boss, that feat in itself looked incredible and how easily he pulled it off had the younger Regnante's mind reeling.

"Do I need to have someone escort you out?" He asked calmly to the man that was seething in his place, glaring down at the table. "Because if that is the case, I can have it arranged with no issue at all. Hulk, if you'd be so kind enough and escort him out."

"That won't be necessary, sir." The man paled at the sight of the blurry man stepping forward.

"It's quite alright, Hulk." He halted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You can go back to your station."

Salvatore watched in awe at how everything was handled. Once the discussion finished, everyone sat silently for a moment before the Boss himself spoke up.

"There is a more pressing matter at hand there, though." He stated in a lazy drawl, as if though he were bored with this group of men. "The Americans are never an issue, you men should realize that by now. They have nothing on us. It's all an empty threat. Believe me, I know." The sadistic smile that he had at the end of the sentence caused the temperature in the room to drop by a few degrees, and a handful of men squirmed in their seats at the feral look on his face. Paolo and Salvatore included.

The younger boy noticed Vincent have a satisfied smirk as if though he were enjoying this indirect torment on the people, confusion causing his eyebrows to furrow.

"The more pressing matter at hand, although..." Arcangelo trailed, looking at the people seated around him and not making any effort to speak. The younger boy looked up at Major with fear evident in his eyes. This man wasn't his dad, he was the most feared and ruthless Mafia Boss in existence. Major gave him a reassuring smile, although it ended up in a sort of grimace, which did nothing to assure him, the look in his eyes told Salvatore that no harm would come his way.

"There is a snitch amongst us." He continued in a drawl. 

Just as those words left his mouth, all hell broke loose around the table. The men chattered and yelled all at once, some denying and some panicking at who this snitch could be. Everything was so loud and chaotic that one couldn't hear themselves think. Salvatore looked up at Major, who had a grin on his lips as he watched all the men panic, then to Vincent, who was thoroughly enjoying this chaos with a feral grin, and then his father. The cold look in his blue eyes had them turn from a crystal blue to more of a slate grey, the sardonic smile on his face had chills down his back and he couldn't believe that this is the first time that he was seeing any one of the men play out their roles in the Mafia.

Arcangelo drummed his fingers on the table's surface once, twice, three times as everyone fell silent, either standing in their places or remaining seated. None of the men looking up from their gaze down at the floor, looking like children that got in trouble with their parents.

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, and Salvatore couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from the table's surface, trying to calm his breathing and not get an asthma attack in the middle of the meeting with the fear and panic rising like bile in his throat. Peeking from under his eyelashes, he noticed Ricardo leaning back in his chair, looking quite smug about the whole ordeal, while Paolo was shaking in fear beside him.

"Now, now." He spoke disapprovingly, almost as if though he were dealing with his children when they did some mischief. "Is this how you react to such serious news? Start yelling, and screaming, and fighting with each other?"

"Anyone in this room can be the snitch, and no one is leaving unless he steps out himself." The Mafia Boss spoke and snapped his finger once and the Regnante household guards brought out various forms of guns and knocked out all the other men by slamming the butt of the gun against the back of their heads, sending all of them to the floor in an unconscious heap. Every possible exit blocked by armed men. 

No one was coming in or getting out until this was finished.

"You both are more than welcome to leave, Paolo and Salvatore." At the sound of his name, his gaze snapped up, looking at his father who regarded him with a poker face, but his eyes said that he believed his son didn't have it in him to sit here throughout the meeting, no matter what the end.

"I'll like to stay, boss," Paolo spoke up with a slight tremor in his voice.

"What about you, Salvatore?" The boy acutely aware of their eyes on him "This is your only chance to back out. Take it, or leave it."

"I can handle it." He spoke with the determination he didn't feel. He wanted to leave and he wanted to leave now. But he knew he couldn't act like a coward, no. He was the Regnante Mafia heir and it was time he started acting like it too. "I can handle it...Boss."

"As you wish," Arcangelo spoke with a raised eyebrow. "But don't say I didn't warn both of you."

They both gave nods of consent and silently agreed that no matter what happens here, they signed up for it. Despite being warned and given a chance to leave, they chose to stay and put themselves through this initiation phase.

"Alright." He nodded and stood from his seat, a majority of the men at the table tensing as they watched him stand up from the corner of their eyes. The allies and men smirked widely as they noticed him get up.

What was going on?

Boss opened the buttons of his jacket before removing it from his shoulder, tossing it to Major in front of him who caught it with ease, grinning widely. Rolling back the sleeves of his shirt, he looked down at the men seated in front of him. 

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Which is it?"

No one spoke, as Vincent's chuckle reverberated through the silent warehouse. "When have they ever chosen the easy way, Boss?" He chuckled as a smile twitched across his face.

"You're right." Arcangelo nodded and planted both hands onto the table. "Hard way it is."

Instantly, everyone squirmed in their seats and both Paolo and Salvatore met gazes in confusion, neither one of them understanding what was going on. But not knowing what was going to happen next, could prove to be fatal in the Mafia, especially during a meeting like this one. In the blink of an eye, the Mafia Boss and his second-in-command brought out their guns from behind them, placing them down on the table of the surface as one man let out a silent whimper.

Salvatore looked at the weapons in shock, having thought everyone was going to be unarmed. Then again, this the Mafia, lying through your teeth is a talent.

He watched both of them open the gun chamber, ensuring that it was full. Before sliding it shut and loading it. He wanted to ask what was going to happen, but before he could open his mouth, his gaze drifted to Ricardo shook his head and put a finger against his lips to tell the boy to keep quiet.

"Alright." Arcangelo grinned and held up the gun. "Let's begin, shall we?"

He was the one who started to walk around the table while Vincent stood watching everyone. Arcangelo grabbed the man beside Salvatore by the back of his head, jerking him back as he pressed the barrel of the gun under his chin. The suddenness of the attack had the boy jump in his seat as Vincent looked directly at him, silently telling him 'no sudden movements'.

Salvatore couldn't stop himself from shaking, knowing he was supposed to be strong! He had to get his act together. He was a Mafia heir and would be needing to do this when his time comes. Tentatively, he watched as he whispered something into the man's ear, the man in his grasp shaking with fear and panic, perspiration rolling off him as he spoke back.

"Are you sure?" Boss's voice spoke clearly to the man, pressing the barrel of his gun deeper into his skin.

"Yes, boss." He whimpered.

Pushing his head away with a sudden jerk as he repeated the procedure with all the other men. However, his entire approach changed as he grabbed the man two seats away from Paolo, who was watching with fear shining in his eyes.

"Are you ready to confess your sins?" The Mafia Boss asked the man as he pushed his head down onto the table with a slam that had both the boys jump in their seats.

"I didn't do anything, boss." The man whimpered.

"Lies." Arcangelo chided. "Such fucking lies."

"I swear, boss!" The man screamed desperately. "It's not me! I'm not the snitch!"

He remained silent and pressed the barrel of his gun deeper into his skin, causing the man to wince. Suddenly he let out an exasperated breath, his entire being going from desperate to board in the blink of an eye.

"Fuck you, Arcangelo." The man growled beneath the hold. "Fuck you."

"Sweetest thing anyone has said to me, Alonzo," The Mafia Boss spoke sarcastically. "Who are you giving all the information to?"

"It doesn't matter." The man chuckled darkly. "They'll take everything away from you."

He remained silent as Salvatore noticed his body tense. "They'll come when least expected. They'll take your family."

"They'll take your slut of a daughter." He spoke as Arcangelo gritted his teeth, the man beneath him chuckling. "Fuck her up good."

"Vincent!" He bellowed to the man beside him, grabbing Alonzo with Major on the other side. Both of them lifted him off his chair, forcing him to stand as Arcangelo was shaking with rage. Another man handing him a steel rod who brought it down on the man before him, the sound of metal against skin echoed through the room as the man cried out in pain.

"Next will be your faggot of a son." He choked out a chuckle as Salvatore watched in utter shock at the man. What the hell was going on? His head was reeling. Serafina, me, what?

"Then..." The man choked as was hit once more. "Then your whore of a wife." He chuckled.

At the words, Arcangelo grabbed his gun, pressing it to his forehead.

"Oh...hit a nerve did I?" Alonzo cackled, blood oozing from his mouth. "The special little Rosa of yours. Damn, that is one fine ass." He smirked while licking his bloodstained lips in anticipation. Disgust oozing through Salvatore's body at the man.

"Shut up," Arcangelo growled with barely contained rage. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Oh! She must be one tight bitch." He laughed menacingly and Salvatore couldn't help but clap his hands over his ears, he couldn't hear this, he can't hear this. "You won't be able to do shit Regnante! She'll be mine! I had them promise to hand her over to me once they've had their fun with her. Oh, how much I'll enjoy making her cry and scream. Beg for you to help her."

The Mafia Boss looked like he was about to explode as the man looked like he had just won the noble prize. But then the gun was lowered from his forehead as a chuckle tore through Arcangelo's lips. The man looked at him in confusion, utter bewilderment in his eyes as to what he could find funny at the moment. Running a hand through his hair, he grinned sardonically at the man. Alonzo looked at him in panic, as Salvatore instantly knew that his father laughing in this situation wasn't a good sign for the captive.

"So predictable." He grinned at the man as he lowered his gun, taking out the bullet chamber, removing all the bullets from their slot before picking up three bullets and loading them back into the slot.

"Regnante! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!" Alonzo bellowed as he tried to break away from Major and Uncle Vincent.

"Something which you never can." The Mafia Boss grinned as he snapped his fingers. The doors opened as three men came in, guiding three other figures that had a black bag over their head and their hands tied behind their backs.

Two of them were girls, Salvatore could figure by the dress one of them wore and the famine top of the other, the third was a boy. Seemingly young by his size. The three people were made to stand in front of Alonzo, who was struggling more than ever now. Screaming profanities as Arcangelo just laughed.

Lifting his gun into the air, he grinning like a maniac as realization wrenched the air out of Salvatore's fragile lungs.

He wouldn't. Would he?

With a flick of his wrist, the black bags were removed from their heads as a woman in her early thirties came into view, wearing a dress with her eyes red as tears streamed down her face, screaming around the gag in her mouth. Next was a girl of about 16, wearing the floral top whose face was red and black because of her mascara having smeared due to her constant sobs muffled by the gag. The third was a boy not more than 9, snot running down his nose as he was visibly shaking and crying in fear, saying something that was muffled around the gag in his mouth.

"No! Arcangelo! Let them go!" The man, Alonzo, cried out as he stared at the three people in front of him in panic. "Let them go! Or so help me God-!"

Before he could continue his sentence, Arcangelo pressed the barrel of his gun to the temple of the boy’s head, who instantly started sobbing louder as he closed his eyes. The Mafia Boss looking at him tauntingly.

"-Or what?" He clicked off the safety.

"Arcangelo! Let them go! Let them go!" The man cried out in vain. "They have nothing to do in this!"

"Well, Alonzo. You should have hidden your family somewhere safe before you go and threaten my family, don't you think?" 

"The slut of a daughter." He recited as he pressed the barrel to the teenage girl’s head who let out a scream of fear around the cloth in her mouth. "That faggot of a son." The barrel shifted to the little boy who was held up by one of the guards and was on the verge of passing out.

"And that whore of a wife." Arcangelo finished as he pressed the barrel between the space of the woman's eyes, who was shaking and begging around the gag.

No! No! Dad can't do this! He can't do this. 

Without realizing, Salvatore stood up to stop him, but a person behind him wrapped an arm around his midriff, locking his arms to the side with a hand clamped over his mouth. He stared with wide eyes at his father who clicked off the safety of his gun, standing behind the girl so that she was watching her father.

"Let me just tell you," Arcangelo spoke to the girl. "If your dad wasn't a stupid jackass, then you three would have survived without a scratch. But you three know too much."

The girl whimpered and shook in front of him as Alonzo was crying and begging for him to stop it and let them go and take him instead. 

"And the ones who know too much..." He trailed as Salvatore closed his eyes helplessly, anticipation heavy in his stomach with bile rising in his throat

Three gunshots echoed off the walls of the warehouse.

One. By. One.

An animalistic and painful scream tore through Alonzo's mouth as the shots rang off.

"...they get killed."