Chapter three

Mario Bellucci was seated at the head of the table, a finger underneath his jaw as he watched the men walk in. Noemi was standing at the end of the room, as mounted by Cornell, ready to answer to his every whim. Majority of the men coming in, Noemi recognized. They were the late Ignacio Bellucci's men and she wondered why he had called this meeting.

The conference table was long and narrow, with leather chairs on either side. In a few minutes, half the chair was filled with men in black suits. As the door shut, the rest of the seats were left vacant. Noemi watched Mario's eyes train on the empty seats, before going over every man on the table. She wondered how his eyes could be so beautiful and magnetic, yet so hard and unforgiving.

When everyone was settled, the table quietened and everyone turned to look at Mario. After a long stretch of silence, a tall, burly man stood. He seemed to be around the age of the late Ignacio. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Mario." His smile was bland. "We are all gathered here to officially welcome you to Milan and offer you all the support you need."

Mario's gazes zeroed in on him. "What's your name?"

"Francesco."

"Francesco," Mario echoed. "Where are the rest of the men?"

The table quietened again and the men looked around them before turning back to Mario. "Uhh." Francesco cleared his throat. "Some are no longer in Milan or Italy. After the death of Ignacio, they decided to move out and start afresh."

"Is that so?"

"No." Another man stood, fury in his eyes. He met Mario's unflinching gaze. "They are not here because you are not Ignacio," he spat. "We are not mandated to serve you just because we served Ignacio. We don't think you're capable of even cleaning your father's shoe. I—" he pointed to himself and beat his chest. "I came here to tell you to your face that I will not serve you. You are not worthy!"

After the man's rant, an eerie silence descended on the table. Mario stared at the man for a few seconds before rising slowly to his feet. He walked across the table to meet him, his gaze never leaving him for a second. As if scared that Mario would attack, the man threw a punch, but Mario deflected. With great ease, he flipped the big man around and curved his arm around the man's neck, pressing down on him.

The men around the table gasped in shock to see the action unfolding before them, but they were too stunned to say anything. Noemi felt a sudden pressure in her lower belly and realized that she needed to pee. Serving Ignacio Bellucci, she had never had to watch a man die. It seemed to her that Mario Bellucci might be worse than his father.

Everyone watched, stunned, as Mario kept his arm around the man's neck, refusing to let him go, despite his strangled gasps for air. The man tried to claw at Mario's head and body from behind, but with his free hand, Mario captured one of the man's flailing arms and pressed it down to his side. The man was almost double Mario's size, so it was a shock to Noemi that Mario had overpowered him so easily.

After another moment, the man stopped struggling. His body went limp and Mario held him for a second before letting him fall to the ground, dead. Noemi watched in horror as Mario stepped over the man's body and walked back to his seat, fixing his hair as he went. He had so easily snuffed the life out of this man, how much more her who didn't even weigh up to half of him? Yet, she had spent the night with him yesterday, totally at his mercy.

Mario sank back onto his seat at the head of the table, instantly commanding everyone's attention to himself. "Does anyone want to leave?" He asks. "I'd like to get that out of the way before I start this meeting."

When no one moved, Mario raised his arm. "No, don't misunderstand me, gentlemen. I didn't kill him because he didn't want to serve me, I'll never force anyone to serve me. I killed him because he disrespected me. I don't let disrespect slide."

"Yes sir."

"Anyone who shares his sentiment can leave." Mario narrows his eyes. "I give you my word that you'll leave here alive."

At the statement, one man stood to his feet and hurried out of the office. Noemi wished she could follow him and run out of the office and out of the mansion, never to be seen again. When the door shut behind the man, Mario cleared his throat and reclined on his seat.

"The dead man is right," he said. "I'm not my father. I never will be."

When the men didn't say anything, he continued. "I'm a very easy man, with only a few rules, if you keep these, we will work fine together. If you don't, I do not forgive." His eyes roamed over every man in the room, communicating his intent with all seriousness. "I don't give a damn if you like me or not, I'm not here to kiss anyone's ass or make allies. I'm here to take over the city because it belongs to the Belluccis and the Bellucci's alone."