CHAPTER 1

Marcello watched stunned as Lorenzo shot at the man without hesitation, one shot straight to the head, and the other at the chest. The assailant dropped to the floor like a rag doll, his eyes round with shock at being shot. He had known there was always a part of the mafia buried deep inside Lorenzo who tried to act normal around him, but watching him in action still gave Marcello chills.

They had been sitting in Lorenzo's office attending to the reports from their local farmers about the poor wheat harvest this year, when the shots rang through the house. Before he could do anything, Lorenzo had already slipped out a Glock 19 from one of his hidden compartments and was already heading out the door.

Marcello quickly grabbed the dagger Lorenzo had lying on the desk and followed. He hated violence, but if there was ever a need for it then he never hesitated to use it, as long as it's to protect or defend.

Whoever was attacking must have known both of them were around and still risked his luck just to try killing them. If it had been just him, then it would have been understandable why the person would want to attack, but Lorenzo was there! Even if he wasn't active in the mafia, everyone knew how dangerous he gets when riled up.

By the time Marcello could stealthily make it across the corridor, he saw Lorenzo fire at his victim.

"Marcello call Bruno and find out what the hell is going on" Lorenzo ordered, before Landing a vicious kick that had the dead man rolling down the stairs. The man bore the serpent crest on his neck which signified that he worked for the boss and that was strange since the boss would never order a hit on the Martino brothers.

"On it" Marcello replied before pulling out his phone. Bruno picked on the first ring, and before Lorenzo could say a thing, Bruno cut him neatly.

"Marcello give it to the Boss, I want to speak with him," Bruno said with urgency,

"Have you gone mad Bruno?" Lorenzo quizzed incredulous, since Bruno was the Boss' consigliere, it made no sense that he should be asking him to give the phone to the boss, when obviously he didn't reside with him.

"He hasn't told you right about it?" Bruno asked after a heartbeat, Marcello frowned and turned to Lorenzo who was casually walking down the stairs like they weren't under attack.

"I doubt he has any intention of telling me anything so tell me what's going" Marcello bit out, as foreboding crawled down his spine. He just hoped that it wasn't as bad as he imagined.

"The boss is dead" Bruno announced casually, with an air that said that the death had occurred earlier and he had accepted it.

"I see and I wasn't informed even though the reason why remains a mystery to me, but it seems Lorenzo knows right" he asked, massaging his temple.

"Lorenzo has been made the new boss, I shouldn't be the one telling you about it, but it has been finalized for over a week so I thought you knew" Bruno sighed.

Marcello felt his blood grow cold at the news, Lorenzo who had never wanted anything to do with the mafia, was now the boss!

"I'll give him the phone," Marcello said in a monotone before holding the call and chasing after Lorenzo.

He found him in the courtyard next to the pool, the Glock already tucked away which meant the area was clear.

"Bruno wants to speak with you Boss" he taunted, Lorenzo only raised an eyebrow at his tone and collected the phone from him. Marcello watched as Lorenzo listened carefully, his face growing into a mask of fury which was unsettling and then he gave quick orders to Bruno before ending the call.

"What's going on?" Marcello asked, Lorenzo looked at him, probably gauging how to tell Marcello what he had in mind.

"I asked Bruno to request for an autopsy on the Boss since the story revolving around his death was shady, the results came back today showing that the boss had been poisoned", Lorenzo said, shoving his hands into his back pockets, something he did whenever he was itching to punch someone.

"Well that's one dramatic way to make an exit, he was bound to meet his death in some gruesome way since he had enemies, but that doesn't explain why Bruno addresses you as Boss" Marcello said watching Lorenzo closely,

"Well the boss' last order was to make me the new boss and that's what all that happened" He replied like that explained everything. Marcello was getting infuriated the more he watched how nonchalant Lorenzo was about everything.

"I remember that you and I promised never to have anything to do with the mafia right?" Marcello asked quietly, Lorenzo looked at him and shook his head slightly,

"We were children Marcello, duty is unavoidable"

Marcello was stunned, "What the fuck do you mean by children? Did you not see what the Mafia did to our parents?" He hissed

"Marcello, I've got important things to do so if you can quit your tantrums and listen to me that would save me lots of time" Lorenzo thundered.

He hated discussing their parents, who had been well known in the mafia world as the power couple, a ruthless mafia underboss and a badass mafia lady who met their death in a fatal car crash on their anniversary. Rumors had it that it had been a setup to eliminate them, but despite that their, death had shaped Lorenzo into a cold and heartless man, who did as he pleased and listened to no one besides his younger brother Marcello.

Marcello fumed, they had a well-known conglomerate to run and all Lorenzo cared about most was playing Boss for worthless and greedy men who only cared about their dicks and purses.

Though Lorenzo was the one who had built it from scratch, Marcello had been the one who used his passion for business to carry out important negotiations that aided their businesses.

"Go and deal with your important stuff, I have an important meeting to attend to" Marcello bristled before walking away. To hell with their Mafia rules, he was never going to be part of that dark and cold world.

"Don't you even think about it or I'll put a bullet through that stubborn skull of yours" Lorenzo warned, Marcello turned in anger to dare him, only to see the Glock leveled at him.

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