Chapter 98: Rattling the Snake

"What did you say? That little punk Rick just swaggered into my hotel's lobby?" 

Upon receiving an urgent report from Charon in his office that Castle had walked straight into the lobby, even using a Lionsgold coin to send a message to Santino saying "I'm waiting for you," Winston was so shocked that he stood up, nearly dropping the cigar he always held. 

"What the hell is that little rascal Rick up to?" 

Winston pondered with a headache. He never expected Castle, who was usually more of a troublemaker and not one to follow rules, to act so boldly. Despite knowing that Santino had come to New York specifically to cause trouble for him, Castle had chosen such an unexpected and flamboyant way to provoke Santino directly.

"Did he say anything else? Just that one message for Santino?" 

Winston, who had planned to watch the drama unfold from the sidelines, realized that if this drama erupted within his Continental Hotel, it would become a big deal.

"Sir, Mr. Castle only asked the bellboy to deliver that one message to Mr. Santino and then left the hotel." 

Charon reported truthfully, "Moreover, he seemed very calm, not like someone planning to start a conflict in the hotel. After inquiring about Mr. Santino's room, he simply walked out of the hotel without a trace."

"Ah..."

Winston took a deep breath and suddenly understood Castle's intention. He wanted to rattle the snake—if Santino couldn't swallow his pride and chased after him, Castle could kill him outside the hotel grounds, without breaking the hotel's no-gun, no-violence rule.

But why was this little guy suddenly so brazen?

Winston sat down, his mind quickly piecing together Castle's motives. He was puzzled by why Castle would directly confront Santino so openly.

"Oh, he wants to make an example..."

Winston, the seasoned old fox, connected the dots and realized Castle's unconventional tactic. 

"Well, well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This little guy's got guts..."

Understanding Castle's intentions, Winston relaxed and took a deep drag from his nearly extinguished cigar. Since Castle respected the hotel's rules, Winston, as an elder, decided not to interfere.

"Charon, deliver Castle's message to Santino. Also, remind Santino that in my hotel, personal grudges must not lead to violence or gunfire. Inform him that the hotel's policy is to stay out of their dispute, but as long as he's in the hotel, his safety is guaranteed. If he leaves, his safety is no longer our concern."

"Yes, sir. I'll handle it immediately."

Charon responded and left.

Winston, now alone in his office, smoked his cigar with a keen interest, anticipating the unfolding drama: "Rick, you clever little rascal. You used this tactic against Santino who's holed up in my hotel. What's next? I'm really looking forward to this!"

While Winston was enthusiastically anticipating the growing excitement, Santino, who received Charon's message, was in a foul mood.

"How dare he? That bastard! He had the audacity to strut into the hotel and send me a message... Bastard! He's humiliating me... he's humiliating the D'Antonio family..."

Young Master Santino had already smashed several items in the suite's living room. The shame of being directly challenged gnawed at his pride like a venomous snake. His two trusted henchmen from Rome stood silently in the corner, not daring to breathe, afraid of drawing Santino's wrath.

Santino, having turned the once-neat living room into a mess, finally stopped, panting heavily. Besides the fact that this was the Continental Hotel and not his territory, his perpetually indulgent and weak body couldn't handle more of his furious outburst.

"What should we do now? Just slink back to Rome? Or gather our forces and kill that bastard?"

Having vented his rage, a slightly calmer Santino looked to his henchman for advice, asking the one who had previously suggested going to Bleecker Street.

After a moment of contemplation, the henchman replied, "Young master, we can be certain that the Continental Hotel and Bleecker Street's stance on this matter is neutrality. This suggests that the writer Castle doesn't have significant backing. I believe his blatant provocation at the hotel is because he's scared and trying to intimidate us into leaving."

Castle's maneuver indeed misled Santino and his men, who lacked sufficient intelligence. In their view, if Castle had powerful backers, they would typically seek negotiation with Santino. Despite Santino's shortcomings, the D'Antonio family was a formidable entity. Normally, even if Castle had strong backing, they would prefer not to clash with the D'Antonio family.

Therefore, Castle's straightforward message to Santino suggested one of two possibilities: either Castle was confident he could single-handedly defeat Santino, or he was bluffing to scare off an ill-informed Santino.

Santino's henchman, based on this assessment, wrongly concluded that Castle was more likely bluffing without significant backing.

Hearing his henchman's analysis, Santino nodded, finding it consistent with his own perception. He asked again, "So, what should we do now? Should we respond forcefully to his provocation or call for more men from the family and launch a major attack?"

Santino's tough talk and cowardly actions earned silent disdain from his two henchmen. They rolled their eyes internally, knowing they represented the D'Antonio family's honor in New York. Asking for more men from the family after being publicly challenged would only make them a laughingstock.

Trying to phrase it diplomatically, the henchman suggested, "Young master, as we represent the D'Antonio family's honor in New York, it's crucial to respond immediately to this provocation. We can't just wait for reinforcements. We need to show we can handle this on our own, or we'll lose respect."

Santino, not quite understanding, asked, "What do you mean? How should we respond?"

Exasperated, the henchman, bound by duty to protect Santino's image, had to spell it out clearly.

"Young master, I mean we must immediately retaliate against the writer's provocation. Although we can't issue a bounty inside the Continental Hotel, there are plenty of mercenaries in New York willing to work for money.

We can hire a group and immediately take action against that writer!

If we don't react to this provocation, who will fear the D'Antonio family in the future?"

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