CHAPTER 3

3 YEARS LATER

MANUEL'S POV

"Really? Can you not handle anything properly?" I yelled in annoyance. It was becoming so annoying.

"My apologies boss. W.. we..we... we didn't know her father was in the same building a..as well." Miliano stuttered, further pissing me off.

"Bastardo!" I kicked the foot of my desk angrily. "Vaffanculo." I muttered. "Was any member of the Ferrari family hurt?"

"None, Don." Massimo replied, and it made me wonder for a moment how the operation could have gone wrong with him present. I looked at the rest of my men and made a hand gesture for them to leave.

"Massimo, you stay back." I ordered, making him halt his steps. After the other 8 of them had completely walked out, I focused on him. "Massimooo.." I drawled as I walked back to my seat. "You were present in this mission, so how exactly did it go wrong? Do you care to explain?"

"Apologies Don. I think I have an idea as to what occured."

"Have a seat." I waved over the seats opposite me, and he sat on one of them. "Shoot."

"This is a handwork of Jacobo. He knew you were going to order an attack against him and his men, so he did what he knows how to do best."

"And that is?"

"Sabotage. He sabotaged your efforts." He replied immediately. "It has definitely become news in the society that ever since Alexander stepped down and you took his place as Don, you've tried to make peace with the Ferraris. He calculated our moves and he knew when we were going to strike. He practically lured us into his trap. We hurt him, we hurt the Ferraris. If we hurt the Ferraris, a hope for a truce with them is gone. Things are already bad as it is. Most members of the Ferrari family do not want a merger or even a truce. This failed mission is simply a slap to their faces. Francisco isn't going to take it, he would strike back. Hard."

"Jacobooo..." I loved the way his name rolled off my tongue. I was gonna love it better when mine would roll down his, as he cried to me for mercy. I'd give it to him, he played a smart one. Not only did he put me in the compromising spot, he basically destroyed the chances of a potential truce with the Ferraris. He was definitely gonna pay for it, but someone else would definitely pay first. "I understand your message Massimo. Thanks for putting eyes all over. Do we have a name yet? Who the fuck is the traitor in my zone?!"

"I haven't found out about that yet, but give me before the end of the day to do that."

"I trust you to deliver." I muttered dryly. "Whomever it is, would so much regret selling out our plans to Jacobo for such a silly sabotage."

Immediately I heard the slightest noise come from my door, I looked and waited for the person who was behind to walk in. Don't blame me. I knew I wasn't in any form of danger, but that was my reflex reaction. I was trained to be always alert at all times. The door eventually opened and it was Alex who entered.

"I heard." He said as he walked towards me. Immediately Alex walked in, Massimo stood up from his seat as a sign of respect. "Please sit, Massimo." Alexander muttered after making himself comfortable on the seat next to Massimo. "Personally, I think Jacobo tried to save his ass by putting himself in the same space as the Ferraris." He said without thinking or mincing words. This was the reason why this particular cousin of mine was my best friend. He was extremely smart. "Also, Jacobo wouldn't have just known our men were coming for them at that point in time, so there seems to be a mole amongst us. That's unusual." He said, stroking his beards as he though to himself. "Weird." He added. "In over 4 years, we haven't had that sort of a problem. In the society, we are the family that pays our men best. There's definitely a bigger picture here. Whoever ratted us out must have done that for something more than money."

"Yes." I nodded. "Massimo has promised to look into it and give me the traitor before the day is over."

"Great." Alex nodded, looking satisfied. "Excuse us." He muttered, but Massimo definitely got the message and walked out of my office. The moment Massimo was gone, the cold stare we both had in our eyes also disappeared. "I'm sorry brother. It seems to be that every effort you make concerning this peace treaty you wish for with the Ferraris is really never going to work."

"I'm doing all of these for the sake of Francesca. We should be married, if not for this feud both our families have had for the longest time. I'm trying to fix things here!" I yelled in great annoyance at the situation of things.

"Oh, be calm." Alex muttered. "When you say 'family', you make it sound so simple. Bro, we're mafians and that is how we keep shit real. You can't sleep with the enemy."

"But she isn't our enemy." I countered.

"Okay fine. Maybe she isn't the enemy like you say, but what about the other members of the Ferrari family? None of them are our allies. Why else has calling a truce been so difficult? If indeed they were cool with making peace, they would have welcomed your truce plans long ago."

"Don't pin all these on them. I'm sure you also know that some of the Russos haven't made it easy for me either."

"Exactly my point!" He said. "An enemy is an enemy. An enemy could also be an ally at anytime. But in a situation where a call for peace isn't being considered or welcomed, then you should know being allies had never been an option."

"So what are you implying?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"That it's just not working!" He shrugged, looking like he had something more to say.

"Oh, Alex just say it. I'm all ears."

"Actually, I have only but one question for you. Do you really love the girl?"

"What are you even saying?" I shot back, very much perplexed at his question. "I have been with her for a couple of years now. I know I like her that much. Don't you see what you have with Belle, between she and myself?"

"Honest reply?" He asked and I nodded in agreement. "I do not see it anywhere. I try to, but it's just not working." He looked as emotionless as could be, and I could finally understand what his issue was.

"It's the feud between the families."

"What?"

"It's the feud between our families!" I repeated much loudly. "It's gotten into everyone's head and they just fail to see things as it really is. Mama doesn't like her, same as papa."

"No, I think that uncle is quite indifferent towarsd her."

"Ahhh..." I chuckled humourlessly. "Trust me Xander, the man dislikes whatever the woman dislikes. It's always been that way." I shrugged. "I'm really more disturbed about the fact that it's because of....."

"Manuel." He suddenly cut me off, looking all serious. "I would tell you this." He drummed against my office desk with the tip of his fingers. "Being a part of the mafia society is a lot. But it's a whole lot more when you're a leader. Remember the incident that had occured that made me step down from my position as Don?"

"Yeah." I sighed deeply, massaging the bridge of my nose with a combined effort of my thumb and index finger. It wasn't such a beautiful incident to remember. 3 years ago, Alexander was very much the Don of the Russo family. One of our rival mafia families had attacked our men at the Russo barracks. It had been very unexpected, leading to the loss of a few men. Unfortunately, Alex's wife; Bella had decided to pay a visit to the Russo factory which was situated in the barracks. She had been heavily pregnant during that time, and had been shot in the belly multiple times. She had lost her baby and almost lost her life as well, after surviving a major surgery. We all thought Alexander was going to lose his mind from the pain of it all at the time, but thankfully, he handled it well.

"What I had learned the hard way, was the fact that you cannot be in the center of power and be completely secure. For power, you'd have to sacrifice some things. I'm sure you remember how I had zeroed my mind towards the possibility of finding and having love. My position as the head of the mafia made it extremely difficult for me to have those things. Most of the ladies who flocked around me were there for the money. Like our other cousins, I was most probably gonna get married into another powerful family for the sake of support and stability. But when Bella came along, she was too good to be true and I was quick to hold onto her. She was a miracle I wasn't willing to let go off. She may have been so broken and fucked up when I met her, but I knew she was the one for me. I may have grown so comfortable in my happy life that I forgot there was a price to be paid. Hell! I had lots of enemies everywhere. I had paid my price in the way I least expected. I almost lost my joy in the process. I finally realized Bella was never going to be safe with me being a part of all these. I knew it was impossible to leave the family, but I did the best I could do for her nonetheless. I vacated the seat of power. Like I said earlier, being a mafian is a lot, but being the head of a mafia family is a lot more. If I had a thousand enemies while I was Don, I definitely have lesser now. I'm still not completely without enemies, but atleast the probability of my wife being in another messy situation is lesser." He took a deep breathe and released it.

"The reason why I had to recall all of that is to make you understand that you cannot always have what you want as a leader. Many times more than a few, you have to compromise. And in situations where you insist on having those things your position does not permit you to have, there's always a price to be paid."

"I understand you, but aren't you going a bit too far?" I asked.

"How do you mean?"

"Even if I settle for a marriage with the sole purpose of procreating heirs and strengthening the connections between families, that does not exempt whomever I marry from being a target?"

"Let's tell ourselves the truth. The pain hits different when it's someone you truly love. Annnndddd..." He chuckled. "I think you're misunderstanding the lesson. I am not hitting on specifics, but rather generalizing it when I say there is always a price to pay as a mafian. I don't necessarily mean with a woman. I mean in all aspects of life. As a mafian who is a Don, you can't always have everything you want. I think you were more concerned about the area in your life that the shoes fits." He winked and it really had a way of getting on my nerves. Maybe because he was right. "Secondly, when we talk about the price being paid, it doesn't have to be a case of anyone being shot or targeted. Anything can be a price." He shrugged. "I take for instance your insistence on being with Francesca. She doesn't have to be shot for the price to be paid. Maybe the price you'd pay would be having a greater conflict between the Russos and the Ferraris, that cannot be managed. Probably as a result of rebel members. Anything could be it."

"Alright." I nodded, feeling less interested in another one of my cousin's numerous lectures.

"Just 'alright'? Really? Who was I kidding?" He laughed at himself. "I already knew this wasn't going to change your mind about being with her." He chuckled. "But I wish you the best though. And whatever step it is that you take, I'm solidly behind you to support you. At the end of the day, sometimes our happiness just matters more."

"You finally said the kind of thing I wanted to hear. This discussion honestly doesn't change my mind about being with her, it only makes me want her more. I love challenges." I relaxed into my seat and gave a devilish smirk.

"Enough of this topic of discussion already." He sighed. "Atleast, we are already sure no one from the Ferraris got hurt as a result of Jacobo. It's a relief."

"Yeeaahhh." That was really the only thing that had prevented me from going mad with anger. "So tell me what's up. We haven't talked for couple of days now." I sighed.

"Yeah, we haven't." He nodded.

"So what's going on?"

"Nothing much." He shrugged. "Just that I finally hired a new P.A."

"Oh? You did?"

"Yeah."

"Someone I know?"

"Definitely not. I wouldn't make the mistake of employing someone we know again. They just have a way of being so familiar with you and not taking their work seriously. I figured a total stranger would serve best."

"Hmmm. True though." I nodded in agreement.

"Her name is Bianca. She is to resume work tomorrow. She would be on probation and we would know if she is fit to keep her job a week from now."