The Missing Princess

22: Traitor

Chapter 22

-Lorenzo Di Luca-

"Before I let you see Arturo, I need you to calm down first, and you have to promise me that you won't shoot him."

My eyes rolled in exasperation at my uncle's words.

Whatever deal he agreed with that traitor, that's between the two of them; they fucking better leave me out of it.

"You're asking for the impossible, Uncle." I hissed, both of my fists clenching beside me.

"MIKHAIL."

"That man betrayed our family and mafia! Not to mention Arturo Neri was our padre's trusted right-hand man; he could be leading us into a trap. Arturo betrayed me before, and he'll undoubtedly do it again in a heartbeat." I snapped. Kirill moved and held my shoulders, stopping me like I was some kind of wild animal about to go on a rampage.

L'audacia di quel traditore non conosce davvero limiti (The audacity of that traitor truly knows no bounds)

Arturo Neri was our father's consigliere, trusted right-hand man, and childhood best friend. I've known the man since I was a kid. There was no question of his loyalty when it came to Don Luciano Di Luca, but the same thing couldn't be said when it came to his former Don's son, me. He didn't think twice about betraying me by staging a coup in our mafia as soon as I stepped in to take on the role of Don when my padre had gone missing with my sorellina. He was more than determined to have me and my fratelli killed, but thankfully I was always one step ahead of both my associates and enemies, as I don't really trust anyone. Before the coup that was led by him could start, I already had Alessandro and the rest of my men kill the fools who dared to even think about betraying me.

In my line of work, you can't really bring yourself to trust anyone, or it could cost you your life.

"Let's just hear what he has to say first, Mishka, then we can decide what we'll do with the traitor after." Kirill told me, pacifying me down, which kind of worked a little.

"Va bene." I sighed in defeat.

I need to hear all of the information the traitor has. For Isabella. I'm doing this for my bambina . That's all I've got to think about so that I can control my demons.

***

"Well, well, well. È passato molto tempo, Don Lorenzo. Sei davvero cresciuto." (It's been a long time, Don Lorenzo. You've really grown up.)

My hand quickly reached for my holster as soon as I saw Arturo's smug face in the basement room, and my uncle led me in where they were keeping him. The stronzo almost looked unrecognisable with his seasoned and haggard face. No doubt the stress of fearing for your life with the Italian mafia having a target on your black could do that to anyone, but I could never forget that smug look on his face. The urge to shoot him between his eyes was so strong that Kirill quickly grabbed hold of my arm to stop me from reaching for my gun in my holster.

"Mi chiedo quanto duramente mio zio ti abbia picchiato e tu abbia iniziato a chiamarmi Don." (I wonder how badly my uncle beat you and you started calling me Don.) I rolled my eyes and smirked while eyeing all the bruises on his face, which was no doubt a courtesy from my uncle.

This obviously angered the traitor as he snapped and tried to get to me, but his chains that were strapped to both his legs stopped and held him down. My smirk only widened.

"Non sfidare la fortuna, ragazzo." (Don't push your luck, boy.)

"One more unnecessary word from your mouth, Neri, and I'll permanently shut it for you," Uncle warned as he stood on my left side, staring daggers at him, which caused the stronzo to let out a defeated grunt.