CHAPTER 130: MAFIA BUSINESS

A mafia dead body collector and his team came to dispose the sea of dead bodies and wiped away any trace or evidence of the massacre, turning the basement floors sparkling clean. But for Maya, that horrific scene and the stabbing of the poor girl were etched in her mind and would taint her memories forever.

After the horrors of that morning, Vico left her alone for practically the whole day, and she only saw him at dinner.

Then a whole week flew by without her witnessing any dark deeds.

And she has completely scrapped her escape plan because it is impossible, and even if she succeeds, she will be responsible for the deaths of innocent people. She will never attempt an escape.

Maybe she will attempt suicide, though; it is the only way out of this pandemonium. But that is also impossible because she is so sure Vico suspects she will take the suicide route, so he has ensured that no sharp objects or pills are available in her room. He is making his men watch her every movement and has positioned a female bodyguard in her room whose eyes are as sharp as a hawk.

Maya wished or thought Vico was done showing her the dark side and the horrors of the mafia world, but to her dismay, one fateful morning, Vico insisted she tag along so he could show her his mafia operations.

Maya boarded an SUV with tinted windows with Vico and was surprised to find Natalia sitting in the front seat.

Natalia swiveled her head to look at Maya. "Hello, cousin," she said, a sinister smirk on her face that gave Maya a strong urge to wipe it off with a punch.

"I guess the pretty little mafia princess is going to experience the whole ’bring your kid to work’ day. Please don’t be a liability; I can’t babysit you," Natalia cackled.

Maya gritted her teeth. Why was she so blind to the fact that Natalia was an annoying bitch?

Vico reprimanded Natalia in Italian.

Natalia scowled unhappily. "Sorry, Princess Maya," she sniggered.

Maya huffed. To think that Natalia was once her most favorite person in the world; now she was plotting ways to fucking kill her.

The driver, obviously one of Vico’s dangerous men, brought the engine to life, and soon they hit the road. Maya braced herself for the ugly, disturbing things that lay ahead of her today.

Maya kept her gaze on the window to avoid Vico’s stare, and her sight was blessed with the beautiful architecture Italy has to offer. She swiftly saw rolls upon rolls of beautiful buildings that looked like landmarks as the car passed by. She felt as though they were driving through a historical city.

Now she was certain she was in Rome, the capital of Italy.

"We are in Rome," Vico suddenly informs Maya, confirming her suspicion.

She lifts her gaze from the window and brings it to Vico. "Oh, I see," she says, shooting him a fake smile.

"How are your Italian lessons with your Zia going?"

Maya decides to show off her progress. "È stato fantastico," she says, meaning it’s been great in English

Vico smiled; he was impressed, like a proud father. "You are a fast learner, so smart, just like your papa. I’m confident you will learn all the tricks of the mafia trade from me within a short time frame."

Maya’s throat tightened. This feels like a fever dream. Is she really the daughter of a mafia don?

"It’s been a week; don’t you think it’s time for you to start calling me Dad?"

Maya’s anger brewed as she scratched her fingers on the car seat to contain it. She badly wanted to tell him off, but the consequences of doing so were restraining her.

Her lip curls into a forced smile. "Yes, Dad, or should I say Papa?"

Vico nods, satisfied and pleased. "I prefer Papa."

"Okay, Papa." Maya coiled inside with disgust.

She drifted her eyes back to the window to avoid talking to Vico further.

****

They made a stop at a construction company, and the purpose of their visit was extortion and racketeering. Vico has been forcing businesses and individuals to pay "protection" money so that Vico and his mafia organization won’t disrupt the owner’s business.

The CEO of this construction company, unfortunately, owes Vico the protection money and has refused to pay. As a result, Vico is resorting to violence and other forms of intimidation to force this CEO to cave in.

Natalia was the one doing the intimidation, and she was brutal. She beat the CEO so badly and threatened to chop off his dick if he didn’t cooperate and pay the protection money. The CEO didn’t comply, standing his ground and threatening to involve the police, but that was a huge mistake; Vico had the police force under his control.

The CEO’s resistance angered Vico, and he ordered Natalia to kill the CEO’s PA.

It turns out the PA is also the CEO’s lover.

Natalia shot the PA twice in the stomach, killing her and the CEO’s unborn child.

And that was the first killing of the day.

Maya couldn’t scream, showcasing her shock and fear at witnessing a murder because Vico warned her that if she did, it would show her weakness to his men. He needed his men to respect her so it would be easier for her to take over his mafia empire.

But Maya was kind and knew what empathy was; she was not a cold-hearted murderer like Vico and Natalia, and she couldn’t hide how affected she was. She had a fretful expression daubed on her face.

The death of the PA terrified the CEO, and he gave in, scared that Vico would wipe out his family. He transferred a huge amount of money into Vico’s account.

The next mafia operation was drug trafficking. Vico took Maya to the warehouse where they manufactured these narcotics, and of course, someone working in the warehouse pissed off Vico, and he killed him.

Maya couldn’t take it anymore; how many deaths would she have to witness today?

And she did witness a lot. Vico and Natalia couldn’t stop killing people. When they killed two teenage girls at the warehouse where they were keeping the girls for sex trafficking, Maya nearly passed out.

Fortunately, that was the last killing they did for the day, and Maya was hoping she wouldn’t witness more tomorrow.

They spent the rest of the day visiting illegal gambling dens in secret rooms in nightclubs, bars, and even casinos where legal gambling is allowed. However, the type of illegal gambling Vico is operating is very dangerous and inhumane. People bet with their kidneys, blood, their lives, and even those of their family members.

Maya felt physically ill after spending just 10 minutes in these illegal gambling dens.

Finally, they stopped at a restaurant for dinner, and the beautiful paintings decorating the restaurant’s walls were soothing, relieving Maya of her distress.

It was a table of five with Vico, Maya, and the three men who were leaders of the mafia organization. Natalia didn’t join them; she had other mafia duties. She was meeting with the debt collectors in charge of Vico’s loan shark business.

The duties of a Mafia Don’s right-hand man must be very hectic, Maya thought.

"Meet my beautiful daughter, Maya," Vico introduced her to the three men they were having dinner with.

The men were captivated by her.

"You are so beautiful," the youngest man among them said.

He took Maya’s hand and brought it to his lips, and kissed it. Maya wanted to pull her hand away from his grip, but out of courtesy, she refrained.

"I’m Dr. Gallo," he introduced himself.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor," Maya said politely, taking her hand away from his grasp. She quickly wiped her hand on her dress. That kiss on the back of her hand disgusted her.

"Gallo runs a big hospital where I and the people in my mafia organization can get treatment for gunshot wounds without police detection. He is also in charge of other white-collar crime operations," Vico explained.

He then introduced the other two men. One was in charge of money laundering, helping to disguise the illegal origins of the money that Vico’s mafia organization makes through the few legal companies the organization owns.

Then, the third man was in charge of tax fraud and other white-collar crimes, such as stock manipulation, insider trading, and monopolizing certain industries to control prices and eliminate competition.

Maya wanted to roll her eyes during Vico’s long speech, explaining the white-collar crimes his mafia organization is involved in. She didn’t give a damn. She just wanted to be done with her meal and go to bed.

The waiter brought their meal, and Maya quickly dug in, totally forgetting the existence of Doctor Gallo and the other men.

But as the men discussed mafia business in Italian, Maya zoned out, wondering how Vico could be walking free in Italy and still conducting his mafia operations when he is wanted by the FBI. Hell, she was sure the CIA wanted him too. His name was all over the news, well.

This is so confusing. He literally lost his American mafia territory, half of his mafia empire, but it feels like it was a minor loss. He is more powerful than ever. Vico is really more untouchable than Dalton. And it kills Maya to accept it.

"Seriously, Don, your daughter is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on," Doctor Gallo stared at Maya as if he were hypnotized.

Any woman might be flattered; Doctor Gallo is handsome, but for Maya, his compliment makes her squirm with disgust inside.

"I want to marry her," Doctor Gallo declared.

Maya touched her ring finger where her wedding band should be, but Vico must have gotten rid of it. She wants to tell Doctor Gallo that she is married.

Vico laughed. "Unfortunately, she is taken."

"Damn it!" Doctor Gallo cursed. "Who is he? I will fight him for her."

Vico shook his head. "You can’t win; he is a very powerful man, a very suitable man for my daughter," he boasted.

Maya was befuddled. Is he talking about Dalton? Wait, does this mean Vico has accepted Dalton as his son-in-law and will allow Maya to be married to him forever? Moreover, he hasn’t brought up her divorcing Dalton.

Just like that, her hopes sparked like a flame. Maybe if she keeps being obedient, he will allow her to see Dalton.