Chapter 116
"Always one step ahead, weren't you, Father?" he growled in a low tone.
His hand had glazed to the next drawer, his fingers hovering over a set of letters. Each was laboriously written; all bore names of people he now knew disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Alessandro's jaw clamped shut, reading; the chill of realisation settled into his bones. His father had engineered these disappearances with precision-people crossing him, women and men, silenced without so much as a bat of an eye.
He found a folder marked "A. V.", and froze. It was a stack of emails and communications with someone whom Alessandro quickly recognised as his father's contracted assassin. His heart thudded with painful clarity as he read through-his father had, in fact, ordered the hit on his twin Alexander, not him. Alessandro's hands shook with a violence beyond his control as he clutched the damning email, his father's cold words springing from the page: "Make it look clean. He knows too much. Alessandro can stay, but Alexander has to go ."
Alessandro hunched back in his chair, his exhaled breath sharp, the truth he had suspected for so long now laid stark in his hands-tangible and unforgiving.
There came a sudden, sharp rap at the door that jerked him from his reverie. Three of his father's men strode into the room-their faces both known and yet somehow strange in the chill, keen light of the study. One, the tallest, stepped forward-a dark-eyed man-his eyes seemed to narrow as he spoke to Alessandro.
"Alexander, we did not expect you back quite so soon," he said shortly. "Thought you would be. restive longer after your injuries.
Alessandro's eyes had frozen into cold ice as he slowly raised his head, meeting the man with an implacable stare. "I think there has been some misunderstanding," Alessandro said calmly. "Alexander is dead. I am Alessandro."
The men exchanged frowning glances, and for just a moment, a flicker of confusion darted across their features. Alessandro saw the doubt creep in around their eyes, twisting the face of the apparent leader with incredulity.
"You're.Alessandro?" he asked uncertainty.
"That's right," Alessandro said, all silk and smile, his eyes challenging them to call him on it. "I am Alessandro. And from this day forward, things are going to be done my way."
The tension in the room snapped with the weight of his words. One of the men stepped back, his hand twitching towards the weapon holstered at his side. Alessandro watched the subtle gesture and let loose a soft, mirthless laugh.
He said, "Go ahead," and slightly opened his arms, inviting the threat. "If you think that you want to challenge me, then try. I can assure you, though, it will not go well for you."
The leader's face hardened, and in one swift motion, he pulled out his gun, pointing it directly at Alessandro's chest. The other two men followed suit, pointing their weapons at him, faces unyielding.
Your father put us here to make sure things stay the way they are," the leader sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "You don't just waltz in here and take over. Alexander or Alessandro-it doesn't matter to us. You're just a piece in his game.".
Alessandro's smirk deepened and a flicker of defiance flared to life in the depths of his eyes. In one slow step, he moved a little further into the room, never looking away from the leader. "If you believe me to be a pawn," he said softly yet dangerously, "then you clearly didn't know my father as well as you thought.
One of them stirred, his face a mask of growing unease as confidence began to seep from him. Alessandro saw the first hairline cracks in their resolution and pounced on it, his voice firm and commanding: "You answer to me now. The old rules? Gone. The man who gave you those orders is dead. And if you can't accept that, then you're free to leave—assuming you can make it out of this room alive."
The leader's eyes now wavered, his clutches on the gun loosening almost imperceptibly. Alessandro stood his ground, his gaze fixed on him without the slightest deflection, investing his voice with an unmistakable ring of command.
"You have two choices," Alessandro said in a low, growling voice. "You either stand by my side and secure your place in the new order of things, or you can turn against me and face the consequences.
A thickened silence hung in the air, for Alessandro's words registered. The men exchanged looks with one another, their eyes growing in doubt with every ticking second. Finally, the leader lowered his gun, and his face was masked with fear and impelled respect.
"What do you want us to do?" he asked, barely above his breath.
Alessandro gave a small, tight smile and took the reins. "For now, go back to your job. But let me make one thing crystal clear-any allegiance you had with my father? Forget it. From now on, your allegiance is to me. And let me assure you," he said, eyes darkening, "I reward allegiance very well. Treachery, on the other hand… Well, you won't live long enough to regret it."
The men regarded each other once more; some of the tension was dissipated as they replaced their guns in their holsters, nodding each to Alessandro's authority.
"Understood, sir," the leader said, respect oozing in a shade.
"Good," Alessandro said. He waved his hand to the stack of documents on the desk, his father's secrets and betrayals. "There's much to be done. But let's start by erasing everything my father built."
He turned to the men and gave his first order.
"Get in touch with all of our associates. Instruct them regarding the change of hands. Those who have any problems with that can come and discuss them with me in person."
he added, "And discard everything that might implicate us from these old deals. I need a clean slate."
The boss nodded. "Consider it done, sir.”
This is a new era
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