My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 126

Giovanni, 16 years old...

My heart pounded as I entered the club with my father’s men in tow. I was there for one thing—the money the manager owed my father.

"Excuse me," I muttered, pushing through the throng of dancers. My fingers brushed against slick skin, sticky fabrics. The scent of alcohol and perfume made my eyes water and it was suffocating.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for the man I was looking for.

"Back off!" A woman’s sharp voice cut through the noise as someone stumbled against her.

"Sorry," came the muffled reply, lost in the next pulse of music.

I found him then, the manager, laughing at the bar with a glass in hand, carefree. He hadn’t seen me yet. Good. I approached, ready to remind him of his debts.

"Time to pay up," I said, each word deliberate, heavy.

His laughter died, and he turned to look at me. "Who the fuck are you? You don’t look old enough to be here."

"I am Giovanni Leones. I know you know who my father is," I snapped back.

"Ah, I see. Well, the fact remains. You look too young," he said.

"Jenkins," I said grimly, calling to the man standing behind. This wasn’t the first time I wasn’t taken seriously because of my age, and it won’t be the last. But that didn’t mean my father would stop throwing me into these situations.

Jenkins understood what I needed and moved forward to grab the manager’s collar.

That’s when the doors burst open with a crash louder than the music. Time slowed as armed men stormed in, their faces masks of cold intent. Panic erupted as the first shot rang out, echoing like thunder in the confined space.

"Get down!" someone screamed. Glass shattered. Another shot, closer this time.

Patrons scrambled, a mess of screams and fear. Tables were overturned, and drinks were forgotten as everyone sought the same thing—escape. A woman tripped, her cries smothered by the stampede of those desperate to survive.

"Move!" I shouted, the taste of danger metallic on my tongue. My heart pounded in sync with the rapid gunfire, a morbid drumbeat to the chaos unfolding around us.

"Out of the way!" a man barked, shoving past me, his face twisted in terror.

"Stay calm!" Jenkins said. " I don’t who they are but-"

His words were cut short.

Bullets tore through the air, finding targets in flesh and wall alike. I ducked, heart hammering, mind racing for an exit. But the club was a trap now.

As the sound of shattering glass rang in my ears, I quickly ducked behind the bar, feeling the sharp shards crunch beneath my feet. The acrid smell of burning alcohol mixed with the pungent scent of fear as bullets tore through bottles, sending liquid and fragments flying in all directions. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I didn’t have time to process the chaos around me before vaulting over the counter and making a mad dash for the back door.

"Stop him!"

The command echoed behind me, urging the pursuers to nip at my heels. But fueled by desperation, I raced through the narrow hallway without looking back.

"Out of my way!" I barked at a cowering busboy, his eyes wide with terror.

"Sorry!" Even in this frantic moment, an ingrained instinct prompted me to apologize. But there was no room for manners when survival was on the line. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Get him!"

Hands reached for me, grasping, clawing. My breath came in ragged gasps as I pushed on, nearly at the door, the sweet promise of escape just beyond—

A heavy weight slammed into me from behind, crushing me to the ground. The air whooshed from my lungs. I struggled and fought against the iron grip that pinned me down.

"Gotcha," a rough voice growled above me. It wasn’t just one; it was many. They were on me, overpowering me with sheer force.

"Let go!" Useless. My fists flew, connecting with flesh, but they were relentless. More hands dragged me back, away from freedom, back into the bowels of the club.

"You will regret this!" I spat the word out like venom. One of them laughed, a sound void of humor.

"Quiet, or we’ll make you quiet."

I didn’t know these men. They must be my father’s enemy.

They hauled me up, dragging me with unyielding force.

~-~

As I slowly regained consciousness, my surroundings gradually came into focus. Darkness shrouded me on all sides, the absence of light pressing down like a heavy blanket. The earthy smell of damp soil and musty air filled my nostrils.

A voice, deep and smooth, pierced through the darkness.

"Ready to talk, Giovanni?" it asked.

My heart skipped a beat as I struggled to make sense of where I was and who was speaking to me.

"Who is it?" I managed to croak out.

"Who I am is not important," the voice replied, its tone full of authority. "You are who is important.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I want you to suffer."

The first blow was a shockwave of agony that radiated from my ribs. Air whooshed out, and I gasped, struggling to draw breath as another one followed.

The man’s face twisted into a cruel grin as he spoke, his laughter dripping with malice. "I hear you are the only son of Alexander’s. It makes it even sweeter to see you suffer," he taunted.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to give them the satisfaction. I wouldn’t break—not for them, not for anyone.

But their blows kept coming, each one more powerful than the last until the world became a dizzying blur of pain.

Through gritted teeth, I managed to speak. "Enough," I said, my tone defiant rather than pleading. "My father won’t let you get away with this."

The man’s mocking smile widened. "I am counting on it," he replied with a hint of admiration in his voice. The sound sent shivers down my spine, a sickening realization of how twisted their minds truly were.

As I lay there, battered and bruised, I knew I had to escape. My father would never forgive me if I allowed these men to defeat me. I had to find a way out of this darkness.

But it was impossible.

The ruthless torture continued. Days turned into nights, and nights into days. Time became a blur as I longed for freedom. My every thought centered on escape, on revenge.