My father sold me to the Mafia King-Chapter 25/The Serpent’s Den

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Robert’s Point of View

I entered the club, my steps racing ahead of my breath.

My thoughts were clashing like raging waves over the fate of the drug shipment and the bad news Carlos Mendoza might bring that could turn the tables on us.

I was walking down the corridor with wide strides, my mind busy with calculations, when one of the guards intercepted my path and said in a tone filled with confusion and hesitation:

— "Mr. Robert.. Mr. Mendoza is in your office."

I continued my pace with quickened steps and answered him with sharp brevity:

"Yes, I know."

But he didn’t stop; he added a sentence that made the blood freeze in my veins and the chill of death run through my limbs:

— "The girl.. Julie is inside with him."

I froze in my place for a moment, as if the earth had suddenly tilted beneath me.

At first, I couldn’t comprehend the scale of the catastrophe.

That cursed girl.. how did she dare? And how was she able to get there in my absence? I cursed myself inwardly; everything happening was my fault.

I had underestimated her cunning intelligence and her ability to infiltrate.

With my own hand, I had handed her the key when I allowed her to move with more freedom, and now she had opened the doors of my authority for herself.

I lunged forward, running up the stairs, skipping six steps at a time.

The image of Carlos sitting with that rebel wouldn’t leave my imagination. I reached the office door, gripped the handle so hard I nearly crushed it, and threw it open with such force that the walls trembled.

The scene before me was enough to ignite an unquenchable fire in my chest.

She was perched with utter arrogance on my chair—the chair that no one in this club dares to touch—sipping coffee with a provocative coldness in my private office..

and with whom? With my guest and most dangerous partner, Carlos Mendoza.

With my stormy and powerful entrance, I saw a tremor strike her body.

Her hand shook, and the cup slipped from her fingers, shattering at her feet into shards of porcelain and coffee.

But my gaze was never on the debris; it was fixed on her eyes, trying to burn her far-reaching arrogance with my coldness.

I saw her skin turn a pale yellow, as if the blood had entirely migrated from her body in fear of the confrontation.

I closed the door behind me with a silence no less terrifying than a scream. I approached her with slow, heavy steps and said in a low voice:

— "Did you enjoy sitting in my chair, Julie?"

He stood up with a reactive speed. I saw her hands pressing nervously against my shirt, which she was wearing.

She said in a voice she tried with all her might to hide the tremor in, but it appeared with scandalous clarity:

— "I... I just felt bored."

Her words only fueled my burning rage. I felt I had completely lost the ability to control myself, and I said to her in a low, angry hiss:

— "Is my office an amusement park for you to vent your boredom?"

At that moment, the laughter of Carlos rang out; he had been watching us with enjoyment.

He tilted his head back slightly while stroking his mustache with his right hand and said in a sarcastic tone:

— "You should have seen, Robert, how she imitated the movement of your hand while signaling the guard to leave! She played the part so well that for a moment, I believed she was the one in command here."

It wasn’t funny to me at all. I had faced many difficulties today that weighed heavily on my shoulders, and I had no energy for laughter like Carlos. I gritted my teeth hard and said to her:

— "Did boredom make you play the game of the ’Lady’ here, Julie?"

I expected a biting response from her as usual, but she said nothing.

She remained silent as if the words had stiffened and evaporated from her throat. I stepped closer to her, until I felt my angry breath fanning her face, and said defiantly:

— "Has the cat got your tongue?"

But she continued to look at me in absolute silence, without uttering a single word. Then she began to withdraw calmly, heading toward the door.

I watched her silence and sudden brokenness, and how she had finally realized the magnitude of her mistake and committed to silence.

She opened the door, and before stepping out, she turned with complete composure and said in a voice that suddenly regained all its confidence:

— "It is not an amusement park.... it is a den of snakes."

She etched a mysterious smile at the last moment, then left the office, leaving behind a storm of questions.

What a cursed woman! She described my office as a den of snakes in front of my guest! I found myself speechless for moments from the sheer shock of her unending audacity.

Carlos broke this deadlock with a deep laugh, striking the tip of his golden cane against the floor twice, making a grave, dignified sound, and said:

— "Oh, Robert.. where did you find this plague?"

I sighed with distress, relaxing my shoulders which were tense with anger, and answered him:

— "It is a plague that fell upon my head, and I bought it with my own money."

I stepped forward slowly and sat in the chair she had occupied. I felt the warmth of her body she had left on the leather, whereas I had always found its leather cold and repelling.

I placed my hands on the wooden surface of the desk and looked at Carlos, who was examining me with his piercing gaze, and said to him:

— "You see with your own eyes.. this mischievous girl makes me feel like a school principal trying to discipline a student, not the Robert you know."

Carlos smiled, resting his chin on his fist which gripped the head of the cane, and said in a serious tone mixed with a hint of hidden appreciation:

— "This girl is very difficult, Robert.. you cannot break her so easily."

He went silent for a moment, his eyes looking as if they were recalling their short dialogue, then added:

— "You know? She told me I bought this cane because I’ve grown old and needed something to lean on."

I smiled without realizing it. Damn this girl; she knows exactly how to strike with her words at the core and hit the points of weakness even in a man like Carlos.

I rubbed my face with my hand and asked in bewilderment:

— "The Mendoza I know would have cut her head off immediately if she said that to him."

Carlos adjusted his sitting position and raised his eyebrows as if admitting a small defeat:

— "Yes, that’s true.. but it seems she made me break my rule this time. In her madness, there is a rare kind of honesty."

I laughed inwardly; it was as if Julie was created to break every possible rule, as if she were a lethal weapon sent to me for my torment.

I said to him, trying to change the atmosphere while nervously fiddling with a pen on the desk:

— "Tomorrow, I will watch her break the rules on stage.. I will see how she faces the audience with this rebellion of hers."

Carlos replied, leaning forward with interest:

"Will she sing tomorrow? That means her voice is beautiful too."

I answered him, remembering her sweet voice and her song in which she called me a devil at the same time:

"Yes.. her voice is her only charm. If only she were mute, my work with her would have been much easier."

Then I suddenly remembered the matter of the shipment. My features grew heavy and the ghost of a smile vanished. I looked at Carlos seriously:

— "I think there is an important reason behind your visit today, Carlos.. did something happen to the shipment?"

Carlos’s features changed completely; the trace of sarcasm vanished from his face. He pressed hard on his golden cane until the veins in his hand protruded, and said in a low, hoarse voice:

— "That little officer I told you about last time.. he threatened one of my men that he would inform the authorities about us if we didn’t pay him four times the agreed amount. He thought we were easy prey."

I slammed my hand on the desk with a force that made the remaining coffee cups shake:

"The son of a bitch! How does he dare play with us this way?"

Carlos replied with his usual coldness, rising slowly while leaning on his cane:

"Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of him.. I sent him to a place where he doesn’t need money. He is waiting for me in hell now.. after I die, of course."

I said to him with a bitter smile as I stood to see him off:

"He’ll be waiting a long time, Carlos."

He replied as he headed for the door with his regular, heavy steps:

"Now we wait to see who will replace him. I fear the shipment won’t go out on time because of this commotion."

I looked at him with intense tension, feeling the pressure of responsibility increase:

"The shipment must never be delayed. it must go out on its scheduled time, whatever the cost in blood."

He said as he opened the door and turned back to me with a mysterious look:

"We will find a solution, Robert.. and by the way, I will come tomorrow to attend the singing performance. I want to hear the ’Little Girl’ sing."

I asked him in astonishment as I watched him leave:

"Since when did you start caring about singing and theaters, Carlos?"

He smiled slyly as he disappeared into the corridor:

"People change, my friend Robert."

He left the office, while I remained alone for moments processing what had happened.

Then I stood up with all my bottled-up rage and headed straight for her room, threats filling my chest and the grinding of my teeth audible in the silence of the hallway as I repeated to myself:

— "Today, Julie.. you will pay dearly for what you have done!"