Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 382: Feel the weight.

"First," Hector began. "I would say that the most impactful aspect we need to focus on is the reform the family has to go through. We need to restructure the family in a way that allows us to move more freely, faster, and with far greater efficiency," he continued. "Of course, the distribution and smuggling sides of the operation must function flawlessly as well."

The very first and most important aspect of all of this, the very first point that had to be addressed was the foundation itself. That was exactly why those people had to be involved, the ones who held higher ranks, the ones who had seen the operation from the inside. From smuggling to selling, from setting the prices to reclaiming the proceeds and moving them back into the warehouses, every single step had to be understood and controlled by people who truly knew how the system worked.

This was far more important than the reform itself. Without a hierarchy that functioned properly, without procedures that governed the movement and handling of drugs, nothing could work on the family level, let alone on a larger scale. Chaos at the top would inevitably poison everything below it.

Order was not optional, it was the backbone of survival.

Money, supply, distribution, protection, enforcement, each of these elements depended on the other. If even one part failed, the entire structure would begin to collapse. That was why experience mattered more than ideals, and why authority had to come from those who had already walked through every stage of the operation. They were the ones who knew how to keep the machine running smoothly, finely tuned, and efficient, no matter the pressure placed upon it.

In the end, it was not loyalty, fear, or ambition that held everything together... it was a structure and if the structure was broken, it could not be repaired by good intentions alone. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

That truth had already been proven right, when Hector and Ramzer responded to the fractured system in the only way they knew would work... by killing those who had been involved.

"But the hierarchy is already set, isn’t it?" Dani said, turning to Hector. "Everyone knows that James is the head of the Bellinis. After him, it flows down to you, then the Ferrucci Bella, and from there to the other leaders, people like me, Ramizer, Basai, Sivy, Jordan, Finn and then further down to the group leaders and the rest."

"I meant tha—"

"No." James interrupted calmly, cutting Hector off before he could finish. "In the past months." James continued, his voice low and controlled, "that link has weakened." He was sitting in that leather chair as if it were a throne, completely at ease. The ring on his finger caught the light as his hand rested against the armrest, and the way he carried himself was something else entirely. It was like a don pulled straight from a movie, except there was nothing fictional about the power he held.

"We don’t just need a hierarchy that gives orders." He continued. "We need one that enforces loyalty and more importantly, protects the family. If it had been tighter," James rats like Xavier and his little group wouldn’t have survived a single day. So first I want to know how it was even possible for them to steal without being noticed." As James finished he looked at Sivy, Jordan, and Basai, the three men responsible for overseeing every warehouse, hangar, and single building that stored drugs. They were the ones who knew the system inside and out, the ones who saw every movement, every transfer, every number. "So... how did it happen?"

For the three of them, it was an entirely different situation, an entirely different experience.

They hadn’t seen James in a very long time. The last time had been when Rafael was still alive, at the very beginning of everything, and even then they had barely spoken, exchanging only a few words. To them, James had always been something distant, something, more a presence than a person, but now, sitting across from him, it felt like stepping into something dark and unfamiliar.

The way his question came wasn’t really a question at all... it felt like a judgment. A judgment that carried the weight of death. The way he held himself, the stillness, those eyes fixed on them without blinking... there was something monstrous in it.

From everyone else’s point of view, James was normal. They had worked with him, spoken to him, stood beside him long enough to understand him. But to someone who hadn’t seen him in a long time, who had never truly known him, he felt like an entirely different person.

The authority, the presence, the sheer pressure of his existence was overwhelming... his whole being was simply... insane, terrifying.

"It was because of false reports." Dani said, knowing that for them, answering for the first time under James’s gaze would not be easy. "Xavier and his group submitted falsified records, and the warehouse overseers failed to verify whether those reports were true or not have already been dealt with." His eyes briefly flicked toward Ramzer who was the one that killed them for not doing their work properly.

And what happened after that was simple. The false numbers had made their way up the chain of command to Jordan, Basi, and Sivy, and because the reports passed through multiple people, no one realized the strange numbers.

"I thought managers were supposed to check the numbers." James said calmly. "This time, I will turn a blind eye to it. But next time..." His gaze settled on the three of them."... you will be replaced."

They all knew exactly what that meant.

James had forgiven them... for now, but one more mistake, and they would die.

Maybe this is too much... but if they are this lame that they don’t even check the numbers, why the fuck are they even employed by me? James thought, as he knew that threatening them was not the best idea... but it was necessary to do this.

They needed to feel the weight, and well... they began to feel it very much.