Chapter 17
Dario
Enzo thinks he can choke me out financially, that he can cut the oxygen to my operation and watch me suffocate. But I know how money works in this world. It’s not just about how much you have but about how fast you can make others lose theirs. And that’s exactly what I do.
It starts with his muscle that he sends after us, those overfed parasites who shake down restaurants, small businesses, desperate men who just need one more week of pay.
I follow the money, and I take my time dismantling every piece of his protection racket.
A few bribes to the right people, a few anonymous tips to businesses under his “protection,” and suddenly, his men are getting picked off and arrested, turned, or simply deciding they don’t want to die over Enzo’s scraps.
Rafa slides a folder across the table. “Five of his collectors have either skipped town or switched sides. Another three got arrested last night. Enzo’s bleeding money.”
I flip through the pages, my lips curling. “Good. He’ll retaliate.”
“Oh, no doubt.” Rafa leans back. “Question is, does he come for you directly, or does he take the cheap shot?”
We don’t have to wait long for the answer. Less than twenty-four hours later, one of my men, Nico, is found beaten and dumped outside one of my warehouses, his fingers smashed. A message. A weak one.
“Enzo’s panicking,” I tell Rafa as we stand over Nico’s hospital bed. “If he had control, he would’ve made an example of him. Instead, he wanted me to see him alive. He’s scared.”
Nico coughs. “He’s losing people. Fast.”
I nod. “And we’re about to speed that up.”
The real opportunity comes wrapped in betrayal. Enzo’s right-hand man, Sergio, has been looking for a way out since he helped with Vittoria. Enzo has made his life a living hell. Not quite letting him go and not quite killing him either.
Power is a fickle thing in our world, and no one holds it without someone else waiting to take it. And Sergio? He’s been waiting a long time.
“You want out,” I tell him, sitting across from him in the back room of a high-end bar, low jazz humming through the speakers. “I’ll give you more than that. I’ll give you up.”
His brow furrows. “What does that mean?”
“You help me tear Enzo apart, and I don’t just let you walk, I hand you what’s left of his empire.”
Sergio exhales slowly, eyes darting away as he runs through the possibilities. He’s already made up his mind. He just needs to believe it was his decision.
“I need assurances,” he finally says.
“I need loyalty,” I counter. “But since neither of us is stupid enough to trust the other, we’ll settle for mutual destruction. You play me, you die. I play you, I die. No tricks, no backdoors. We take Enzo down, together.”
A slow nod. “Deal.”
From there, it’s a controlled demolition.
Sergio feeds me every weakness in Enzo’s organization, and I exploit them with surgical precision.
One by one, Enzo’s assets disappear—men, money, leverage.
His businesses dry up, his partners start looking elsewhere, and soon, he’s losing everything he thought was untouchable.
But rats smell fire before the house burns down.
Enzo gets wind of Sergio’s betrayal before we can make the final move.
And unlike me, he doesn’t offer deals. He sends a message in blood, attacking Sergio’s entire family.
His men track down and kill them all—including his brother, who was serving time in prison.
Then, Enzo leaves Sergio’s disfigured body in the middle of the street.
It’s reckless. Public. And it does exactly what I need it to do.
The underworld is watching, and Enzo’s just proved that he’s weak enough to be threatened. There’s no greater sin in our world.
Now, the sharks are circling.
And I’m the one leading the pack.