Debt To The Mafia King

Chapter 17

—AMELIA—

 I was putting away the glasses behind the bar ready for the evening rush. I wanted to spend some time away from Michele to think about everything that he has finally revealed to me. The fact that it was his plan to give me to Rickie at the beginning has clouded everything between us.

I know that he said he changed his mind, but it doesn’t hide the fact that he kept it from me this whole time. He prides himself on loyalty and being honest but he’s shown me how hypocritical he really is. The love I have for Michele is toxic. I’m so addicted to his affection and I’m starting to understand why women would throw themselves at him. His charm pulls you in and you find yourself feeling desperate for him to love you back. 

I kept trying to convince myself that he is completely in the wrong for hiding this from me but I have always been the kind of person to look at both sides. He’s witnessed my reaction to Ezio’s threat towards him and his ‘family’ that he was probably worried that I would do the same with Rickie. The impression I’m getting of Rickie is that he’s more lethal and sadistic than Ezio and I can see in Michele’s eyes when he talks about him, that even he’s a little bit scared of him. 

The evening rush started to emerge and I was soon too busy to think about my personal problems. A few of the regulars came in and greeted me warmly. I sorted out their usual orders and tried to get through the crowd of people clogging up the bar. I needed a hand as I was mobbed and struggling to keep up.

I took out my phone and rang Alexandra, pressing the phone against my ear using my shoulder so that my hands were free.

“Amelia?” She answered after a few rings. 

“Alexandra, I need your help... €3.40” I said, serving a customer at the same time.

“It’s rammed in here and I’m struggling on my own, could you come and give me hand?” I asked.

“I’m on my way”. She hung up and I put my phone in my pocket. Sunday nights aren’t usually this busy because most people have work the next day.

—MICHELE—

I’ve done the one thing I have been dreading for the past month; I’ve finally told Amelia the truth. Even though I’m worried about her leaving for good, it feels so much better having that weight lifted. I’m hoping that she can forgive me and we can move forward together. 

I opened the boxing room door and walked over to Marcelo who was tied to the bench in the corner. He looked pathetic and scrawny curled up against the wall. His trousers was scuffed and ripped and the bruises that Nico had inflicted were dotted all over his skin. He watched me as I walked closer to him, trembling in fear of what I’m about to do to him. I squatted down in front and scowled. 

“You know, something’s bothering me” I began as I stared sharply into his eyes.

“You said that Rickie gave the order for my mother to be killed” I reminded him. He nodded his head enthusiastically. I smiled and leaned in closer.

“If that’s true, then how the f**k did you know about it?”. Marcelo’s face dropped suddenly, confirming Ezio’s suspicion. 

“I... I... just...” he stuttered nervously and I sniggered in his face before standing up and towering above him.

“Everyone knows just how private Rickie likes to keep his business so he wouldn’t have been shouting about his plans. There’s really only a two options as to how you knew; option one: you were told by Matteo...” I trailed off as I took out my hunting knife and showed him the sharpness of the blade.

“... or option two: you were told by Rickie” I finished and Marcelo started to tremble. 

“I doubt that it’s option one because Matteo had no reason to tell you about his plan, he didn’t even tell his brother” 

I crept towards him and bent over to put the point of the blade under his chin, raising his head as I squatted to his level once again. 

“Which means it’s option two” I concluded. Sweat was dripping from the sides of his face and the blade shook as his breathing quickened. He was petrified from knowing that if I moved suddenly then his life would be over. 

“You’ve been working with Rickie this whole haven’t you?” I asked and he shut his eyes. 

“Answer me!” I yelled.

“Yes! Yes... I’ve been working with Rickie” he cried out. 

Even though I was enraged by his betrayal; I smiled, enjoying his desperately submissive attitude. I was in complete control of his life and I can take it from him at any point. His fear filled me with power and I greedily used it to my advantage. 

“Now is your chance at redemption” I warned him. I stood up to pace around the room as I began my interrogation.

“How long have you been working for Rickie?” I asked.

“5 years” he replied quickly. 

“So before you came to me then?” I analysed and he shook his head with shame.

“Which means that you were clearly ordered to infiltrate our family by Rickie, interesting. Why were you working for Ezio?”

“Because Rickie knew that he had his eye on Amelia and wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to do what you did and keep her for himself” he replied.

“That’s why he got you to stir up trouble, to try and separate Amelia from me” I assumed and his silence confirmed it. 

It made sense, mine and Amelia’s bond is so strong and Rickie would find it difficult to get to her when she’s under my protection. It just goes to show how intimidated he is by my security and reputation which shocked me considering how powerful he was.

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?” I asked as I turned to him, twisting the blade gently on the palm of my hand, light enough to not cause me any damage. He shook his head but his body language was saying something completely different, he was showing signs of guilt and I narrowed my eyes.

“You’re lying” I growled leaning down to him for a third time.

“You might as well say it, I’m going to get it out of you one way or another” I cautioned but he turned his head away slightly.

“What is it? Rickie?” I asked and he continued to stare at the wall.

“Amelia?”. His expression didn’t change.

“My dad?”. I saw a flicker of panic in his eye.

“What about my dad?”

He stayed silent and refused to talk, he was clearly scared of how I would react which means it’s bad. I squinted at him whilst I tried to figure out what would be so bad to admit about my dad. My mind started to work like a computer, scanning through memories of him and conversations he was involved in. 

I remembered what Amelia said to me when we were in this room and I had just found out about my mother’s death being Rickie’s doing. She was trying to calm me down, listening to me as I vented out my aggression. She asked me if I was sure about the conclusion I came to that my mums shooter killed my dad as well. 

Rickie wanted my dad to suffer, not be let off the hook. My dad was to spend the rest of his life mourning the death of my mother and letting the clan go to s**t. He wouldn’t have ordered Matteo to kill him and no one suspected the Bianchi’s to be involved at all so my dad wouldn’t have caused a confrontation between him and Matteo. Rickie didn’t know about the attack my dad was planning, his men didn’t even know and they were the ones who were about to carry it out. The only information he gave to his men was to be suited up and heavily equipped for an important job. 

So who would have a good enough reason to want him dead? I tensed my jaw as I picked apart the possibilities in my head and then lowered my brows. How could I be so blind? The one person who has tried to avoid the subject was sitting right in front of me. He’s been shady since being exposed and has tried to avert the conversation onto anyone but him. I thought it was just to get out of the trouble he’s in but maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye. 

“You killed him, didn’t you?” I asked, shocked by what my thoughts had queried. 

Marcelo’s chest started to move even quicker than before, showing that he’s hyperventilating. Every hair on my bare arms stood up and I raised to my feet to take a step away from him. I was furious and heartbroken at the extent of Marcelo’s betrayal.

“He found out that you were working for Rickie, threatened you and then you covered your tracks” I continued with my assumption.

“Rickie was furious that you killed him so he got you to take on riskier tasks; becoming close with Ezio and making sure he had businesses that I wanted. That way he could use me as a puppet, pulling my strings to get his own way. When Amelia came into the picture, Rickie was already in a stable position to play both sides to get what he wants by using you” I explained. 

“I’m sorry” he confirmed and I gritted my teeth. I pressed my lips together and rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to think of what my next move was. I was so taken back by the lengths that Marcelo has gone to that I was speechless. 

“I didn’t want to kill him Michele, you’ve got to believe that. I admired your father, he was an intelligent man and I wanted to learn from him” he cried. His words were making the situation a whole lot worse. The more he spoke highly about my dad, the more my rage increased.

“He overheard me on the phone to Rickie one evening talking about your mother’s death. He realised that I knew about it all along and that I was closely involved with Rickie. He was furious and brutally attacked me. I thought he was going to kill me!”

“He f*****g should have!” I exploded. 

I charged over to him and bared my teeth in his face, gripping his throat and making him flinch in fear. I pulled him towards me and then slammed his head against the wall. He let out a groan and started to whimper. I placed the knife to the side of his face and pressed it into his skin. He cried out as I dragged it down to the bottom of his jaw and released it. 

“You’re going to f*****g pay Marcelo!” I yelled.