No Sloppy Seconds Chapter 10
Three months later, the underworld bloodbath settled completely.
That nationwide scandal was the final nail in the Valenti family’s coffin.
Silas’s high-ranking loyalists were purged down to the last man.
To save the family from getting torn to shreds, the Old Godfather teamed up with the three Elders. They stripped Silas of his Don title and branded his face with the traitor’s mark.
As for Gia-the woman who tried to ruin my face with acid-she was captured alive under the Dark Web’s highest bounty.
After getting disfigured herself, she became the lowest servant in an underground casino, barely surviving day and night.
Using the Moretti family’s heavy firepower and my own mastery over laundering networks from the past seven years, I swallowed Silas’s core territory in a flash.
My new luxury antique auction house opened right in the heart of downtown.
Photographers flashed. The top elite gathered.
First-day sales shot straight past ten million dollars. Business was booming!
Sunlight drifted into the office.
I sat back in the huge leather chair inside my top-floor office, rubbing my sore wrist and running through the inventory list for next month’s auction.
Ring… Ring…
The private encrypted phone on my desk buzzed.
It was an unknown encrypted number from a lawless mining zone.
I swiped to answer and hit speakerphone: “Who is this?”
Dead silence filled the line.
Only howling wind and heavy, dry breathing came through.
After a long pause, a rough, raspy voice drifted through the speaker, barely recognizable:
“Cleo… it’s me.”
Silas.
Gone was the arrogance of his Godfather days. Gone was his crushing superiority. Even his frantic begging from before was completely washed clean.
His voice was light as ash, ready to scatter in the wind:
“The Syndicate Council banished me here for life… People die in this mining zone every single day. I might… never
come back.”
I said nothing. My hand spinning the pen paused for a fraction of a second, my eyes dead calm without a ripple.
“I’m not calling to ask for forgiveness.” He coughed twice, his voice hollow with bone-deep despair. “I just wanted to tell you… I got what I deserved. I never deserved your love.”
“Cleo, thank you for sticking by me for those seven years… Goodbye.”
He took a faint breath, gathering the absolute last piece of his dignity: “I hope you have a good life.”
In the past, even hearing about him getting a scratch would keep me awake all night sick with worry
Now, I listened to his speech in total peace. My heart didn’t even skip a beat.
“Done talking?” My voice was cool as thin ice. “Then hang up. I have accounts to balance.”
Click.
I hung up without a second thought, purging that encrypted channel forever.
The man who haunted me for seven years-and that stupid past of mine-vanished into thin air for good.
I closed the ledger and looked out the window.
The sun was warm overhead. The rich scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted through the cozy office.
No grievances. No betrayals. No endless fights or compromises.
The sunlight outside was perfect, and the warm coffee aroma filled the room with quiet peace.
My past was officially behind me.
From now on, I’m living life on my own terms.
