No Sloppy Seconds Chapter 08
“Let him yell.” I didn’t even look up, calmly taking a sip of my coffee. “Keep the gates locked.”
The old butler bowed slightly and backed out of the room.
On the laptop screen, the Dark Web progress bar finally hit one hundred percent.
[Vivian: Done! The underworld hitmen across North America are going crazy right now. The Syndicate’s secrets are up for open bidding. Silas is officially ruined.]
[Cleo: Thanks.]
I shut down the laptop and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor.
Outside the main gate, dozens of black Lincolns completely blocked the mountain road.
Once upon a time, a sight like this would terrify every gang in North America.
Now, those luxury cars looked like paper toys. Empty and hilarious.
By noon, the sun burned hot overhead.
The butler knocked again: “Miss, Mr. Valenti sent all his men away. He’s standing outside the gate alone… He’s been out there for three hours.”
I put down my newspaper, my face completely cold.
When I walked downstairs, Dad was leaning against the porch smoking a cigarette, a heavy gun tucked in his waistband.
Mom sat in the living room, twirling a solid steel dagger in her hand, her eyes sharp as blades.
Seeing me walk down, Dad crushed his cigarette. “Cleo, want me to go out there and break his legs?”
“No need. I’ll do it.” I grabbed a black umbrella from the rack and pushed open the front door.
On the muddy road after the rain, a wrecked man stood waiting.
Silas leaned against the cold iron gate. His hair was a mess, his face pale as paper.
His custom designer suit was covered in mud. He looked so broken, without a trace of his former Godfather power.
Hearing my footsteps, his body jolted hard. He slowly opened his eyes.
In that split second, the dead light in his eyes flared back to life!
“Cleo!” He lunged toward the iron gate, reaching his hands through to grab me. His voice was rough as sandpaper. “You’re finally willing to see me… Cleo, please open the gate!”
Dad strode out, pulling his pitch-black gun and pressing the barrel straight against Silas’s forehead.
“Back up.” Pure killing intent erupted from Dad’s eyes. “Who gave you permission to call her Cleo? Who are you calling Mom and Dad? You think you’re worthy?!”
The cold gun barrel dug in until Silas’s forehead turned white, but he didn’t even flinch.
THUD!
The all-powerful Syndicate Godfather dropped to his knees right in front of all the Moretti bodyguards. His knees slammed hard onto the wet stone road.
Mud splashed all over him.
He looked up, tears mixing with mud, streaming down his bloodshot eyes.
“Dad, I was wrong… I swear I was wrong!” Silas’s voice shook, his hands digging into the cracks between the stones, weak as an ant. “Cleo, listen to me… I favored Gia because she dumped me years ago for no reason. I wasn’t over it! I just wanted revenge! I wanted to see her bow her head!”
He crawled half a step forward in a rush, desperate to pull his heart out:
“Last night, when the altar was empty, I heard you say it didn’t matter anymore. That was the moment I realized how bad I fucked up… I love you, Cleo! You’re the only one I ever loved! Without you, I’m nothing!”
“Please… for the sake of our seven years, give me one more chance. Let us start over, please?”
He sobbed hysterically, slamming his forehead hard into the mud with a dull impact.
The sight was utterly ironic.
The man who used to look down on everyone was now kneeling at my feet like a stray dog, begging me to take him
back.
I walked over with a cold smirk, looking down at him:
“Start over? Sure.”
Silas snapped his head up, pure joy bursting in his eyes: “You agree?! Cleo, you agree, right?!”
“Don’t get excited so fast.” I looked down at him, my voice icy cold. “We can start over. But you and Gia have to break both of your hands in front of my gate. Once the hands that hurt me are destroyed, I’ll think about forgiving you. Deal?”
Silas froze instantly.
The joy on his face locked up, inch by inch. His pupils shrank hard.
“Cleo…” He reached out on instinct, grabbing my pants leg tight, his eyes darting away in panic.
“If you want to vent, take my hands! Take my life! But Gia… leave her out of this. It’s all my fault. She doesn’t know anything. She’s spoiled, she just loves her freedom…”
Even now, his first instinct was still to protect that woman.
He claimed he loved me, claimed he knew he was wrong. But the second Gia was on the line, his knee-jerk reaction was to clear her name.
My eyes turned completely dead.
My disgust hit its absolute limit in this exact moment.
His so-called love was just another selfish show.
“Loves her freedom?”
I let out a cold laugh, glaring at his hands clinging tight to my pants leg.
I raised my boot, planted it right onto his pampered fingers, put my entire weight into it, and stomped down hard! Then, I kicked him back with everything I had!
THUD!
The all-powerful Godfather was kicked flat onto his back, rolling pathetically into the dirty mud.
