The price of betrayal

Not long after the drive, we arrived Kenneth's house. It looks exactly like what you'd expect from a typical middle class man, neat, modest and unassuming. Gabrielle and I stepped out, and I threw Jake a sharp look. "Stay in the car."

He caught the message. No argument.

Gabrielle followed behind me without a word. One look from me was all it took, he knew the assignment.

Inside, Kenneth was in a middle of a meal. Fork halfway his mouth, his eyes widened when he saw me.

"Well, well, well Kenneth," I said smoothly, stepping in without invitation, "won't you ask me to join you for lunch, huh?"

He choked on his food, hands trembling as he reached for the glass. But it slipped from his grip and shattered on the floor. His fear was immediate. Visible. Palpable.

"Boss Erald...?" He stammered.

"Gabrielle," I said lightly, as if we were going out shopping on a weekend. "We need to go buy some clothes for Kenneth. You get to choose the clothes you like but I choose the mall. Deal?

Gabrielle caught on instantly. "Sounds perfect to me, Boss."

Kenneth blinked in confusion. "Boss Erald, I don't... I don't need any new clothes."

I smiled, cold and slow. "Oh Kenneth, this isn't a suggestion. You don't get a say today."

His face paled. "Please... I..."

"Walk out on your own," I cut him off, voice sharp like the edge of a knife, "or I have Gabrielle drag you by the neck. Your neighbors might not like that, don't you think so?!"

His legs were shaking vigorously, but he still managed to keep his feet glued to the ground.

"I– I'll walk." He whispered, his voice almost unheard.

"Good boy." I said smirking devilishly.

We walked back to the car. I took the passenger seat, Gabrielle pushed Kenneth in beside him. Jake gave me a question look but I ignored it.

"To the empire's building," I said eyes forward. "Kenneth needs a tour there."

Kenneth's breathing turned shallow. He was shaking, eyes darted between Gabrielle and me, like a trapped rat in a cage, waiting for his master to blink so it could bolt away.

I watched him through the rearview mirror. "Don't tremble so soon. We haven't even begun."

*****

An hour later, the car pulled into the heavily secured underground structure that was the Mafia Empire. This wasn't just a base, it was a fortress. Layers of biometric protection ensured that no one stepped foot inside or goes out without authorization. Only my father and I had full access.

We exited the car. I walked ahead to the brick of wall. "Let me in." Voiced out to the empty wall, and the wall slide open. Walked to the steel door, pressed my palm against the scanner. A cold beep, a green light and the door hissed open. Inside, guards stood at attention.

"Good day, Boss Erald." Several of them greeted.

I nodded curtly. "C'mon Kenneth, come along. This mall has the finest selection. Top tier royalty treatment." My words came out cold but calm.

He flinched, but followed.

The corridors stretched endlessly, clinical, cold, sterile. Each check points required my biometric verification. My voice echoed in the silence, mocking him with every step.

"Oh, don't look so nervous, Kenneth. You are about to get everything you deserve. Consider it, uhh... Customer service."

Kenneth's breathing grew heavier with every corridor we passed. The deeper we went the fewer people we saw. Until finally, we stood before a thick steel door.

The Blow Room.

I scanned my palm. The lock clicked. The door slid open.

A room built with one purpose, extracting the truth by any means necessary. There were no windows cameras, no exits unless I allowed them.

"Come in, Kenneth." I said with mock excitement. "Time to try out some clothes."

"I don't want anything." He muttered, voice brittle.

"Sit down." The coldness in my tone made him freeze mid step.

He obeyed without another word.

"Forget the clothes," I said, eyes narrowing. "You know why you're here. So talk. Tell me everything you've been hiding, and maybe, just maybe, you'll crawl out of this place alive.

He set his jaw. "I know. But I won't tell you anything."

I let out a slow breath, then smirked. "Ah... the hard way it is then."

I took out my phone. "Melye. Blow Room. Now" I said, with a demanding voice.

"Yes, Boss." He replied immediately.

I hung up, stripped off my tux jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and turned to Jake. "When Melye arrives, go to my cabin. Wait there."

Jake nodded hesitantly. He looked unsettled, but he knew better than to question me.

Moments later, Melye called.

"I'm outside."

I opened the door. "Escort Jake, to my cabin. Then call Josh, tell him to report here immediately."

"Yes, Boss."

Once the door sealed again, I turned slowly to Kenneth.

"You're still not talking?"

He stared at me with a defiance. "No."

"Gabrielle, restrain him. I don't want him moving a muscle."

Gabrielle didn't hesitate. Within seconds, Kenneth's arms and legs were bound tightly to the chair, after struggling. His breathing turned ragged.

"Comfortable?" I asked.

Kenneth didn't answer, not as if I was expecting him to fucking answer.

I stepped toward the tools. So many instruments, each with their own purpose. I picked up a blowtorch.

"Let's start simple. So Kenneth, how about we play with a little fire where you would get to feel the pain and then you would convey it to me through your screams, if the fire isn't good enough. Okay?"

I ignited the flame, holding it in front of him before lowering it to thigh. Fabric burned first. Then skin.

The scream that tore from his throat echoed off the steel walls.

"Feeling talkative yet?" I asked.

He shook his head violently, gasping through tears.

"Okay... sharper, then."

I picked up a cleaver. Clean. Heavy. Razor sharp.

"You can see how sharp this cleaver is, right?" I said, as I walked closer to Kenneth.

Without warning, I slashed across his index finger. Blood spurted, and his scream was even louder this time.

Still nothing.

Another slash, middle finger this time.

Still nothing. "Since you want to keep the words to yourself, you will."

"Gabrielle, open up his mouth and pull his tongue out."

"I'll talk!" He sobbed. "Please!"

I paused. "Go on."

His blood dripped from his index and middle fingers, and the smell from this burnt thigh smelled all over.

"On May 29th... I was home. Three men and a woman broke in. One said his name was Lukas Santiago. He knew everything, my brother, my past, my hatred for the Balencentras."

He was hyperventilating now. "He offered me money. Revenge. Said if I fed him Intel, I'd be rich... and I'd get to watch you burn.

I stared at him, jaw clenched.

"You believed that fucking traitor?" I growled. You betrayed the person that puts food to your fucking table?"

"I— I didn't mean to–"

"Spare me the tears."

I stepped closer. "The woman. Her name?"

"Kiara... maybe Kira. She and Lukas are together. She runs a Mafia too. They're making a new drug. Said demand is high, and supply was out. I forgot the name of her Mafia."

"What did she look like?"

"Long black hair. Tall. Thin. Pale skin. Dark lipstick. Red nails. Oh, and a tattoo. Some kind of dragon on her back."

I memorized every detail. And it matches the one I had seen.

"Did Lukas mention another spy?"

"Yes. Said someone else would be planted, but... he never told me who.

My phone rang. Dad.

"Erald," he said. "Come to the company. We need to talk. Urgently. My office."

"I'm on my way."

I hung up, picked up my tux, and turned to Gabrielle. "We are leaving."

Kenneth looked up, face soaked in sweat. "You're leaving me here?!"

I turned gaze cold. "You'll stay. You've got more shopping to do."

Back at my cabin, I reset the Blow Room's security. No more biometric access. Just a passcode now: 0479

I called Melye.

"Come to my cabin."

Minutes later, he came in.

"Inform Eli and Delye, they handle Kenneth now. No mercy. But do not kill him."

"Yes, Boss."

"If anyone kills him, I kill them."

Understood silence.

"Did Josh answer?"

"He's delayed. On the way."

"Fine."

Gave him the new passcode.

We left the base. I took the keys from Jake.

"I'll drive."

Halfway through the trip, I pulled over. "Gabrielle. Out."

Jake's eyes widened. My voice had gone ice cold again.

Gabrielle stepped out wordlessly. He understood

Took off. Jake stayed quiet for a bit, before finally asking, "Can you please explain what just happened? I am clueless as fuck."

I sighed. Lukas Santiago wasn't just planning a Mafia war. He's got a partner. Kiara, his lover. She's not his daughter, like we thought. They're running something together, a new drug. High stakes. He's planting spies. Kenneth was just the beginning."

Jake blinked. "Wait...so she's not his daughter, I get that part, but his lover?"

"Yeah."

We arrived at the company building. I gave Jake instructions to park and follow me inside.

Dad was waiting in his office, and when he saw me, he smiled, for the first time in years. Since Mom died, he buried his happiness with her, but today? Something good must've happened to get him smiling.

"I've got good news," he said, rising to his feet. "My childhood best friend visited today. He proposed a marriage alliance between you and his daughter."

I blinked, stupidefied. "A marriage... what?"