Owned By The Psychotic Billionaire (Mafia BL)

Chapter 41: You, Me, And My Bucket List

"Besides, who knows which one of your descendants would get a taste for kids too? I did what I had to do as a kind, law-abiding citizen who cares about the future of our youngsters...unlike you."

Antonio stares at Orion as though he’s looking into the face of a demon. He has ordered executions, started turf wars, buried his rivals, and watched men beg for mercy.

He knows what monsters look like, and he knows that what sits across from him isn’t one. Monsters might still work with reason, but this man does not.

Orion lounges comfortably in his seat, one arm draped over the backrest as though discussing the weather instead of the extermination of an entire bloodline. Antonio’s entire bloodline.

The casualness is what makes it horrifying.

Antonio’s lips tremble. The words emerge in a broken whisper. "My grandsons...they were children..."

Orion shrugs. "Some of them were."

His words land like a bullet. Antonio’s face loses what little colour it had left. Alexis feels sick. Actually sick. His stomach churns violently, and every instinct screams at him to run.

Unfortunately, the last sixty men who had the idea to try something with these people are currently decorating various parts of the estate.

Blessed with the realization that running would not be very effective, Alexis swallows down the bike rising in his throat. Only god knows what will happen to him if he throws up on any of these monsters’ shoes.

Niko absentmindedly strokes his hair. The gesture should be comforting, instead it feels like being petted by a tiger. A tiger that’s deciding whether to eat him.

Antonio laughs strangely. It’s a weak, unstable sound. It’s the laugh of a man whose mind is beginning to crack.

"You’ve destroyed everything," he wheezes.

Orion glances around the room with disinterest painting his features. "Not everything. You still have your brother."

The Don flinches. Alexis doesn’t miss it, and neither does Niko. The amber-eyed man grins.

"Ah, there it is," he chuckles.

Antonio slowly raises his head. "What?"

"That look on your face," Niko’s smile widens. "That look that says you’d rather lose everyone else than lose him."

Antonio states silently at Niko. He doesn’t try to deny it, not because he can’t, but because it’s true. The realization seems to physically excite Niko.

Orion watches their exchange passively, his eyes dimming as his mind drifts elsewhere. His assault on Alexis’s scalp finally ends.

"That’s interesting, you know?" Niko’s playful tone sends a shiver down Alexis’s spine. "Your brother violates children, yet you protect him."

Antonio closes his eyes, the perfect picture of a man who thinks he has nothing else to lose. "He is my brother."

"And?"

The question hangs in the air while Antonio struggles to answer. But, there isn’t an answer. There never has been.

He could argue that his brother is his family, his blood, so he deserves his loyalty, but those excuses would sound increasingly pathetic when spoken aloud.

"You’ve been protecting him all this time, why?" Niko asks, sounding genuinely curious.

Antonio’s jaw tightens as no answer comes because there is no answer that doesn’t make him look weak or cruel. Or both.

"I thought..." the words scrape their way out. "I thought I could control him."

Niko bursts out laughing. Loud, mocking laughter. The sound echoes through the room. Even Orion lets out an absentminded chuckle.

"Oh, that’s good," he wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. "No, really. That’s fantastic."

His amber eyes gleam. "You thought you could control a pig." The amusement in the air vanishes. "You arrogant old bastard."

The temperature in the room drops. Alexis nearly stops breathing. Because for the first time since his arrival, Niko looks serious.

Not playful or amused like he’s been acting, but serious.

"You knew what he was. You knew what animal you were rearing." Every word is sharp, positioned to hurt.

Niko rises from the couch, stalking up to Antonio. "You knew what he did for business, and you knew his hobbies."

Antonio visibly recoils. freewebnøvel.coɱ

"And instead of putting him in the ground, you decided that everyone else would pay the price."

The Don lowers his gaze. A fatal mistake. Niko’s hand shoots out, seizing his chin. The old man gasps.

"Don’t look anywhere else but me, old man."

The command isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be. Antonio obeys immediately. Alexis watches the exchange in horrified silence.

Niko smiles. The expression contains absolutely no warmth. "You know what’s funny?" He taps on the Don’s chin playfully. "People like you always think you’re protecting your family..."

"But you never realize you’re destroying it."

The words strike harder than any blow because Antonio knows they’re true. Every terrible thing he’s done, every body buried, and every compromise he’d made for his family is all for nothing now.

His bloodline is gone. Erased. The irony is almost unbearable.

Niko releases him and takes a step back. Antonio almost collapses from relief.

Then, Orion speaks. "Your brother. Where is he?"

Antonio freezes, his relief disappearing as the old fear returns immediately.

Orion sighs. "Antonio?"

The Don’s heart skips a beat. Because somehow, that disappointed sigh is much more frightening than shouting.

"Don’t make this difficult, Antonio."

"You’ll kill me regardless," Antonio argues weakly.

"Of course I will."

The blunt answer leaves no room for hope. Antonio laughs again. This time the sound bothers on hysterical.

"Then, why should I tell you anything?"

Orion exchanges a glance with Niko. Something passes between them, a silent conversation of sorts. One that Alexis doesn’t understand, but it makes him nervous.

Niko sits back down comfortably. Almost eagerly.

He grins. "I can give you the answer to that."

Antonio’s face drains of color, because apparently, Niko offering to answer his clearly rhetorical question is enough to terrify him.

"Do you know why people usually tell me things?" Niko runs a hand through Alexis’s hair. "Because I help them experience things they never thought they’d experience in their boring lives."

His smile widens. "Pain, fear, and hope. One of these emotions is always guaranteed to be the reason why they end up talking to me."

He pays the top of Alexis’s head gently. "But personally, hope is my favourite."

Alexis suddenly doesn’t want to hear the rest. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t care for his wants, and neither does Niko.

His amber eyes lock onto Antonio. "Because if somebody thinks they can save someone they love...they’ll tell you everything."

The room falls silent. Antonio understands, and so does Alexis. Even Orion looks mildly entertained.

The Don’s breathing becomes uneven. "No."

Niko’s smile grows. "No? What makes you think that you can tell me no, Antonio?"

"Your sons and grandsons might be gone, but you still have daughters, don’t you?"

Antonio’s breath hitches. His eyes flash with a desperate light. "You can’t do this! They have nothing to do with this!"

"Ah...and you have granddaughters too, right?" Niko adds calmly.

Antonio looks physically ill. Alexis suddenly understands why the Don went ahead to prepare entertainment for this man, even while his leader was wreaking havoc in the Don’s manor.

Because this man is dangerous. He’s like a shark, and everyone is bleeding in the water.

"Please."

The word escapes Antonio before he can stop it. The room goes still. The Don realizes his mistake immediately, because Niko’s smile vanishes.

"You’re begging?" Niko asks, voice soft. Deadly soft. "Do you know what it’s like to playfully kiss a man and then learn that he might have been sexually violated as a child?"

He sighs. "Thanks to you and your pig, I now have another pet peeve on my list."

Alexis subconsciously decides not to even try to decode that statement. Once Niko said pet peeve again, he knew it would be nothing short of a crime.

"Well," Orion speaks, cutting into the tension of the room, "we’ve wasted enough time here."

Antonio’s face goes pale because everyone knows what that means. The conversation is over. The old Don straightens slowly, fear dissipating from his face.

"I won’t tell you anything."

Orion nods. "I know."

Antonio blinks. The response wasn’t what he expected at all.

"He’s been in my possession since we started this conversation." He shrugs. "I just wanted to check off having a threatening conversation with a don from my bucket list."

The room goes silent. Antonio and Alexis stare blankly at him. Even Niko pauses.

The amber-eyed man groans. "Oh, come on."

"It was funnier this way. Tell me this isn’t funny?" Orion huffs.

Antonio, meanwhile, has stopped breathing. "You..." his voice cracks. "You found him?"

Orion smiles. It’s not a kind smile. "Did you really believe that you could negotiate with me?" He laughs. "You old dogs always have the funniest humor."

Then, his gaze sharpens. "But because you wasted my time, I took the liberty of erasing the last of your family line from this earth."

He chuckles sheepishly. "There’s no need for you to thank me or anything. It’s honestly the least I could do."