Looking at Rhino, who was now utterly dejected, Michael simply asked, "Why?"
Before Rhino could answer, his brother, Ken, crumbled to Michael's feet. "Please, sir, forgive us. It wasn't totally our fault; we had no other choice."
Edward, shocked by Ken's sudden capitulation, looked at him with disdain. "Wow, this one doesn't have a spine?"
Ken immediately shot back, "When family is at stake, you don't talk about pride, but loyalty."
Edward's lips curled into a dry smile. "That's new, coming from a person like you."
Michael waved a hand, a silent consent for Ken to continue, sensing there was far more to this story than met the eye.
Ken began, but Rhino cut him off sharply, "Don't you dare!"
Ken rebuked his brother without hesitation. "Brother, don't you know when to calI it a quit. I was totally against your decision to go toe-to-toe with the military, but you wouldn't listen! Now, our family is still dreaming and hoping for us to free them from being held hostage, but we are about to be killed. Ask yourself, if we die, would the Adams family have any need to keep them? Of course not. And they can't release them either, because they might expose or cause problems for them. In this scenario, the only visible option for them is to sell all our family members away as sex workers or slave laborers, where they will never return."
Rhino fell silent, his face grim, as Ken looked back at Michael and continued. "It all started with the death of Don Matteo. Sir, this is a huge secret, and I'd like to talk to you in private."
Michael gestured, and his men began to disperse, leaving only Edward. "Continue," Michael instructed Ken.
Edward, still surprised by Ken's revelation, interjected, "Wait, how is the death of Don Matteo connected to this incident?"
Ken then resumed, his voice heavy. "The death of Don Matteo triggered a massive chain reaction and power dynamic within the country. He was the previous Mafia Lord of the underworld. He was like a wicked demon, a dreaded monster in the shadows. He had all manner of illegal businesses running, but only a few legitimate ones were known to the public. He was feared by all, including the government, as he was like a godfather to them. He could 'do and undo' in this country. He was the one who truly ran this country from the shadows, not the government. They were just puppets."
"Then what about the Major Families? I thought they were in charge?" Edward pressed.
Rhino let out a short, bitter laugh. "Someone's still wet behind the ears. You really don't know much do you? the people who run this country? They were his chief puppets.
The Major Families didn't dare bark loud in his presence. The very reason they even existed as 'Major Families' was because, just as one major family backs a smaller family for a foothold, he was the one backing the Major Families. Even though he's dead, the Major Families still retain their power, glory, and prestige, because even a dead lion is feared until confirmed dead. And confirming if a lion is dead isn't an easy ordeal, because you have to enter his den. One would have to be alive to tell the story. Moreover, the Major families won't allow such news out no matter what".
"Alright, so what happened?" Michael prompted, cutting to the chase.
"We were one of his grass-level subsidiaries," Ken explained. "If he were alive, the Adams family wouldn't have subjugated us to this point of no return, albeit in the shadows, because they were also his subordinates. When he was alive, we had no choice but to run and hide under his protection because we were about to be eliminated by the Adams family. That's how we knew and pledged allegiance to Don Matteo. But as time went on, we detested him and his endeavors because they went against our conscience, but we couldn't do anything. When Don Matteo found out about our detest and sway of heart, he gave the Adams more power to suppress us. But when he finally died at the hands of the White Deity, we couldn't resist them at all, so they subjugated and conquered us. They forcefully took and held our family hostage and ordered us to terrorize people in the middle-north border, knowing full well that we might cross paths with you, the God of War. I told my brother this was an elaborate plan to borrow you as their sword to kill us. My brother only saw it as a 'do or die' affair to defeat you in order to save our family. I also think there's an inside plan to this, apart from killing us with a borrowed sword. We truly had no choice but to obey them, even though we knew we could die in this conquest."
Edward sat down heavily, processing everything he had just heard. He wasn't surprised; he had been feeling odd about the recent happenings he couldn't fathom – the sudden boldness of some people, the constant commands to suppress, subjugate, and totally eliminate certain families in a row. The distress calls and the wailing of the people. It was all, indeed, thought-provoking.