The black Range Rover 2024 SUV rolled to a smooth stop in front of the construction site, and as the door opened, every man on-site who saw it stopped what they were doing and bowed their head slightly.
"Boss!" they all called out.
Alexandro stepped out, rolling his shoulders before adjusting the cuffs of his white dress shirt.
"Get back to work guys." He called out, raising his hands in acknowledgment
He looked up at the seven-story skeletal structure of the apartment complex under construction—"Porto Sicuro." Soon, it would be more than just steel and concrete. It would be a refuge, a haven for those who had nowhere else to go. The building and compound would also contain a clinic (both human and veterinary), a sports center/gym, a vocational training center, and a wellness center.
"Any new update?" He called out loudly to his right-hand man standing a few feet from him, still looking around the compound.
Gio peeled away from the foreman he had been talking to, smirking slightly at the use of his nickname. "Foreman says we'll be finished soon, but—"
Alex's gray eyes snapped at him.
"Relax, Steel." Gio chuckled, raising a hand in surrender. "Nothing's burning down. Just some delays—electricians won't finish until the week after, and the furniture's arriving late."
Alex clenched his jaw, glancing back at the structure. His dream was close to reality, yet still not quite there.
"Make it happen faster," he ordered.
"You think I'm not trying? Hell, every worker here is excited about this project; it means a lot to this community. It has the whole city talking. We're getting offers to expand before the damn place is even finished."
Alex said nothing. He had poured too much into Porto Sicuro to let delays irritate him, yet they did. Every day the project was incomplete, another child was left on the streets and forced into desperation.
That thought burned in his gut.
A buzzing noise interrupted the conversation.
Alex pulled out his phone, looking at the screen with a mix of irritation and boredom. Ten missed calls. Fourteen unread messages. All from the supermodel he had spent the night with two days ago. He couldn't even remember damn her name.
" Are you seriously ignoring me? " Wow. No note, no call; I just woke up to you gone." "But I'll forgive you if you at least take me to dinner; last night was great." " Lexy, this is rude even for you."
Gio peeked at his phone and grinned. "Damn. She's persistent. You could at least fake some manners. Didn't even leave her a note?"
"I didn't see the point," Alex replied, tucking his phone back into his pocket. "She was just a good lay."
Gio laughed. "One of these days, you're going to meet a woman that will lock you down, and with your taste in women, it will be one you can't afford to piss off."
Alex just smirked. "Doubt it."
His women never expected anything from him. He didn't do attachments. No love. No promises. Just one night, and nothing more. It seems like he made an error with this recent choice; he didn't expect her to be this clingy.
Matteo, one of his assistants, approached with an iPad. "Boss, there's also the gala tomorrow. You're expected to make an appearance."
Alex exhaled slowly. "Remind me why I'm subjecting myself to that circus."
"Because it's your fundraiser," Gio said with exaggerated patience. "You're the one charming the city's elite to throw money at Porto Sicuro."
Alex scoffed. "Charming? Is that what we're calling it? I'm about to spend hours surrounded by two-faced politicians, corporate snakes, and washed-up old-money families pretending they actually give a shit about the poor."
"You need them," Gio reminded him. "This NGO has to be as clean as possible. No backdoor deals. No mafia stains. If Porto Sicuro is going to expand across the country, you need legal power backing it."
Alex ran a hand through his hair. "I know."
He hated playing the part of the well-mannered billionaire philanthropist, but it was necessary. In the world he ruled, strength came in two forms—blood and power.
Gio's phone pinged, he looked down at it his brows furrowing as he read the text. "Lex, Andre has been found and is being taken to the warehouse," he told Alex.
He looked at his driver as he stepped back in the car, gesturing for Gio to come with him.
"Let's head back to the base; we have an issue to deal with."
The D'soto family's main meeting base was one of his warehouses by the docks. To the ordinary eye and legal records, the building was an active warehouse for vehicle parts but in the back office, a door hidden by a false cabinet led to the basement where the members gathered for meetings and emergencies. The basement was dimly lit, the scent of metal and blood thick in the air.
Today the large basement was filled with major and minor players in the family, everybody who was anybody was there for the impromptu meeting that was called.
Two of Alex's men dragged a struggling figure inside. His wrists were cuffed behind his back, and he had a swollen eye already, blood was dripping from a split lip onto his torn shirt. The man thrashed, desperate, but the grip on his arms was unyielding. They threw him down onto his knees before Alexandro who was standing in the midst of everyone.
Alex looked down at him with pure disgust. "What happened to his face?"
"He refused to cooperate and come with us." one replied keeping his gaze on the floor.
"Uncuff him" he ordered.
They hesitated for only a second before obeying, stepping back as soon as the cuffs clicked open. The man turned trying to hit him on but they moved away from his reach quickly.
"Fucking cowards! Teaming up on me. Why don't you face me one on one, uhn fools!" he yelled turning around and trying to look at all that gathered but they avoided his gaze.
"Andre!" Alex said loudly, "Do you know why you were brought here?"
"Why couldn't you just call….."
Before could complete his statement he found himself choking as Alex's hands grabbed his throat in an iron vice. The force sent him to his knees, gasping for air, his fingers clawing at his wrist. His eyes bulged, face reddening as Alex watched him struggle, unbothered.
After a few agonizing seconds, he released him with a shove, letting him collapse onto the floor, coughing and wheezing. "I hear you were caught trafficking teens." His voice was cold, detached as if he were inquiring about the weather.
"No! No, Boss, I swear!" the man sputtered, hands raised. "I swear it's a lie, who ever told you that is a liar!"
Alex sighed, almost disappointed. He crouched down, grabbing the man's right hand. Before the man could react, Alex twisted sharply, snapping two fingers backward with a sickening crunch. A scream tore from the man's throat as he cradled his ruined hand, shaking violently.
Alex tilted his head. "Try again," he said sounding bored.
The man whimpered, tears leaking from his swollen eyes. "I….I didn't know they were underage…."
Alex's hand shot out again, this time gripping the man's hair and yanking his head back cruelly, forcing him to look up. The pain was searing, but the cold stare from Alex was worse.
"You think I'm an idiot?" Alex asked, his voice calm, almost gentle.
Desperation flashed across the man's face. He made a sudden, clumsy attempt to strike out at Alex, but it was pathetic. Alex deflected the weak attack with ease, catching the man's wrist mid-air before delivering a sharp, brutal punch to his jaw. The force sent him sprawling, a tooth flying from his mouth as his head cracked against the concrete floor.
He groaned, barely conscious when Alex's boot came down on his ankle pressing sharply. The snap echoed in the quiet basement, followed by another agonized howl. He looked around wildly trying to meet anybody's gaze, desperate for help but most avoided his eyes, others looked at him in disgust.
"Fuck! Fuck! Okay, okay! I did it! But I didn't know, Boss! I swear they were willing they came to me on their own..…."
Another crunch. Alex snapped his wrist this time.
The man's screams were guttural now like that of a wounded animal, pain and fury intertwining as he finally snapped, spitting out his true thoughts. "You're a fucking fool! Do you know how much money there is in this business? Skin trade is a goddamn goldmine! And you—" He let out a shuddering breath. "You….you're too fucking soft to take advantage of it!"
Alex stared at him blankly, then shook his head. "That's your greed talking." He crouched beside the man's broken form. "My family rules are clear. No member participates in the skin trade."
"Please," the man sobbed, switching tactics, crawling toward Alex with his shattered wrist tucked against his chest and one of his legs dragging behind him. "I had debts, Boss. Gambling debts and a sick mother. Give me one more chance, I swear I didn't give them to bad clients and I gave them something to get them high a little. I'm sure they barely felt anything…"
Alex's expression didn't change. His hands moved fast, gripping the man's head and snapping his neck in one smooth motion.
The body stilled instantly and collapsed, the lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
Gio, who had been leaning against the wall, let out a low whistle. "Well, shit. What a shame. He was kinda useful."
Alex wiped his hands with a cloth. "Not useful enough."
Alex rose to his feet, dusting off his sleeves. He turned to the other men gathered in the room, his voice calm but firm. "Let this be a lesson and a warning. I don't tolerate skin trade in my family."
They all bowed to him in submission.
Turning to one of the men who had dragged the dead guy in, "Find out if what he said about his mother is true, if it is report to Ghost so we can take care of her bills." he ordered.
He glanced at the corpse one last time like he was looking at nothing before giving a simple order. "Chop him up. Feed him to the pigs."
The men didn't hesitate. As they moved in to dispose of the body, Alex walked out of the basement, never looking back.
He had an ass-kissing gala to prepare for.
Tomorrow, he would wear his billionaire CEO persona and shake hands with politicians movers, and shakers of the financial and legal world.