Queen of Shadows: A Dark Mafia Romance

Chapter Fourteen: Blood Ties

               Jaxon’s Point of View

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The wind howled outside the warehouse, the cold biting deep into my bones. Inside, the room was dimly lit, casting long shadows across the walls. I leaned back in my chair, my eyes locked on Anthony as he stood before me, his arms crossed over his broad chest. The tension in the room was thick, and the air reeked of anticipation. We both knew what was about to happen.

Tony—the fucking rat—was being brought in. And I wasn’t about to let this shit slide.

"Anthony, any updates on Tony?" I asked, my voice low and dangerous.

Anthony nodded, his expression grim. “Yeah, boss. They’re bringing him in now. He’s sweating bullets. Swears it wasn’t him, but we’ve got proof. He was feeding information to the familias across the city. Weapons deals have been compromised. He’s gotta pay.”

I clenched my jaw, my hand gripping the edge of the desk. In this business, loyalty was everything. A rat wasn’t just a snitch; they were a death sentence. And family rules? They demanded blood.

"Good. I want his head on a fucking spike," I growled, my mind already racing through the brutal punishment I had planned.

The door to the warehouse office swung open, and two of my soldiers dragged Tony in, his arms bound behind his back with thick rope. He was bleeding from the nose, his face already swollen from the beating he’d received outside. They threw him to the ground in front of me, and I stood, towering over him, my eyes burning with fury.

“You know why you’re here, Tony?” I asked, my voice a low, menacing growl.

Tony’s eyes were wide with fear, his mouth trembling as he tried to speak. “Boss, I swear—”

I didn’t let him finish. My foot connected with his ribs, sending him sprawling across the floor. “Don’t fucking lie to me,” I snapped, the rage bubbling up from inside me. “We’ve got the proof, Tony. You’ve been selling us out to the other families, fucking with my money, my deals. You know what the punishment for that is, right?”

Tony coughed, blood splattering onto the concrete floor as he tried to catch his breath. “Boss, please,” he gasped. “I didn’t mean—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I cut him off, my voice cold. “You broke the rules, Tony. And now you’re going to pay.”

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In our family, betrayal was dealt with swiftly and brutally. We had rules, unspoken but known by every single man who worked for me. You don’t rat. You don’t steal from your family. And you sure as hell don’t sell us out to the competition.

The rule was simple: you break it, you die.

Anthony stood beside me, his arms crossed as he watched in silence. He knew the rules, too. He knew what was coming.

“You got anything to say for yourself, Tony?” I asked, leaning down so I was inches from his face. “Or are you just gonna take your punishment like a man?”

Tony whimpered, tears mixing with the blood running down his face. “Please, boss. I got a family… kids.”

I gritted my teeth. “So do I, Tony. And you tried to fuck with mine.”

I nodded to Anthony, who stepped forward and handed me a long, gleaming knife. I gripped the handle tightly, the weight of it familiar in my hand. The smell of fear filled the room as Tony realized what was about to happen.

I didn’t hesitate.

The blade sliced through his throat in one clean motion, a spray of hot blood hitting the ground as Tony’s eyes went wide with shock. He gagged, choking on his own blood as he collapsed to the floor, his body convulsing in its final moments.