Signed To The Mafia King - Chapter 66: Chapter 66

LUCA
As we stepped into my office, Daniel was already waiting, sitting lazily in one of the chairs like he owned the place.
He looked up, and his mouth curved into a smirk before his eyes rested on Alina. He laughed.
“Oh, I see,” he said, looking her up and down lustfully. I felt my blood boil. “She’s definitely a pussy worth all this fighting.”
Alina looked disgusted, as though she wanted to spit on his face. I touched her waist to stop her.
I clenched my jaw so hard I thought my teeth might crack.
My fingers curled into fists, the urge to walk across the room and smash his face into the table nearly unbearable.
I could become The Monster, I could crack his face so hard into the table that his numb skull would split apart.
I could declare war by killing Daniel.
It would take one second. Just one hit, and I would wipe that smug expression off his face permanently.
But I couldn’t. Not yet.
Daniel was a bastard, but he wasn’t an idiot, at least not completely, because he wasn’t here with the boy.
That meant he was still useful. I needed to see the boy first.
I forced myself to sit. My muscles stayed tense, my body humming with restrained violence. I could feel it making the tips of my fingers tingle. “Where is he?”
Daniel stretched, rolling his shoulders like this was just another casual meeting. “Being held,” he said easily. “You’ll get him when I get Valerie.”
I stared at him. “That’s not the deal.”
He shrugged. “It is now.”
I grinned like all this was fun and games. “We came with Valerie. She’s not returning without her child.”
Daniel turned in his seat, glancing around like he was expecting her to magically appear. Then he smirked again. “Well, I don’t see her anywhere. So unless you’re hiding her under the desk, I’m going to assume you’re trying to play me.” His eyes became hard as stone. “And I don’t like being played.”
I almost laughed. The irony of that statement coming from him.
“Play you?” I repeated, tilting my head. “That’s funny, considering you’re the one who changed the deal.”
Daniel leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You’re not in a position to negotiate.”
“No?” I arched my brow. “Are you sure about that?”
He frowned slightly, as if he wasn’t expecting me to push back.
I leaned back in my chair, forcing my posture to relax even though my body still felt coiled with tension. “Tell me something,” I said, voice smooth. “Did you know your brother was beating his wife?”
Daniel blinked, clearly thrown by the sudden change in topic.
Then his face twisted in annoyance. “What my brother does in his home is none of my business.”
I felt Alina stiffen beside me, but I kept my face blank, refusing to let this fly know what I thought of that. He would find out soon enough.
“Interesting,” I said. “So you don’t care that your brother is a pathetic excuse for a man? You don’t care that he spent years using his wife as a punching bag?”
Daniel was shaking his head. “This isn’t about Riot.”
“No,” I agreed, voice dropping lower. “It’s about the fact that you knew, and you let it happen.”
Daniel looked displeased with my questions. How he felt didn't matter to me.
What mattered was that I had planted the seed we meant to plant. Daniel was going to become emotional, and then he would fuck up.
We wanted him in our net just when he was starting to think he had won.
Daniel had power, but he also had pride. If he thought I saw him as weak for letting Riot do whatever he wanted, he wouldn’t be able to let it go.
I watched as his jaw tightened, his fingers tapping against his thigh.
Alina shifted beside me, her patience running out. “Where is the boy?” she asked.
Daniel’s eyes flicked back to her, and for a second, I thought he was going to say something stupid again.
Instead, he leaned back and smirked. “Safe,” he said. “For now.”
I leaned back in my chair, watching Daniel with barely concealed disgust. He rested in his seat like this was just another casual meeting, not a negotiation for his nephew’s life.
Alina’s voice cut through the heavy tension. “You really don’t care if your brother’s heirs survive?”
Daniel laughed, a short, careless sound. “The fewer males alive, the fewer people to fight me for control of the cartel.”
I clenched my jaw, fingers curling into fists under the table. The way he spoke, like his own nephew’s life was nothing,made me sick.
But I turned to Marco. “Bring Valerie in.”
Daniel, still smirking, pulled out his phone and made a call. “Bring the boy.”
I let out a slow breath. Our plan was working. Daniel was getting impatient, his arrogance making him reckless. It wouldn’t be long before he did something stupid.
The door opened, and Valerie stepped inside, Maya in her arms. Lorenzo walked in behind her, his good eye on Daniel.
Daniel barely spared Valerie a thought before he looked at Lorenzo. He scoffed. “What’s this? You got her a guard dog?”
Valerie’s grip on Maya tightened, but she said nothing.
“She’s returning home with a guard,” I said flatly.
Daniel snorted. “You don’t get to walk into my family and tell me how to treat my people.”
I shrugged. “I do when your brother is dying. Riot has two days before his wounds rot beyond saving. You'll listen to me if you want him alive.”
That finally wiped the amusement off his face. His hand curled tighter around his phone, jaw twitching. “If anything happens to my brother, I’ll stick a knife in your throat.”
Maya shifted in Valerie’s arms, smiling as she stretched her arms for me to carry her. I remembered her playing with my mom's knife and almost smiled.
But I couldn't take her. Not yet.
Alina, still standing beside me, shook her head slightly. Her voice was firm when she spoke. “Watch your mouth around the child.”
Daniel laughed, grunting as he bent to hold his stomach. “Her? She’s heard more swear words than you have, Alina. And she’ll see worse when her mother dies, because Riot will kill that bitch the second he sets his eyes on her.”
Alina moved before I could stop her. She jumped at Daniel, fingers curled, ready to claw his face open.
Daniel barely dodged, jerking back in his chair with an infuriating laugh.
I caught Alina around the waist, pulling her back before she actually reached him. Her body was rigid with fury, breath sharp and fast against my arm.
“That’s cute,” Daniel mocked, still grinning. “Your wife has claws. Maybe she should be the one wearing a leash.”
My grip on Alina tightened. My entire body burned with the need to hit him, to put a bullet right between his eyes for even looking at her the way he did.
Alina wrenched against me, but I didn’t let go. “You don’t get to talk about her like that,” I said.
Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Oh? Are you gonna teach me a lesson, Luca?” He smirked. “You don’t make the rules here. I do.”
And he did. For the time being. Just until he gave us Valerie’s son.
I kept my breathing even, forcing myself to stay calm. He wanted a reaction. He wanted to pull me into his game. But I knew better.
“You’re going to give us the boy,” I said, voice even. “That’s the deal.”
Daniel nodded. “Relax. You’ll get your happy little reunion soon enough.”
Alina had stopped struggling, but I could feel her fury burning just under the surface. She wasn’t just angry. She was calculating.
Daniel’s phone vibrated with a text, and he read it before looking back at me with that same smug smirk. “Looks like the boy’s almost here.”
I let go of Alina, though every muscle in my body stayed coiled and ready.
The plan had kicked in. The plan was simple. Get the boy from Daniel to Valerie. Keep the three of them safe. Kill Daniel if we had to.