Chapter 1 Prologue 1 - The Price Of Blood

Dante Gray:

I parked my car in the private garage of my family's company, and immediately one of my soldiers opened the door for me, while two others scanned the entire perimeter for any suspicious movement. The scraping of my shoes against the concrete echoed like a dry warning—I hated always having someone clinging to my neck. I didn't need that much protection. I thought I could take care of myself very well, alone.

But my father didn't share that opinion.

He trusted the training he had given me, but he said that, as his successor, I would always be in greater danger than any other member of our family. However, I knew part of that concern came from the pressure my mother put on him, demanding more rigor in my security. I thought it was an exaggeration. A fucking exaggeration.

Besides, we were going through a tense period. Ever since the old capo of the Legion—the Manchester mafia—had died, his eldest son had taken over the business and had been making things difficult for us. The bastard was threatening the peace between the Brotherhood and the Legion, inciting an unnecessary war. We wouldn't run from it, but we preferred to avoid it. My father was doing his utmost to avoid having to dissolve that alliance, because the Legion was an important ally in our eternal fight against our greatest enemy: the Krakow. Furthermore, going to war with them wouldn't be good for business—it would attract federal attention to us.

What the new capo of the Legion was doing wasn't intelligent at all. The Brotherhood would survive without them, but without us, the Legion wouldn't have a chance against the Krakow. The guy didn't seem to care about that and wasn't making things easy. However, my father was beginning to get irritated—and when Giovanni Gray lost his patience, he would go all in on war.

At nineteen, I was already fully active in the mafia. I had become a fundamental member and was at my father's side in every decision, especially after my grandfather and Uncle Enzo stepped back from the direct affairs of the Brotherhood. That's why, at that moment, I was going to the company for a meeting with Caius, the capo of the Legion.

I went straight to my father's office, knocked on the door, and entered without hesitating. My eyes swept the room in a second: Caius seated on my father's left side, two of his soldiers standing nearby. Some of our men were also present—after all, we had guests who weren't exactly trustworthy.

There was an empty chair beside my father, waiting for me, his direct successor. In the other chairs sat Uncle Leonardo, Viktorrio, Uncle Romeu, Aníbal, Liam, and Valentin, who was already beginning to be introduced to mafia activities. Like me, they all kept their expressions closed. We couldn't let our guard down. None of us had been raised and trained to be trustworthy and kind outside our homes—especially in situations like that one.

Ever since I'd learned about the urgent meeting, my instincts told me something was about to happen. I still didn't know the purpose of that gathering, but I was sure my father would only do what was best for the organization. So, I was ready to abide by his decisions.

As I walked to the chair, I greeted everyone with a firm voice:

"Good morning. Sorry for the delay, I had an unforeseen issue."

I sat down next to my father, with all eyes fixed on me. The men just nodded, but their posture remained tense, almost electric. How strange, I thought. My father and Uncle Leonardo had always been my best friends—I could read their expressions better than anyone. They weren't satisfied with the reason for that meeting. In fact, none of my people were.

"Now that Dante has arrived, we can begin," my father said, and his voice cut through the air like a blade.

"I'd like to know the reason we're gathered here," I inquired, serious, making it clear I wasn't there to waste time.

"We're here just to discuss business, young man. Don't worry," Caius replied, in a tone that made me clench my jaw.

I didn't like that condescension. I looked at my father and saw his gaze silently asking me to stay calm. I was getting more and more tense, more vigilant. I let my instinct take over, touched the gun in my holster with a deliberate movement, and spoke again, staring directly into Caius's eyes:

"Then let's begin, because I have other important matters to handle today."

Caius laughed again, looking at me with a petulance that was already deeply irritating me. Two of the many personality traits I'd inherited from my father and grandfather were impatience and an absolute aversion to games. I looked away to my father and, with a subtle nod, he again asked me to remain calm.

"It's in no one's interest to dissolve the alliance between the Brotherhood and the Legion," Caius began, his voice oily like someone selling something. "It makes us stronger and has always yielded good results. It would be a shame if that happened. We have the Krakow as a common enemy and we need to continue joining forces."

At that moment, the man looked at my father. And my father looked at me with a tense, almost sorrowful expression.

"Caius wants you as a son-in-law, Dante," my father said, ending the suspense all at once.

The revelation hit me hard. I was usually prepared for everything, but getting married at nineteen had never been in my plans. My father had always made it clear that my marriage would be something for the medium-term future—and that I could choose the woman I wished to marry, as long as she was someone from within the mafia, of course.

I was born into the mafia world and was destined to be the next Leader. I knew my marriage would be demanded earlier than my cousins', but I didn't imagine it would be this early. At that moment, I understood my father's and Uncle Leonardo's strange looks. They knew. They had already chewed on that shit before me.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Caius pushed his cell phone across the table to me, with a disgusting smile.

"Look. That's my daughter. Isn't she beautiful?" he asked, as if showing off a trophy.

I took the phone reluctantly—and was horrified. The girl in the photo looked incredibly young, barely out of childhood. This is insane! What the hell is this? I refused to believe my father was supporting something like that.

I stood up with a jolt, dragging the chair violently backward. The harsh noise made the soldiers on both sides startle. I was pissed—absolutely fuming.