Becoming The Mafia's Pawn

“We need this deal.”

Xavier De Luca leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze fixed on his father who stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of their rather opulent study. The older De Luca’s presence commanded respect, his graying hair and lined face belying the sharp mind that had built their empire.

The De Luca’s. The name was no joke, the mere mention of it capable of sending hundreds of chills down any recipient’s spines. It was an infamous name, an infamous group- one Leonard De Luca spent his entire youthful days building.

Just like his father, he was also born into the brutal mafia world. Luckily for him, he got a good grasp of it quick enough, enabling him to not only easily make a name for himself but ensure his son, Xavier, followed in his footsteps.

“You’ll meet with the Castellanos,” Xavier’s father said to him, his tone clipped. “They’re a strong group, and with tensions rising, it’s time to solidify alliances.”

Xavier nodded, his confidence unwavering. He had grown up to be just a younger version of his father- strong, confident, ruthless and never took no for an answer. Not only had be also made sure to make a name for himself in the mafia world, he managed to make one strong enough he was almost rivalling with his father.

But his father was still his father and as much as he wished otherwise, he still had to listen to him and do whatever he asked of him.

“Consider it done, father,” Xavier massaged his wrists as he said. “I’ll bring that deal home. The Castellanos won’t say no to us.”

His father turned, a shadow of doubt flickering in his eyes. “Don’t underestimate the situation, Xavier. Damon Russo is also after them.”

At the mention of Damon, Xavier’s jaw tightened. The name alone was enough to ignite a simmering rage within him. Damon Russo—his rival in every sense of the word. Their feud was a long-standing one, fueled by competition, power plays, and a mutual hatred that seemed almost genetic.

“Damon?” Xavier’s voice was laced with disdain. “Let me guess, he’s already crawling to them, desperate for scraps? Did he find out we were planning on making our move?”

“Unfortunately, I won’t be answering that question cause it makes no difference,” he clicked his tongue. “All I’m asking from you is to bring the Castellanos’ to our side. You bring them here.”

“I’ll handle it,” Xavier stood, adjusting the cuffs of his tailored suit. “You don’t have to worry. Damon won’t stand a chance.”

Leonard raised his brows and looked away, Xavier immediately understanding what that meant. The conversation was over and he didn’t need anymore words from him. What he needed was action.

Action Xavier was more than ready to take.

Not a single second was wasted, Xavier immediately getting to work. The next few hours was spent in his office with him gathering intel on the Castellanos. His network of informants worked swiftly, feeding him details about their operations, preferences, and even their personal quirks. And by evening, with his right-hand man by his side, he was ready to head over to their headquarters.

Their headquarters was a sleek, modern club in the heart of the city. It was a stark contrast to his family’s, the Castellanos clearly having a preference for a lively environment where no one could easily figure out the dark deals taking place within. Regardless, it was a perfect opportunity for Xavier to make his move- more people present simply meant more lives at risk. And lives just had to be his favourite thing to toy with.

Immediately recognizing him, the guards at the entrance of the bar club quickly ushered him in, fumbling with his mouth piece as he tried to inform the rest of the guards about his presence. Sniffing in the familiar smell of alcohol, drugs and women, he glided through the club and just as he was about to take the sharp turn towards the main office, stopped in his tracks, his eyes catching on to a familiar enemy.

It was Damon, smiling and shaking hands with the very client he was just about to meet.

“Carlos,” he breathed out to his right hand man. “What is he doing here?”

“He must have been one step ahead of us, sir. I’m sorry. I didn’t do my research well enough.”

He raised his hand to silence him, his gaze immediately meeting Damon’s. In return, Damon smiled and reached for a piece of paper on the table, flashing his client another smile before turning around to walk up to Xavier.

Damon stood by the head of the table, his easy smile and casual demeanor masking the predator beneath. He turned as Xavier entered, his smile widening.

“Xavier De Luca,” Damon’s sarcastic smile was still on his face as he drawled. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Thought you’d be too busy polishing your family’s legacy to bother.”

Xavier’s eyes flicked to the Castellanos, who were standing nearby, their expressions neutral. Damon watched his eyes movement and chuckled to himself, already feeling victorious.

“The fact that you don’t have legacy like that to look up to must bother you a lot. You mention it all that time.”

“Maybe you’re right?” he smiled then waved the paper containing two thumbprints in Xavier’s face. “But that doesn’t really matter right now, does it?”

“You don’t need the deal with Castellanos.”

“But you do,” Damon’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “That’s more than enough reason for me.”

“In that case, can we say I won?” Damon continued. “And you lost? Wow, I like the sound of that. Wonder if your father is going to feel the same.”

Xavier clenched his fists, his mind racing. He couldn’t afford to lose this deal, not to Damon. But he knew very well how things worked. The Castellanos must have been pleased with whatever arrangement Damon had proposed so knew he’d have to change tactics.

“Hold on to that piece of paper while you can,” Xavier took a step towards him, refusing to accept defeat even at the slightest. “And have as much as you can with it while you can. Cause it won’t be very long.”

“Is that a threat?” Damon matched his pace. “Or just another useless bluff? Of course, that’s a very ‘De Luca’ thing to do.”

“Si,” Xavier finally smirked at him too. “Which one it is, you’ll find out very soon.”

“You know what?” Damon nodded. “I’ll actually love to see you try.”

He laughed again then immediately turned around to walk out, leaving the scene to just Xavier and his right hand man. The doors to the Castellanos private room was also quickly shut, Xavier’s fists tightening with every second that passed.

“Should I call our men?” Carlos quickly suggested. “He couldn’t have gone far so they could just ambush him on his way and-”

“No,” Xavier silenced him by shaking his head. “That’s not necessary. I doubt he came alone so it’ll only cause a bloodbath.”

“Your father gave you permission to play dirty.”

“He did,” Xavier nodded. “But I don’t want Damon dead. Not yet. Not like this.”

He needed to watch him crumble. Needed to see the look on his face as he accepted defeat. He personally needed to be there for it to happen so there was no way he was doing him a favour by getting his men to kill him.

“Then what would you do, sir?” Carlos sighed. “You can’t tell your father Damon beat you to this deal.”

“I won’t,” Xavier sharply turned to face him. “Because he hasn’t. And he won’t.”

“What are you planning?”

“You want to call our men? Call them then,” Xavier clicked his tongue, his mind quickly getting to work. “Get all of them to work twice as hard and keep your eyes on Damon. There has to be something about him I can use against him. Anything I can use to get that deal from him. A leverage- any leverage.”

“Actually, I think there is,” Carlos hesitated before speaking. “I think there’s someone like that. I noticed after following for a couple of weeks.”

“Go on.”

“A girl,” Carlos continued, immediately sensing Xavier’s impatience. “Works at a grocery store downtown. Damon’s been going there a lot lately. Watching her.”

Xavier raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Damon might have been a lot of things but he didn’t consider him stupid. At least not stupid enough to allow himself get personally involved with a woman.

“A girl?” Xavier couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Are you sure?”

“Though his intentions towards her aren’t clear yet, I’m sure he is interested in her,” Carlos nodded. “I wouldn’t drive there every single night just to look at her for hours if he wasn’t. now that I think about it, this might be our way in.”

A slow smile spread across Xavier’s face. Just when he’d thought things could actually get complicated, Damon had fallen right into his lap.

“Find this girl,” he ordered, a plan forming in his mind. “Find out everything about her. Her name, her background, her family, her dreams, her every move-find out every single thing about her that exists.”

“I need her.”

Carlos nodded, watching the signature terrifying smile appear on Xavier’s face. He swallowed and getting a good grasp of the turn things had suddenly taken, breathed out to Xavier.

“Consider her yours.”