New Rules
Aria's POV
The coffee cup burst in my hand.
Hot liquid burned my skin as ceramic bits cut my palm. But that wasn't what made me yell. It was the small piece of metal I pulled from the broken mug—a tiny bomb, no bigger than a pill.
"Poison," Kai said, appearing immediately at my side. He grabbed my wrist and inspected the cuts. "The ceramic was coated with something."
My hand was already going numb. In the distance, I heard Marco yelling orders, but his voice sounded far away.
"How long do I have?" I asked, surprised by how calm my voice sounded.
"Depends on the poison," Dmitri said, coming through the office door with a medical kit. "But we're about to find out."
This was my third day as official head of the Torrino family. Third day, and someone had already tried to kill me. From inside my own company.
"Antidote," Luca stated, sliding a syringe across my desk. "Our doctor friend came through."
The needle hurt less than the deception. Someone who worked for me, someone who had access to my private office, had tried to murder me with my morning coffee.
"Who brought the coffee?" I asked as the cure worked its way through my system.
"Maria Santos," Marco answered grimly. "She's been Vincent's personal assistant for twelve years."
My heart sank. Maria was a sweet older woman who always asked about my mother's health. She brought me coffee every morning and stayed late to help with papers.
"Where is she now?"
"Gone. Cleaned out her desk and left sometime in the night." I slumped in my chair, feeling sick and it wasn't from the poison. "How many others, do you think?"
"Hard to say," Kai admitted. "Vincent ruled through fear for thirty years. Changing that overnight won't be easy."
But that's exactly what I was trying to do. Yesterday, I'd announced the new structure to the entire Torrino company. No more security rackets that hurt small businesses. No more loan sharking with impossible interest rates. No more violence against people who couldn't pay.
"You're being too soft," Dmitri said, reading my thoughts. "Half your men think you're weak."
"Let them think that. Fear only works until someone stronger comes along. Loyalty lasts forever."
"Pretty words," Luca said. "But loyalty doesn't stop poison in your coffee."
He was right, and we all knew it. The old-guard Torrino members were trying me. Seeing if the young girl could really handle power, or if she'd break under pressure.
"We need to send a message," Marco said. "Find Maria and make an example."
"No." The word came out harder than I meant it. "We find Maria and we ask her why. Maybe Vincent was threatening her family. Maybe someone forced her to do it."
All four men stared at me like I'd grown a second head.
"Aria," Marco said slowly, "in this business, betrayal means death. Always."
"Then maybe it's time to change the business."
Before anyone could argue, my office door burst open. Three guys in expensive suits walked in without knocking. I recognized them immediately—Vincent's old inner group.
"Miss Torrino," said the leader, a guy named Frank with cold eyes and scarred hands. "We need to talk."
"You need to knock," I answered, standing up. "And wait for permission to enter."
Frank smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "The old boss never made us wait."
"I'm not the old boss."
"No, you're not. Vincent understood respect. You seem to think you can just waltz in here and change everything."
I felt my four men tense behind me, ready for action. But I held up a hand to stop them.
"What exactly is your problem, Frank?"
"My trouble is that you're destroying everything Vincent built. No more safety money? No more enforcement? How exactly do you plan to make money?"
"Legitimate businesses. Investment options. Partnerships instead of threats."
Frank laughed. "You sound like a college textbook. This is the real world, little girl. You can't run a crime family with handshakes and smiles."
"Watch me."
Frank's smile faded. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to reverse all your stupid new rules, or we're going to find someone who will."
The threat hung in the air like smoke. Behind me, I heard Dmitri crack his fingers.
"Are you challenging my authority?" I asked.
"I'm giving you friendly advice. Take it."
"Here's my friendly advice," I said, walking around my desk to face him directly. "You work for me now. You follow my rules, or you find another job. Those are your only choices."
Frank's face went red. "You can't fire us. We've been with this family for twenty years."
"Then you should understand loyalty better than anyone."
"Loyalty goes both ways, princess. You want our respect? Earn it."
He turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Oh, and Aria? Your little coffee incident this morning? That was just a warning. Next time, we won't use such a weak drug."
The door slammed behind them.
"Well," Luca said into the quiet. "That was subtle."
"They just confessed to trying to kill me," I said, still staring at the closed door.
"Yep," Dmitri agreed happily. "Want me to go break their legs?"
"No. I want you to watch them. All of them. Find out who else is involved."
"Aria," Marco said seriously, "you can't show mercy to people who try to kill you. It makes you look weak."
"I'm not giving mercy. I'm being smart. If I kill Frank and his friends, their followers go underground. I'd rather know who my enemies are."
Kai nodded slowly. "Sun Tzu. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
"Exactly."
But personally, I was terrified. How could I run a criminal group if I couldn't trust my own people? How could I change anything if half my guys wanted me dead?
My phone buzzed with a text message. Unknown number, like always.
"The hospital says your mother wants to see you. But the guest she's already with might surprise you. Come alone, or she gets hurt. - A Friend " I showed the message to the others.
"Definitely a trap," Marco said.
"Obviously," I agreed. "But I have to go."
"Then we all go."
"No. Whoever this is, they want me separated. If I bring backup, they might hurt her."
"Aria—"
"This is not up for discussion. I'm going to see my mother."
An hour later, I stood outside room 314 at Neo City General Hospital. Through the small window, I could see my mother sitting up in bed, talking to someone in a visitor's chair.
Someone whose back looked familiar.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Hello, sweetheart," my mother said softly. "I'd like you to meet your father."
The man in the visitor's chair turned around, and my world tilted sideways.
It was Commissioner Ricci.
The man who'd sworn me in as head of the Torrino family three days ago was my real father.
"Hello, daughter," he said quietly. "I think it's time you learned the truth about everything."