Daughter of the Mafia's Consigliere

Unknown POV.

Taking the seat provided for me in front of the blindfolded man, I lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before blowing out the smoke. In the corner of the dimly lit room, a steel barrel filled with ice-cold water waited patiently for the traitorous man who was not only blindfolded but also tied tightly to a chair.

"Carlo," I called calmly, and his head, which had been bowed low, snapped up immediately.

"B-Boss, is that you?" he stuttered, glancing around blindly.

I took another hit of my cigarette before replying, "You broke omertà, Carlo."

He sat up straighter and shook his head wildly. "No, boss, I didn't. I swear, I would never break omertà. I would rather die."

I chuckled lowly and saw him swallow. "But that's not what the pictures say. The ones showing you hanging around that female detective. I mean, I get that she's hot and all, but are you seriously willing to screw your family over just for a fine piece of ass?"

He swore under his breath. "Boss, I admit that I've been seeing her, but I swear to you, on my mother's life, that I never told her anything about the family."

"You swear on your mother's life?" I asked in surprise, unable to stop my mild amusement from reflecting in my voice.

He nodded quickly. "Yes, boss, I swear on her life."

I chuckled again and turned to my right-hand man, Enzo, who was leaning on the wall just a few feet away. "Did you hear that, Enzo? He swears on his DEAD mother's life."

Enzo's lips curled up in a dark smile. "I sure heard it, boss, and I can't help but feel bad for the poor dead woman to have a son like him."

I turned back fully to Carlo. "Why so surprised, Carlo? Did you really think we wouldn't look into your past even before you joined the family?"

"I-I..." he stammered pathetically, and I shook my head before looking up at the two men standing behind him.

"Dunk him in." I uttered, and Carlo gasped.

"No, wait! Boss! I'm sorry!" He cried, flailing as the two men quickly untied him and dragged him over to the steel barrel. With impeccable ease and strength, they lifted a still-protesting Carlo, holding him by his legs so he was hanging upside down before dunking his head into the ice-cold water. Carlo gurgled out incoherent words and muffled screams.

The two men lifted him out of the water, but he barely had enough time to suck in air before they dunked him again, resulting in another round of muffled screams. I focused on my cigarette, blocking out the sounds of his torture.

I heard the door to the room open and titled my head slightly towards the direction but not enough to actually see who it was that had walked in. It was not until I heard the familiar deep voice of my father calling my name, "Riccardo," that I quickly rose to my feet and turned to him.

He was standing by the door with his arms behind his back and was unsurprisingly accompanied by his own right-hand man, Stefan. I arched a brow but bowed slightly to show respect. From the corner of my eye, I saw Enzo do the same. The men torturing Carlo released him long enough to bow to my father too.

"Father," I greeted verbally. "To what do I owe this surprise visit?"

"Step outside; I need to talk to you about something important," he replied, and I glanced over my shoulder at Enzo, who had also been watching me.