Chapter 66 THE AUCTION
With brute force, Santiano switched the positioning of his gun, hitting Pedro hard in the head with the butt of his gun, causing the man to fall back into the cushion— losing consciousness and out of nowhere, someone fired their last shot at Santiano— the loud bang blaring into existence as the bullet got shot into existence.
TEN MINUTES LATER
“Argh!” Pedro groaned as he regained consciousness, the pain from the hit he had suffered from the butt of Santiano's grub settling in fast that he began to soothe his head with his hand, squinting his eyes sporadically as the pain continued to manifest.
“What the hell happened here?” Pedro asked his men that were still in the room with him.
One of the men who seemed to be his right hand man rushed at him with an ice pack in his hand, handing it over to his boss— Pedro to help lessen the pain he was feeling.
Pedro collected the ice pack and he felt more relief than at the last minute. His eyes scanned the room briefly and one of his men was laying dead on the cold marble floor.
A stain was spread across the front of his white shirt and Pedro needed no on telling him that it was blood.
“He fired a shot at Santiano, but he missed. One of his men took him down at once, but I was able to subdue a possible fight.” Pedro's right hand man explained.
As he heard this, Pedro clenched his fists hard, his teeth gritting against each other, but the next word he heard made him tone down, a happy tug pulling at his heart with content.
“He left with the card,” The man said.
That was enough. Santiano would make it to the auction and the conditions he had listed would be fulfilled.
The Pedro family was now another step closer to becoming a prestigious family in the Mafia world and not just a regular Mafia family in the center of Sicily city but I the whole of Italy.
“The auction will be starting soon, boss. All out important guests and auctioneers are beginning to arrive.” Pedro's right hand man announced, collecting the ice pack bag from Pedro who had started straightening his suit, accessing himself as if there was an invisible mirror in front of him.
“Double the lucky cards at the casino,” Pedro said with a grin widely spread on his lips as he fixed the cufflinks on the sleeve of his shirt.
“Let us spread love to our loyal customers tonight by making them win doubles on their bets now that our family will be fucking wealthy.” He finished with a maniacal laughter that was crooked and hazardous to the ear.
VANESSA'S POV
The show glass used to contain me had been on the move for a while but I couldn't describe where we were as a black covering had been spread all over the container, sealing my view of the world shut and no one could see me inside the show glass as well.
But after a while, I could feel the men carrying the container climb stairs carefully and the continuous mumbling of other people who I had registered as workers in my head pulled me to a conclusion that we were headed up a stage— the very stage I would be put on display.
The men carefully laid the container on a stand and everything was quiet for a while. I could even hear the sound of my own heart thumping heavily within my chest.
AUTHOR'S POV
The auction room was starting to be graced with the presence of invited families. The room was starting to turn to a melting pot of international crime syndicates with the who's who of organized crime arriving to flaunt their wealth and power.
Alongside the Italian mafias, the Yakuza from Japan and Russian Mafias had sent their representatives to grace the event and to bid on the rare and valuable items for collection.
The Yakuza, known for their strict code of honor and loyalty, were represented by the ruthless Oyabun Takeshi. He was a man of few words, but his presence commanded respect.
His eyes were cold and calculating as he surveyed the room, his gaze lingering on the large structure on the stage covered with a black sheet.
His side aide whispered a few words into his ear and he let out a condensing grin with his gaze still fixed on the large box.
The Russian Mafias on the other hand were represented by the cunning and brutal Viktor. He was known to be the master of manipulation with a reputation for crushing his enemies without mercy— after all, he was Russian.
Viktor smiled, showing gold-capped teeth as he calculated the odds of getting his hands on the most prized item at the auction.
As the auction drove to a start, Pedro had made his way into the room, honoring and welcoming his guests with utmost respect not until Santiano Rafael Devereaux made his way into the auctioning room.
His grace and aura fell on the seated individuals like burning flames that some began to shift in their seats.
Pedro cleared his throat as he watched Santiano fetch himself a seat among the bidders, then a sinister grin crawled on his lips, the excitement of being titled the owner of the Devereaux family distillery running fluttering kicks in his belly.
“Welcome,” he whispered to Santiano, his crooked teeth adding a condensing look to his already miserable features.
Santiano ignored him, his piercing eyes heavily laden on what was on the stage, but this didn't cause Pedro to shrivel as he quickly mounted the stage to give a speech and when he had finished, the auctioneer slammed down his gravel, signaling the start of the bidding for the first time.
“And so it begins.” Pedro grinned to himself, lavishing in his seat, ticking his suit properly as the first item to be bidder on was wheeled into the stage.