Saving the Mafia Boss (BOOK 2)

CHAPTER 2

Amber

"Hello princess. How are you?" He laughs humorlessly.

"What? Did you think you were really going to get rid of me so easily?" He walks over to Alessandro who is tied to a chair. His face is bruised and he is barely conscious. He punches him.

"NO!" I sit up as I wake up from my nightmare. I turn to see that the sun is already up. I grab my cellphone to check the time and see I have to get up. I hear a knock on my door.

"Amber? Is everything ok? I heard you yell." It's Nicholas.

"I'm fine! I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Ok." I hear his footsteps walk away from my door. I take a few deep breaths and compose myself. I get up and head over to my closet to pick my clothes. Today I take charge of the Mafia. I can't help but feel anxious. I know there will be people that will object but I am doing this. I pick out my clothes carefully. I want them to take me seriously. I pick an elegant yet simple dress and put my hair up. I look in the mirror and feel satisfied with what I see. I take a few deep breaths.

"Remember Amber, this is for Ale. He needs you." I build up my courage and decide to get out. It's time to face the day. I head to the kitchen first to have breakfast with the others. Everyone is already seated as I walk in. The room falls silent. I look at my family, Marcos being the only one absent. Antonio, Giovanni and Angelo are there as well.

"How are you Amber?" Nicholas breaks the silence.

"Fine, thank you." I sit down at the opposite side of Antonio. We each sit at either and if the table.

"So, it is a big day today for you." I hear him speak.

"Yes." He nods and looks at me cautiously.

"It's not that I am doubting you but are you sure you want to do this? There is no going back on your word."

"I am sure." I say with a straight face. I have no doubts. I want to do this. He seems satisfied with my answer and smiles.

"Very well. We will give you our full support." I nod in appreciation. I can tell his words are true.
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I feel my hands start to sweat. As soon as we were done with breakfast, Antonio called all of his men and ours.

"We will be holding this meeting in English to facilitate the conversation." I see many faces. All completely stoic. Antonio, Nico and myself are standing on the stairs looking down at the crowd.

"As we all witnessed yesterday, Alessandro our capo has been taken. The moment he replaced his father he was asked to choose his replacement should anything happen to him. For those of you who don't know or remember he chose Nicholas Bianchi who has served as his right hand man since the start. Now, we also know there are rules we follow. By right, there is someone else who can take Alessandro's place before Nicholas. The rules state that the spouse is allowed to fill the spot temporarily should the capo be unable to. If he does not return a voting takes place to decide if the spouse is fit to continue ruling. The choice for now is made by said spouse and here we have Amber Santos. She has accepted the responsibility so I ask you all give her the proper respect she deserves. Famiglia, welcome our new capo."

I hear a few people clapping, some are cheering but I see a man suddenly move to the front of the crowd and yell in anger.

"So now we depend on a girl who doesn't know the first thing about running the business! Look at her! What will she do? Nothing! Now all you need to have is a pretty face and you can become capo! You are making a joke out of this Mafia." I see Antonio's face hold the anger I am feeling. I maintain a composed face and step forward just as he was about to speak. I hold a hand up and he keeps his quiet. I walk down the steps until I am face to face with the man. We were completely engulfed by silence. You could feel the tension in the room. This is what it feels like. People are afraid of my reaction. With one command I can take his life. I don't like it. People fearing me. They say everyone wants power. I don't want it if this is what it brings. I will for now because Alessandro needs me to.