Too Late For Regret, Mr. Mafia Boss

Elena's POV

I pushed the casino monopoly contract-a priceless document-across the mahogany table.

In exchange, the man I had bled for over the past five years tore the silver badge from my chest.

"Hand this operation over to my fiancée, or you won't leave this room." Gabriel Moretti didn't even look at me.

His gaze was locked onto the double doors at the end of the room, as if waiting for a highly important guest.

For five years, I was his right hand. It was my advice that helped him expand half of his territory; it was my hands that signed those agreements; it was my blood that was spilled on the floors of enemy warehouses, all so he could sit at the head of this table.

He had promised me that once the casino contract was signed, I would become the underboss.

Yet now, in front of twelve family capos, he was stripping me of my power.

The gap in the heavy mahogany doors gradually widened, and a pale fluorescent light from the hallway pierced through the smoke.

Gabriel stood up, the cold, hard lines of his face relaxing into a sickeningly flattering smile.

He crossed the room to welcome Serena Bianchi.

She was wearing a pure white silk gown. In this room filled with the heavy scent of cigar smoke, she looked incredibly out of place.

She clung tightly to Gabriel's arm, scanning the men gathered in the room.

Gabriel cleared his throat, his voice breaking the silence.

"I have decided to appoint Serena as the co-commander of the S-Class territory."

A heavy silence fell over the twelve family capos.

I maintained my expressionless demeanor, sitting exactly as I had been, but a chill crept into my heart, extinguishing the very last shred of my loyalty to him.

"Bringing an outsider into the inner circle violates family rules," I said in a low voice.

Serena flinched, burying her face into Gabriel's suit and letting out a small, dramatic gasp.

Gabriel slammed his hand onto the polished wooden table, his eyes locking onto me, the muscles at the corner of his eyes twitching from the force.

"I am the head of this family, Elena!" he snapped.

"My word is law, and you will not question me on my turf."

Serena peeked out from behind him, offering the men in the room a fragile, teary-eyed smile.

"Gabriel said that only my name needs to be on the territory's title deeds, so we can secure our power."

Beneath the table, my hands clenched into fists.

She wanted everything-the credit, the turf, the wealth, even the safe houses-yet she had never even touched a gun.

Gabriel reached into the ashtray, picked up my badge with two fingers, and tossed it into the trash can at his feet, like it was a piece of garbage.

"This family is mine," he declared, wrapping a fiercely possessive arm around Serena's waist.

"Next month, Serena and I are getting married."

He looked down at me, the lines of his face hardening once more.

"Before tomorrow, you must hand over the encrypted master drive to her."

"If you dare to disobey my orders, Elena, I will make sure you never find work in this city again. You won't even have the chance to breathe."

My gaze shifted to the trash can, where the silver badge gleamed dully.

I thought of the scar on my left shoulder, the mark left by a bullet I took for him. Now, it seemed that scar had only bought me a spot in the trash.

Just as Gabriel and Serena turned to leave, I reached into the trash can, retrieved the badge, and quietly slipped it into my pocket.

But my thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

Downstairs, a motorcade waited silently in the rain. It belonged to Dante Falcone-the head of the Falcone family.

Dante was the kind of man who could wipe out two rival families overnight just to flex his power.

More importantly, he was Gabriel's deadliest nemesis.

I knew Dante was waiting. He would be surveilling this building, waiting for a signal that the asset he desired was finally within reach.

Serena leaned over the table, a small smile curling on her lips. "Thank you for stepping aside, Elena."

I stood up, the legs of my chair letting out a soft squeak against the floor.

I took a deep breath, the cold air rushing into my throat and triggering a dry cough. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"You will have the master drive tomorrow."

I said calmly, my voice betraying no hint of what I was plotting inside.