Angelo looked at Francesco's latest victim. The poor soul destined to meet a gruesome end was tied up and bloodied" kneeling on the floor begging for mercy to the amusement of Francesco.

Angelo couldn't believe how Francesco was carrying out his criminal activities in a public place like a hotel so freely with no fear of crossing paths with the law. He dared deal with his business in a hotel room. But of course, it seemed like he was untouchable.

Francesco was relaxed sitting on a sofa drinking his vodka and laughing at the pleas and cries of his victim. His guards were motionless standing around the room as they would have done if they were at the compound. What also bothered Angelo was the lack of emotion from those around the room. There were total passive expressions. Angelo seemed like the only one with a frown and looking saddened by what he was witnessing. The man was condemned to death and there was nothing him or anyone could do.

Angelo swallowed hard as he saw Francesco getting up and circling the kneeling man on the floor. Francesco spoke while sipping from his drink " So you think you can come to my territory and spy on my organisation for your boss with no consequences. Do you? Lets try again. What was your business sneaking around my territory? The Voltolini family are only based in Verona and Milan. They don't ever mess with their rivals in America. Why would they send anyone all the way here? What is their big plan?"

The man shakily spoke while wincing from pain "I am not a spy. I swear. I don't know what you are referring to?"

Francesco spoke "Tsk. Tsk. Wrong answer. You actually think you can fool me. Don't you? I know all about you. I have read your reports held by police, Albano Agostini. You are an international spy who can speak 7 languages. You spy for the highest bidder of your services. I wonder how much you got paid to spy on me." He then smashed his glass on the man's head making him fall backwards while tied up. He then shouted orders "Tie him up to the chair. Lets see he becomes more talkative when he gets a taste of some real torture."

Albano was dragged to a seat and strapped to a chair, he spoke quickly "Please. I am not a spy."

Francesco shook his head "You are not a very convincing liar." He then turned to Antonio "What do you think? He thinks he can lie to a Rosario and get away so simply. Should we get his wife Antonio? I think he would be more talkative if his wife is brought in here. Should we bring her in from next door."

Antonio was about to answer when Albano's agonising voice interrupted. He didn't sound so confident now. He spoke nervously "I beg you. Not my wife. I tell you everything you need. I confess I came here to spy but I swear I found nothing. My boss paid me to spy on you to find a weakness. I didn't find anything worth reporting. I was caught just as I located you and your men at this hotel. Please have mercy on my wife. I didn't report anything back to my Voltolini family. I swear. I just needed the money so I took what they offered. No one else wanted to come to your territory except me."

Francesco laughed bitterly "Not good enough." He then picked up a half filled bottle of vodka and walked to the man who was now tied to a chair and poured what was left in the vodka bottle over the man's head making him scream as alcohol made his wounds sting making him cry hard.

Francesco spoke firmly "It stings. Doesn't it? After I am done with you, this stinging feeling on your wounds would be like a kiss from your wife. You will talk after I am done with you. You will reveal everything."

The man sounded desperate. "I told you everything. I swear. What more can I tell you?"

Francesco looked at the man who was weeping hard and grabbed his neck "Tell me one thing that's worth hearing and then I might show you some mercy. You came over hear to find my weakness. Did you find it? Tell the truth."

The man spoke while struggling to breathe "I didn't.... find ..... anything."

Francesco let go of his neck and slapped the man hard making him fall back with the chair on the floor. The man groaned in pain as he fell backwards.

Francesco turned to his guards "Lift him up." He then shouted orders to Antonio "Get me his wife from next door and get me my tools."

The guards straightened up the chair and as Albano saw Antonio leaving the room with a few guards, he spoke with fear as he was shaking his head in disbelief "No. You cant have her here. I hid her in Canada. She cant be here. My wife is safe. i made sure of it."

Francesco spoke "That safe place near Niagara Falls you mean? Not safe enough from my watch. She would suffer the same fate as you now. Unless you tell me something worth my time."

The man spoke quickly" Please she is innocent....... I tell you everything....... I came here to find your weakness....... but...." He then choked on his words as he saw Antonio coming back with the guards. Albano paled as he saw Antonio entering with a leather bag and his wife was also lead inside following Antonio at gun point while guards were pushing her inside.

Angelo's heart dropped as he saw Antonio entering with the woman. Was Francesco really going to kill that woman? He thought to himself. He knew he couldn't endure watching innocents die. He felt sick. The woman was in her thirties. She looked too terrified. She just looked at the room with fear. As her eyes met her husbands she started crying with harder with muffled sobs since a cloth was covering her mouth and she was tied up and couldn't do anything except getting pushed towards her husband..

Albano's voice cracked "No. Please. Don't hurt her because of me."

Francesco turned to Antonio "Put that bag on the table there."

Albano was mortified and lost for words as he saw his wife was forced to kneel on the floor a few steps away from him. She was looking pleadingly at her husband with tearful eyes.

Albano spoke in a panicked voice "Let my wife go and I tell you everything."

Francesco turned around as he picked up a knife "No deal. I don't do bargains with your kind. Tell me something worth hearing and I might show you some mercy." He then walked to Albano's wife and waved the knife in front of her. He then cut the cloth around her mouth. the woman started screaming immediately and shouting for help.

Francesco laughed "No one will hear you. I have booked the entire level 3 of this hotel. No one will hear your screams or your husbands. Welcome to hell by the way."

Albano was shaking hard and moving his limbs trying to get free. He was speaking quickly " No please. Not her. Don't hurt her. My woman is innocent."

Francesco spoke "So is mine...... Now tell me Albano. "How many children do you have?"

Albano cried " I .... have none."

Francesco spoke " What about the one your wife is carrying right now."

The man suddenly paled and stuttered " My wife is pregnant? I didn't know..... Please. No. Don't hurt her and my child. I beg you."

Francesco grabbed the mans neck and squeezed hard " A bit too late to beg. You have to face the consequences of your actions. I don't kill pregnant women. But it doesn't mean i wont make watch you die and wont make your child an orphan...... in the most painful way."

Albano spoke desperately "How about this. i tell you..... what they plan to do and you let me live to see my child. Just until my child is born.... please. Then you kill me....... They are planning to attack you, the Voltolini family. The attack on your father was no accident. The family you executed were the vessels that carried out the attack. The Voltolinis are after your entire family. They would pick you off one by one unless you give them what they want."

Francesco chuckled "Now you are singing a different tune. Until now you were not a spy. Now you are claiming Voltolinis want something. And what do they want?"

Albano swallowed hard "They want ....... They want...." He closed his eyes and shook his head " It makes no sense. But they want ...... Adele Lombardi."

Francesco spoke with gritted teeth "What did you say?" He saw blood at that point and took at his gun pointing at the terrified woman making her scream hard as he shot towards her.

Albano cried "No. No..."

Francesco roared "You dare say my woman's name with your unworthy mouth? She is Mrs Rosario to you. Tell me what they want with my woman. I missed the shot. I shot the chair behind her . I missed. It happens. Tell me why they want my woman or I would shoot her heart. I don't hurt pregnant women but I might make an exception at this occasion if you withold anything else from me."

Albano stuttered as he was shaking hard "They want her because she was the woman who saved Ambrogio Voltolini. She saved his life months ago when she had gone to a placement in a hospital in Milan. He had been declared dead but she saved him by noticing his movements and stopping them cutting his oxygen. She was her doctor the whole time. Now he is obsessed to have her but he knows she is yours. They sent me to find your weakness so it helps them strike you and destroy you and your family so they can take your woman away. I found no weakness. I am telling the truth. You have no weakness except....... A..... Mrs Rosario."

Francesco spoke with narrowed eyes as he lowered his gun. He looked at the man with deep eyes. He spoke bitterly as he turned to Antonio " We will take both of them to my mansion. I will kill him slowly in front of his wife."

Albano spoke with surprise "But I told you everything."

Francesco spoke "I know. That's why i am sparing your wife and killing you painfully and gradually starting from now..." he then without warning pointed his gun at the man's leg and shot him, making the man groan hard and making his wife scream.

Francesco laughed bitterly " This is only the beginning. As I said. Welcome to hell." Then without another word he walked out of the room but then he came back inside. He went to Angelo and grabbed his collar and dragged him outside the room. He then pinned him to the wall at the deserted corridor and he spoke menacingly "Find yourself a woman tonight and toughen up. Don't let me catch you look away when I interrogate my enemies. If you act this way in the next meeting, you will get punished personally by me." He then kicked him in the stomach with his knee and made Angelo bend forward. He spoke as he towered over him "I may not hit your face because I don't want Adele to see your bruises but it doesn't mean I wont hurt you in other ways. By the way keep what you just witnessed to yourself. I don't want Adele to know about this. Now get out of my sight. Go to the bar at the party. Its about to start. So use your time and make yourself useful by finding a woman."

Angelo cringed as he heard the words but he nodded "Yes boss." He then didn't waste any time and walked away as Francesco let go of his collar. He didn't want to spend any more time in Francesco's presence.

Angelo complied with his boss's wishes and ended up sitting on a stool at one of the bars at the hotel venue for the Hollywood ball. It was not even time for it to start and the rich and wealthy were already mingling around. He didn't mind standing at the bar all night long. But of course at some point when Francesco and Adele were going to come down, he most likely was going to be asked to go and sit by Francesco's guards. He really wanted to be away from the guards' tables far from all those killers that worked for Francesco. But he couldn't avoid them unless he found a woman to occupy him and gave him an excuse to keep away.

Suddenly a voice from behind, interrupted him " Hi handsome. Would you buy me a drink."

Angelo choked on his drink and thought silently to himself "I should have been careful what I wished for." He then put down his glass and turned around to face the woman. He raised an eyebrow as he saw a young beautiful woman but he also saw about ten armed men surrounding her and him. He couldn't see the ball room now. If he turned around there was only the bar that he could jump over. The guards working for Francesco didn't seem to care enough to come close and interfere it seemed. The woman looked dangerous so it was baffling that no guards had come to his rescue unless the woman knew the Rosarios. She looked abit familiar for some reason anyways.

The woman spoke again " Well.... Are you? Do you even speak? Or you don't answer me because you are taken? Antonio said you are single. Speak Angelo."

Angelo frowned " How do you know my name? How do you know Antonio?"

She spoke " He is my cousin. When I came here an hour ago, I told him I was looking for some company. He pointed to you and said you are single and you work for my cousin Francesco. Just when I walked to you to come talk to you, you went upstairs, so did Antonio. I guess your boss is demanding even on your day off. So at last I found you? Are you going to buy me a drink?"

Angelo spoke " Sure. But can I ask your name,"

The woman smiled " I like you already. I was testing to see if you are a gentleman. Turns out you are. You will buy me a drink and even asked my name. The name is Anna. My mother is Patricia Rosario. The outcast of the family." She then took a seat next to Angelo and spoke " What drink are you buying me."

Angelo looked at the armed men and then at Anna " Can you get rid of these guys. I am no danger."

Anna laughed and turned to the guys " Disperse around the room." Then the armed men disappeared into the crowed. Anna then turned to Angelo " For your information they were not here for my protection. They wanted to make sure you don't try run away like how my most boyfriends do. But it seems like you are a keeper."

Angelo coughed " I am not your boyfriend."

Anna sighed " But you are from this minute. You agreed to buy me a drink so its a date." She then gave him a sweet smile but daring him to continue with the glint in her eyes.

Angelo spoke " What is it with you Rosarios and forcing your way in everything all the time?"

Anna spoke " I am not technically a Rosario. My father is not one."

Angelo got curious "Which mob boss is he?"

Anna shrugged " He is not one. He is a ..... how do I describe it. He just protects people he is told to protect and he .... Kills people he is ordered to do so. He is a bodyguard but also a contracted killer. He is a gifted sniper. For instance if he has to shoot something as small as a shiny crystal on a chandelier above you, he won't need to target it. He can shoot if instantly. Small objects and far away objects are his area of expertise to shoot."

Angelo looked around nervously.

Anna spoke " Are you choosing which way to run? I knew it. But this lasted longer than most my dates."

Angelo shook his head " No. I was checking to see if anyone could overhear you saying all this but the area around us is empty. They seem to know to keep their distance from you."

Anna spoke " I know. The mobs are meant to sit in that seating area on the top right corner of the place to have privacy. But if we mingle around, others must keep their distance. All the guests here do their homework before they show up. They check to see who us on the guest list and know who they must keep away from. They know names of mob families in Hollywood really well. Such parties normally have no incidents. Now what drink are you going to get me?"

Angelo sighed "What drink do you want?"

Anna smiled "Surprise me."