Page 3 of The Brat's Bargain

Rizzo's smile was cold as a shark's. "Oh yes. You see, I've recently acquired that charming little casino you so enjoy frequenting. And it seems you've run up quite the tab."

He slid a ledger across the desk. Antonio's stomach dropped as he saw the figure circled in red at the bottom of the page.

$100,000.

"That's—that's impossible," he stammered. "I didn't lose that much. I couldn't have."

"Oh, but you did." Rizzo's voice dripped with false sympathy. "Night after night, chasing that elusive big win. It's a shame, really. Such a bright young man, throwing it all away on games of chance."

Antonio's mind raced. He knew he'd been in deep, but this... this was catastrophic. There was no way he could come up with that kind of money without his mother finding out.

"What do you want?" he asked, hating how small his voice sounded.

Rizzo leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "It's quite simple, really. You have something I want, and I have something you need. I'm prepared to make you an offer."

Antonio's eyes narrowed. "What kind of offer?"

"I'll wipe your debt clean. Every last penny. In exchange, you'll provide me with some... inside information on your family's operations."

Ice flooded Antonio's veins. "You want me to spy for you? Betray my own blood?"

Rizzo shrugged. "Call it what you will. I prefer to think of it as... mutually beneficial cooperation. After all, what do you think your dear mother will do when she finds out about your little problem? Do you really think she'll just forgive and forget?"

Images flashed through Antonio's mind. His mother's icy disappointment. Being cut off, cast out. Losing everything he'd ever known.

"I—I can't," he whispered, even as a traitorous part of him considered the offer. "My family?—"

"Your family," Rizzo interrupted, "sees you as nothing but a liability. A spoiled brat who can't be trusted with any real responsibility. But me? I see potential. Talent going to waste under Vivian's iron fist."

He leaned forward, eyes glittering. "Join me, Antonio. Help me take down the Lombardis, and I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. Power. Respect. A real place at the table."

For a moment, Antonio wavered. The offer was tempting. So tempting. To finally prove himself, to step out of his mother's shadow...

But then he thought of Lorenzo. Of the cousins he'd grown up with. Of the family that, for all its faults, had always protected its own.

"Go to hell," he snarled, surging to his feet. "I'll never betray my family. Not for you, not for anyone."

Rizzo's face hardened, all pretense of civility vanishing. "I was afraid you might say that. Gio, Frankie... show Mr. Lombardi what happens to those who refuse my generosity."

The two goons advanced, cracking their knuckles ominously. Antonio backed away, eyes darting around the room for some means of escape. But there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

As Gio's meaty fist connected with his jaw, sending him crashing to the floor, Antonio's last coherent thought was a desperate prayer.

Please, someone find me. Anyone. Before it's too late.

The taste of blood filled his mouth as another blow landed. Antonio curled in on himself, trying to protect his vital organs as kicks rained down on him. Each impact sent fresh waves of agony through his body.

Through the haze of pain, he heard Rizzo's voice, cold and distant. "You had your chance, boy. Remember that. Everything that happens now is on your head."

Darkness crept in at the edges of Antonio's vision. As consciousness slipped away, he clung to one last, defiant thought.

He was a Lombardi. And Lombardis never broke. No matter what.

CHAPTER 2

THE DEAL

Antonio's world exploded in a cacophony of shattering glass and splintering wood. Through the haze of pain clouding his vision, he caught glimpses of dark suits and flashing gunmetal. The warehouse erupted into chaos as Rizzo's men scrambled for cover.

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