Page 8 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

A smile spreads across my lips as I watch the map. I almost wish it was digital so it would update automatically in all my offices, but I don’t want it to get into the wrong hands. Anything digital is hackable, and my plans need to remain secret.

Many areas are now mine, and I grab a green marker to add the latest ones. Which one of the white ones should I target next?

I pick up a dart off the desk and throw it. It gets stuck on one particular property. I chose it, of course. I never miss when I throw darts. Even though I could have someone else handle all this, I want to do something on my own.

Sometimes it’s just easier, and I don’t like to be idle and wait. The house and that property belong to an old woman named Nora. She’s in her eighties and refuses to abandon her home.

It’s not a surprise. She’s still able to live on her own, and it’s the only home she’s ever known. If I’d ever had a home like that, maybe I would want to keep it too. But Nora is in my way, and her house has to go. First, I need to get a shower, and then I’ll take care of Nora.

Nora’s house is tiny.Just one floor, with nothing much there. Her windows are open and there are no curtains to block my view. It’s dark, and there aren’t any houses close by or any nosyneighbors who might see me sneaking around. It’s the perfect setup.

Nora is asleep in an armchair in front of a TV. The house has a back door, so I head there. The lock is old and it takes me a few moments to pick it. I slowly open the door. It creaks, so I wait and listen carefully. Nothing. I don’t think she’ll hear me even if I make a bit more noise, but I’m still as quiet as possible as I enter the kitchen.

I grab a pot smeared with grease and oil and a kitchen towel, and place them on the stove. After turning on the stove, I get my lighter and set the kitchen towel on fire. Then I drop it into the pot. Taking a quick look around, I get out of the kitchen.

Nora must be still asleep. The hallway is empty and I hurry to the door. Once I’m out, I lurk in the shadows. It shouldn’t take long for the fire to spread. There’s a lot of plastic and burnable stuff in the kitchen.

I dart toward the trees just as the fire catches the window. Keeping the house in sight, I glance at my watch. It’ll take the firefighters about ten minutes to get here. If Nora doesn’t get out soon, I’ll go get her myself.

If anything happens to her, it’ll complicate things, and I can’t have that. Besides, she has nothing to do with any of my business. Killing innocent people is not what I do, and not just because it’s inconvenient.

Nora trudges out of the house through the front door, staring at her house in dismay. I pull deeper into the trees so she doesn’t see me, but I don’t think she will. She’s too busy watching her home burn to ashes.

I hear the sirens of the firefighters and voices in the distance. Someone must’ve noticed the fire. It’s my time to go. Nora will be safe, but her house won’t. She’ll have to find some other place to live, and I bet her family won’t leave her on her own again.

Actually, they’ll probably be happy to sell whatever the hell remains of the house. Nora won’t need it, and they won’t either. It would be too expensive to renovate it.

I have to send the offer to Nora’s family as soon as possible, maybe even in a couple of days. Rocco and I have to make it sound like we’re helping the family in their time of need. Helping them get rid of something they don’t need, and at the same time, they can earn enough money for Nora’s new home or whatever she needs.

Even if she’s stubborn, she’ll have to realize that renewing the house would require too much time and money. She might even be afraid to live alone, so there’ll be no obstacles in my path. Whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll all work out in my favor.

“You didwhat?”Rocco gapes at me.

“Nora has lived there her whole life. She wouldn’t have agreed to move unless something like this happened,” I say calmly.

“But now her whole life is gone! All the memories, and photos, and... everything!”

I tilt my head. What has gotten into him?

“She’s alive,” I say. “She’ll live somewhere else.”

“Yeah, but... we could’ve convinced her to sell in a different way. She didn’t have to lose everything.”

I furrow my brow. “She’ll get enough money to buy whatever she needs.”

Rocco groans in frustration.

“What’s the matter with you?”

He’s usually not like this, even when he disagrees with my methods.

“I lost a lot of my things when a hurricane destroyed my family home. Irreplaceable things. Like, the ring that was passed down through my family for decades. The rare edition of my favorite comic that my grandma gifted me for my birthday. So many things...”

“Do you really need those? Just get a new ring if you want to wear one. Someone probably has that same comic edition somewhere.”

“But it’s not the same. You just don’t get it.”

“I get that you’re too attached to your things.” When I was younger, I never had anything like that.

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