Chapter 3 - The Apex Predator
My breath hitched. I turned to Brett, looking down at the manager who had made my life miserable for four years, and translated the terrifying truth.
"He... he says he was reading your lips in the glass reflection," I said. "He knows exactly what you said."
Brett turned the color of wet ash. "Please, God, no. I'm sorry. I have a mortgage."
Salvatore's hands moved again, faster this time, cutting through the air with lethal intent.
"He says," I translated, my voice trembling but growing steadier with every word, "that mocking a man's silence is foolish. But setting a woman up for humiliation in his presence is a fatal mistake."
The lead bodyguard stepped forward, pulling a sleek black phone from his pocket. He didn't dial a number; he simply pressed a single button and spoke two words into the receiver. "Execute buyout."
Brett looked around wildly. "Buyout? What buyout?"
Salvatore finally shifted his gaze to Brett. The mafia boss didn't need to speak a single syllable to radiate an aura of absolute, crushing dominance. He reached into his tailored suit, pulled out a gold money clip, and tossed a single hundred-dollar bill onto the table.
May you like
He signed to me, his eyes softening as they met mine.
"Tell him," I whispered, the adrenaline completely taking over, "that he is officially fired. Mr. Marquetti just purchased this restaurant, and you have exactly sixty seconds to leave his property before his men show you what true humiliation looks like."
