Mafia Wars: The Uprising Billionaire

2 Precipice Of Despair

''Is this a joke or what?'' Antonio blurted out, his face contorting with mixed feelings.

His brown eyes darted across the room, eventually landing on the clerk, who was smirking.

''Have you gone blind? Or suddenly, you do not know how to read any more?'' The clerk retorted, not hiding his tone of ridicule.

''What?'' Antonio muttered, with a creased forehead.

''Do you think the boss will let you off the hook after messing up with your delivery?'' The clerk, Franco, questioned with bemusement.

Antonio was rooted to the spot, and he watched the approaching figure of Franco with furrowed eyes.

''Boss has been working with all his bones just to get acquainted with the De Luca suite, yet you ruined it with your dumb brain.'' Franco smirked.

Antonio's eyes met Franco, the coldness in them made Franco flinch instinctively, taking a few steps back.

''You son of a-''

Before he could complete his statement, Antonio lurked in, grabbing the collar of his furry coat.

''I bet you to finish that, and I'll finish you.'' His voice sounded frosty, devoid of any emotion except for the annoyance that was rippling through his body.

''W-what do you think you're doing.'' An astonished voice echoed from the staircase, making Antonio glance up as he released Franco.

''Boss, he messed up while accounting for the order, and he should be the one to be fired, not me.'' Antonio spat out, his index finger pointing at Franco who was now on the ground, not reserving his anger one bit.

''Not only are you irresponsible, but also a pathetic liar, I wonder how I've allowed you to even work here in the first place.'' Marco's voice echoed in the clerk's office.

''Guards, throw him out.'' He added, before heading back to his office, enraged.

''What?'' Antonio couldn't believe his ears, and his eyes went back to Franco, who had a mischievous grin on his face.

''A little trick with the CCTV and tada.'' Franco clicked his tongue, enjoying the perplexed look on Antonio.

''You think I won't recognize you because of your new pitiful self, eh?'' Franco rose to his feet, parting his coat.

His face contorted, looking venomous like a predator as he moved closer to Antonio.

''You acted all powerful and big back then, enjoying your fraud-attained money,.'' Franco kept on moving closer.

''You bastard, your whack company dismissed my brother, making that idiot die of alcohol.'' Franco was now the one grabbing Antonio's coat, while the other looked at him, lost in a stupor.

Only a few people knew about his past, and it had already been more than two years. With his current shabby appearance, those who could match him with the rather affluent young figure in their memories could be counted on his ten fingers.

''Right from the first day that you entered this company, I've been meaning to kill you and tear you off, but you see…'' Trailing off to catch his breath, Franco continued.

''I'm also scared of the law, he-he, but getting you fired wasn't out of the question. So yes, I colluded with the guys in the tech department to make it seem as though you purposely dropped some of the items.'' Franco let out a maniacal laugh, enjoying how his plan had worked out.

What's more, the person he colluded with was the boss' son, so what could Antonio do even if he found out?

Tat!

Antonio slapped Franco, making him fall to the floor, dazed. Just as he was about to kick him, the security guards entered the office, pulling Antonio with all their might, until they finally threw him out of the company into the snow.

Antonio's body slumped into the cold ground, his eyes dimmed, lost from thoughts.

He was holding back the urge to enter the company and treat everyone's fuck up, but he knew better than to go back inside.

He looked at his snow-stained coat and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

''Is this what the great Antonio is reduced to? this is all that's left of the youngest, promising billionaire…' Antonio felt the urge to just bury himself under the snow and die of cold, but his stoic heart refused to succumb.

He once again reminded himself that, this was just a little ordeal which he would soon conquer.

Releasing a heavy breath, Antonio was back on his feet as he began to walk down the very familiar road.

'That bastard Franco.' Antonio gnashed his teeth.

Now that the latter talked about the past, a particular image of a man flashed in his mind.

This person whom he suspected to be Franco's elder brother was his accountant then, but he ended up siphoning a huge amount of the company's money, which made him sack the ungrateful fellow.

Out of anger, he also ensured to spread the news and stop any other company from hiring him. Fifty million dollars wasn't small money, after all.

If not for what transpired a moment ago, he would've entirely forgotten about the treacherous accountant, not with his dark times in prison.

Phew!

'So he later died?' Antonio wasn't surprised, he had ended the latter's career, but he didn't regret it either, not even now.

'Fortunately, I've saved up a bit, I can at least look presentable, and finally meet my heaven on earth.' Antonio murmured, his eyes brightening with a tranquil smile.

Just the thought about Jasmine plastered an alluring grin on his face, warding off all his pains.

After walking down to the main road, he took a cab and headed to the place he knew so much more than the back of his hands.

Although the weather was cloudy, reducing visibility, as soon as Antonio alighted from the cab, the full view of the magnificent building before him entered his sight.

A towering gate of steel, beautiful flowers that twirled around the fence, and well-arranged street lamps which stood tall.

Antonio didn't find it difficult entering the house— his house, the one where he and his Jasmine had stayed before he was sentenced to prison.

To his surprise, the beautiful terrace appeared well-kept, but he had no time to savour the landscape.

He quickly dashed upstairs, seeking Jasmine, his heart thumping in anticipation.

As he got upstairs and moved closer to the master bedroom, his body soon froze in place, his face tinged with redness.

He gulped and shook his head as he approached the door in a slow cadence, begging his star that what he had imagined wouldn't turn out to be true.

Krchh!

The door screeched, making a small gap where Antonio's eyes pierced through.

Seeing the scene before him, Antonio, suddenly lost all his strength, slumping to the ground in apprehension.