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The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 44: Six Lords and a Lie
Ramirez let the silence stretch, savoring the moment. His cream suit stood out against the room's shadows – como un faro en la oscuridad, a beacon in the darkness. He'd chosen it specifically for that effect. In this business, appearance was everything. Power was about perception, after all."Miren, señores." Ramirez's voice carried the weight of tradition. "Our beautiful Chicago bleeds herself dry while we sit here playing games." His gaze locked onto Mason, dark and knowing. "Because someone decided the old rules don't apply anymore."Tommy Chen's dragon tattoos danced across his neck as he shifted. "Rules change, old man. City changes too.""Ay, pero la tradición?" Ramirez's hands painted pictures in the air. "Tradition keeps our world spinning. Break that wheel...chaos follows." His smile showed teeth. "Isn't that right, Leone?"Mason kept still, fought the urge to roll his shoulder where the bullet had left its mark. Through eyes trained by years on the street, he cataloged detai
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 45: Sins of the Father
Mason's laugh caught them all off guard – genuine amusement bubbling up from some deep well. "You know what's funny? "All this fancy talk about order, tradition and respect - makes my teeth hurt." His gaze locked onto Ramirez like a sniper's scope. "But y'all missed something real important.""Then enlighten us." Santos leaned forward in his wheelchair."Why now?" Mason's voice carried through the dusty air. "Why this meeting? Why these accusations?" His gaze swept the table. "You want to talk about unusual patterns? Let's talk about timing."Ramirez's drumming finger went still. "¿Qué estás diciendo, Mason? Meaning exactly?""Three major operations hit in one night. Precision strikes, inside information." Mason's smile was winter frost. "Almost like someone knew exactly where to hurt you. Which means either your security's worth shit, or...""Or?" The Calabrese twins moved in perfect mirror-image, both tilting forward like wolves catching a scent."Or someone's been feeding informati
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 46: Sins of the Father (Continued)
"You've been busy, pequeño rey." Ramirez's accent dripped thick as molasses gone bad, each word carrying the weight of old grudges. "Such thorough research. Such attention to detail. Dime – how long did it take to compile all this... evidence?"Mason settled deeper into his chair, radiating the easy confidence that made him dangerous. "About as long as it took you to think you'd gotten away with it." His eyes glinted with amusement that never touched his smile. "That's the thing about playing chess. You gotta watch all the pieces, not the ones making the most noise.""Enough games." Tommy Chen slapped the table, dragon tattoos writhing. "You want war? Say so. Stop with fancy words."The Calabrese twins moved like mirror images, their matching suits rustling as their hands disappeared beneath their jackets. Years of working in sync made them speak like a single split soul."Way we see it," Marco started, voice smooth as aged whiskey."You got two choices," Antonio finished."Step down
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 47: Life or Death
Mason stood with deliberate boldness.Not rushed. Not nervous. Just the slow, deadly grace of a predator who knew exactly when to strike."You're right about one thing, Ramirez. Times do change." His hands stayed visible, but every boss at that table knew how fast those empty hands could turn deadly. "But some things?" A ghost smile touched his lips. "Some things are carved in stone. Like what happens to people who try to steal from a King."The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, painting sharp shadows across the assembled faces of Chicago's underworld royalty. Mason noted how the light caught the silver at Ramirez's temples, how it gleamed off Tommy Chen's dragon tattoos. All these little details. All these perfect target points."Is that threat?" Petrov's voice rumbled like distant thunder."Nah." Mason kept his voice soft, gentle even. Like talking to a spooked animal before the slaughter. "It's a promise. See, while you've all been real busy moving pieces around my board,
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 48: The Peace of Wolves
A quick shot came from Santos.Viktor had seen it coming a mile away - the wheelchair was the perfect cover for an ankle holster. The .22 sighed death instead of screaming it, built for up-close-and-personal work. Would've been clever, if Santos hadn't telegraphed his moves like a rookie boxer.Mason wasn't there anymore to catch it though. The instant Santos's sleeve twitched, Viktor had yanked his boss sideways, both of them hitting the deck as the round sailed past. Viktor's gun appeared in his hand like a conjurer's trick, but he held his fire. No need to waste the bullet.The red dots already dancing across Santos's chest told their own story. His two muscle men joined the light show, their faces going from tough to ghost-white in record time.A goodbye.Mason swore under his breath. He'd nearly died, but the game wasn't over. If death marked the beginning of a new life, as they said, then his had started the night Olivia's betrayal cut deeper than any blade.He picked himself up
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 49: After the Fall
While Mason's gone, Chicago's finest criminals sat like statues in their chairs, marinating in the stench of defeat and Cuban cigars gone cold.Tommy Chen's cigarette snapped between his fingers, tobacco spilling across imported crystal. "Some show today. Better than pay-per-view." He dabbed sweat from his neck. "Next time maybe we bring dancing bears too, make it complete entertainment.""¡Me cago en la leche!" Ramirez's fist found mahogany, making ice cubes dance in abandoned scotch. "This ain't over. We still got muscle, territory-""Muscle? Territory?" The Calabrese twins exchanged identical looks of disbelief. Marco Calabrese's designer suit couldn't hide the tremor in his hands. "You see those feeds?""Every operation," Antonio picked up. "Every rathole-""-every dirty dollar-""-spread out like a buffet for the feds."Santos wheeled back, wincing. His chest still burned where those training rounds had tagged him. The memory of red dots dancing across his torso made his hands sh
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 50: Three-Card Queen
Maria smoothed down her dress. "Gotta head back to the penthouse. Leo's charity luncheon tomorrow needs handling."Ramirez slammed his tumbler down, bourbon sloshing. "¡Coño! You saw what that cabrón did today? Made me look like some pendejo fresh off the boat!" His weathered knuckles found the desk again, an old habit from harder days. "In my own territory!""Exactly why I need eyes on him." Maria's Louboutins tapped across the hardwood, each step measured like a countdown. Her mind churned through contingencies, plans within plans."Eyes?" Ramirez spat the word like a spent bullet. "That cabrón has Carlos. You understand what that means?" He leveled a look that had made harder men crack. "One wrong word from that rata, and everything we built..."Something cold slithered through Maria's gut, but her face stayed smooth. "Carlos is a street punk. Knows nothing worth knowing.""Mija." The word carried weight, heavy with memory. "Three years you've been my ace. My perfect play." His eyes
The Underdog Turned Kingpin Chapter 51: Every Badge Has Its Price
Maria's Mercedes cut through Chicago's darkness, the city's neon signs bleeding across her windshield. Her phone buzzed against the leather seat - Reynolds' name lighting up the screen."Talk to me, Mara.""Mierda, you're not gonna like this." Reynolds never bothered with pleasantries - one of the things Maria respected about her. "Burke's report just landed. Clean on top, rotten underneath, like everything else in this goddamn city."The steering wheel creaked under Maria's grip. "Let me guess - 'tried to escape during transfer'?""Shot while fleeing. Cremated before the body was cold." Reynolds' voice had that edge she recognized - the one that meant someone was about to have a very bad day. "No evidence, no questions, no loose ends, just a neat little bow on top of this clusterfuck.""Son of a bitch." Maria jerked the wheel hard, muscle memory taking over as she calculated her next move. Horns blared as she cut across traffic, but Chicago traffic laws were more like suggestions any
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Chapter 137: Burning Rubber, Burning Hearts
The air in the room shifted. Mason's eyes locked onto Eve while Sister Agnes's prayers buzzed in the background like white noise. The space felt cramped as a jail cell and big as Lake Michigan all at once, like the universe had condensed to focus on this single, volatile moment."Gotta lay this out straight," Mason said, voice rough as Chicago asphalt. "This ain't some walk in the park for me. These feelings for you... wanting you... still been burning me up inside for years. But I can't let you fall for some counterfeit Leo version of me. Not like this."Eve cocked her head, eyes sharp as a street hustler's. "You think you got exclusive rights to damaged goods, sugar?" Her words cut deep as a switchblade. "Maybe if you'd put in more effort finding me. Wasn't like I vanished into thin air."Mason's jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth, her words stinging worse than he'd expected. "I busted my ass looking," he growled, frustration bleeding through. "Hit up every damn foster joint,
Chapter 136: A Thirty-Three-Year Secret
Agnes’ trembling hands gripped the edge of the garden bench like it was her last lifeline, her eyes playing ping-pong between Mason's burning stare and the dirt she looked ready to sink into."Aha, it's you, ain't it?" Mason's voice sliced through the silence, raw and unyielding. "You're the one behind all this shit. The reason I got dumped there… abandoned. Split from my own brother, from a mother who—damn her struggles—at least wanted to step up! But you—" His voice broke, but not his anger. "You still got no kids of your own, right? Now I see why."Agnes took the hit like someone catching a bullet, her oversized outfit couldn't hide how bad she was shaking. Even Eve felt that one land. She moved in quick, laying a steadying hand on Mason's arm. "Easy, Mace. Look at her... she's breaking apart here."Just then, Agnes crumpled to the garden soil, folding in on herself like a house of cards. Her lips moved without sound, hands pressing against her ears like she could block out Mason's
Chapter 135: The Road to Reckoning
"Jesus H. Christ," Eve breathed, the words hitting the air like bullets. "Your life's one hell of a mess, ain't it kid?" Her eyes stayed fixed on Agnes, watching for any sign of deception.Mason's face hardened into concrete, jaw working overtime as his teeth ground together. "The fuck you trying to tell me?"Agnes met his gaze. "I'm saying you're the product of a night Ramirez will never admit to, a drunken encounter with Camila. She worked as domestic staff in his residence." A pause to make sure that part sinked. "Camila possessed both beauty and an uncommon kindness. She remained beneath his notice until that particular evening when alcohol clouded his judgment. He..." Her voice wavered slightly. "He took advantage of her. The following morning, in what I can only describe as a fit of shame-induced rage, he had her forcibly removed from the premises. He claimed she... disgusted him, that she had provided him with what he termed 'the poorest sexual experience of his life.'"Mason's
Chapter 134: Between Two Worlds
Sister Agnes sat there looking like death warmed over, her face drawn tight as Mason and Eve leaned in close enough to catch a whisper. The old garden bench creaked under the weight of more than thirty years' worth of secrets.Agnes's fingers wove together like she was about to start praying, maybe for strength to get through this. "I wasn't meant to make it this far. Helena King, she made sure to clean up after herself - and we were the mess she needed gone." Her voice stayed level, but Mason caught that telltale shine in her eyes, the kind of tears tough old broads learn never to let fall.Eve stood rigid, immune to the waterworks routine. She'd seen enough crying games in her time to last several lifetimes. "If you're done with the drama show, maybe get to the part about how you're standing here breathing if you ain't meant to stay breathing this far."A sound escaped Agnes that might've been a laugh in another life. Her head shook slow, like she was trying to clear old cobwebs. "D
Chapter 133: The Truth in Tears
Mason nodded slow, hands still reaching for mercy. "I'm telling it straight. I'm Mason Rivers. Not Leo King. Never was."Eve's eyes narrowed to slits, her mind churning like the dirty waters of the Chicago River. Old memories leaked through the cracks in her armor - glimpses of a skinny kid with fire in his eyes who refused to let the orphanage break him down."Prove it," she spat, her voice a brittle edge. "Tell me something only the real Mace would know."Mason seized the lifeline like a drowning man. "Found you hiding in Sister Agnes's garden after you smashed that fancy china plate. Instead of selling you out, I split my chocolate bar with you." His lips twitched, remembering the exact words he used. "Told you sisters couldn't yell if your mouth was full of candy.""Fuck you!" The gun barked, sending dirt flying at Mason's knees. "I handed you that story myself at the damn luncheon, you two-faced bastard!""Wait... please... I'm not lying." Mason's whole body trembled, sweat mixin
Chapter 132: The Trigger and the Cross
Mason stood frozen, hands raised toward the sky. His mind raced through a lifetime of close calls, but this time felt different. This time, death wore Eve's face. His lips moved in a silent prayer - the kind reserved for men staring down the barrel of certainty.Eve's finger danced on the trigger, her eyes locked on Mason's every breath. Her chest heaved with each sharp intake of air, matching the hurricane of thoughts tearing through her head. Leo. Her teacher. The man who'd shown her how to survive when the streets wanted her dead. The same Leo who'd left bodies cooling in Chicago's darkest corners. Her head snapped side to side, trying to shake the memories loose. If she didn't end him here, now, she'd be next on his list. No way he'd let her walk after this.But before her finger could finish its deadly arc, Sister Agnes darted forward, her arms spreading wide like wings, standing guard against the violence crackling in the air."What are you doing?" Eve's words cut sharp. "Move i
Chapter 131: Checkmate in the Garden
She edged closer to the glass, assessing her surroundings. The garden was dense, its shadows deep and concealing. Perfect for an ambush if she played it right. Her eyes tracked possible escape routes as her mind tallied the odds. Agnes was terrified, which meant this could be a setup. Experience screamed that she needed to secure the perimeter before making her move. One wrong step now would get them both killed.Mason, unaware of Eve’s presence, leaned forward, closing in on Agnes like a shark that's caught the scent of blood, his gaze locking onto Agnes. "Why'd you do it?" he pressed. "Why'd you do it?" His voice scraped low, rough as broken glass. "Who's this woman you're talking about? The one you switched the babies for?"Agnes stuttered, her breath catching. "I... I was young." Her voice came soft, cultured - a reminder of her life before all this. "I didn't know better then. Could've gone to the authorities, yes, but..." She gave a bitter laugh. "They owned this city. What coul
Chapter 130: Between Lines and Choices
Agnes stumbled, her foot catching on an upturned root as she fled through the back garden. Mason stalked behind her, his breath coming in slow, measured exhales. He had no intention of harming her. His presence alone was a suffocating weight pressing down on her shoulders. When her knees finally gave out, she collapsed onto the damp earth, trembling hands clutching the hem of her worn skirt. Her tear-streaked face turned skyward as if seeking divine absolution. The garden's mint and lavender - normally so soothing - mixed with the metallic tang of fear coating her tongue."Please..." Agnes sobbed, her voice thin and cracking. "Don't kill me! I'll confess. I'll tell you everything. Yes... I switched... him. I switched him!" The words spilled from her like a prayer, desperate and raw.Mason crouched before her, his expression unreadable. Inside, his mind raced through possibilities he'd never allowed himself to consider. The words tumbling from her mouth were erratic, but the fragments
Chapter 129: More Pieces Missing Than Whole
Mason tore through the orphanage's corridors like a man running from his own shadow. He found Sister Margaret in the courtyard, her hands deep in the dirt, tending roses that had seen better days – just like everything else in this joint."Sister Margaret." The words came out with urgency."Mace?" She turned, concern etching lines in her face. "Didn't expect to see you back so quick."His throat worked like he was choking down bad booze. "Eva – she say anything about me? Anything strange?" The desperation in his voice would've gotten him killed in his other life, the one where Leo King ruled the Underworld with an iron fist.Margaret wiped earth from hands that had dried more tears than he could count. "You're shaking like a junkie in withdrawal, boy. Eva dropped by, played Santa Claus to the kids, took a walk in the garden. Nothing worth getting your shorts in a twist over." Her eyes cut through him sharper than a switchblade. "Though she seemed... thoughtful but harmless.""The gard
