Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Gemma’s POV

I rattled off the names of everyone affected to Andrew, and alarm immediately filled his steel-gray eyes. The Thorne family’s consigliere instructed me to gather everyone in the main hall of the compound. I dashed through the corridors, finding my mother in her guest quarters, clearly ill from the poisoned chocolates. I asked Ryder, one of Dominic’s trusted soldiers, to help her to the hall. Next, I located Nadia and Bee together in the east wing, both looking frighteningly weak. I called for Zander and the other enforcers to assist with them. In the marble bathroom, I discovered Xavier retching violently.

"We need to get to the family clinic immediately. They’ve been poisoned," Andrew announced, his voice carrying the cold authority of someone who’d seen too much violence. "Let’s get them into two armored vehicles. I’ll ride in one and Zander in the other to monitor their conditions. Ryder, you drive the lead car, Caleb the second. Gemma, you stay here with the younger family members. In your condition, the chaos of even our private medical facility isn’t good for you. Vincenzo, watch over her, get her some calming tea, and call me if she remains anxious."

Andrew took charge with the natural command of a mafia strategist, organizing everything with military precision. Within minutes, they departed for the Thorne family’s private medical compound, promising updates. I couldn’t contain my tears. Remaining at the safe house were Vincenzo, Carmen, Phoebe, Brenda, Gerard, Lila, and myself. Carmen wept as heavily as I did, her shoulders shaking with each sob.

Daniel acted swiftly, retrieving the chocolate box from the incinerator room and carefully packaging it for forensic analysis. He called Adler, one of the family’s street contacts, explaining what had happened and asking him to check if anyone suspicious had purchased chocolates from that particular high-end brand. He summoned the household security staff for questioning and went to examine the surveillance footage to identify whoever had delivered the package to our heavily guarded compound.

Carmen and I clung to each other in the leather-appointed sitting room, desperately awaiting news that seemed to take forever. Dominic called multiple times from the clinic to check on me and relay that everyone was receiving treatment from the family’s private physicians, though there were no definitive updates. It wasn’t until late that night that we finally started getting concrete information.

"Gemma, how are you holding up?" Dominic’s voice came through the encrypted phone line.

"Anxious, Dominic. Please, tell me something," I begged.

"The family doctor just spoke with Andrew. It was definitely poisoning from the chocolates, as our consigliere suspected. They’ve performed gastric lavage on everyone and are administering antidotes. They’ll remain at the medical facility until they’re stable."

"Will they recover? All of them?" Terror gripped my heart. These people were my chosen family – I couldn’t bear losing any of them to whoever was targeting me. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"From what we understand, yes. Andrew explained we need to wait and see. But since they received prompt medical attention from our people, the prognosis is as good as possible." Dominic’s words provided some comfort. "However, our mothers and Nadia are in worse condition. The poison seems to have affected them more severely."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"Their recovery might take longer. We just have to wait. Please, Gemma, take care of yourself. Eat properly and get some rest. Think of our baby. And under no circumstances eat anything if you don’t know who sent it through our security screening."

"I promise, Dominic. I’ll never eat, or let anyone around me eat, anything without knowing its source," I vowed, still feeling dazed by the brazen attack on our compound. "What kind of poison was it?"

"Industrial rat poison mixed with arsenic." Dominic’s sigh sent chills down my spine – someone had tried to make this as lethal as possible.

"Let me speak with Daniel. I need to pass along some information from our street contacts."

"Okay. Take care, my love."

"You too, my Songbird."

I handed the encrypted phone to Daniel and relayed Dominic’s update to the others. Carmen, terrified by this escalation in the threats against our family, clung to me desperately. I held her just as tightly, recognizing her vulnerability in this deadly game.

"Everyone," Phoebe approached, "I know nobody feels like eating, but we need to maintain our strength to protect our family. Let’s have something light." She had worked with the kitchen staff to prepare a table of simple snacks, all from sealed packages that had been thoroughly tested.

We ate in somber silence in the fortified dining room. Later, we decided to sleep in the main hall, wanting to stay together through this nightmare under the watchful eyes of the night security detail. Daniel remained on multiple phone lines, agitated and determined to discover which enemy family or rogue element had tried to kill me – for the chocolates had clearly been intended for me.

The next morning, I awoke to Dominic’s gentle kiss on my forehead. I’d fallen asleep holding Carmen, who still slumbered peacefully in my arms on the Italian leather sectional. Dominic whispered reassuringly that everything would be okay, his hand instinctively checking the concealed weapon at his waist.

The day stretched endlessly, but by evening, Gerard, Zoe, and several others had returned to the compound. Though exhausted and laden with medical instructions from the family physicians, they were alive and out of immediate danger.

The others had organized shifts at the medical facility – while some rested in the compound’s secure quarters, others maintained their vigil. Zander and Andrew refused to leave the clinic, as did Ryder, according to Dominic.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, sitting beside Gerard on the reinforced porch that overlooked our security perimeter.

"I’m okay, still a bit disoriented, but I’ll be fine." Gerard smiled weakly, taking my hand with fingers that still trembled slightly.

"Gerard, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—" I began, but he cut me off with the gentle authority of a family elder.

"Don’t apologize for something you didn’t do." Gerard looked directly into my eyes with the wisdom of someone who’d survived decades in this world. "I’m grateful you didn’t eat those chocolates. It could have been fatal for my nephew."

Though I’d considered this already, guilt still weighed heavily on me that they had suffered because someone wanted me dead.

"Don’t overthink this, Gemma," Gerard said, pulling me into a protective hug. "The mothers will recover, and we’ll find whoever did this."

"Please tell me you’re not blaming yourself, auntie?" Vincenzo joined our conversation, his young face already showing the hard edges that came from growing up in this life. "You silly woman. This wasn’t your fault. Stop that thinking – it’s not good for my little cousin."

His words drew a smile from me. This boy had inherited the Thorne family’s gift for leadership; he truly possessed the qualities that would make him formidable in this world.

Several days later, Nadia, Bee, and my mother were discharged from the family medical facility and brought back to the compound. Our allies from other families had returned to their territories to attend to their responsibilities. Daniel assured us he was close to identifying the culprit through the family’s extensive network of informants. Zoe told Dominic not to worry about the money laundering operations, and Caleb granted me more time away from my duties at the legitimate businesses. Brenda and Phoebe departed with Zander, needing to return to their cover identities at school and college, while Zander had obligations with the family’s shipping operations.

We spent the remainder of the week at the compound, and I convinced Dominic to postpone our blood oath ceremony by some time, giving us a month to properly secure everything and root out our enemies. Fortunately, everyone recovered well from the poisoning attempt. When we returned to normal operations the following Sunday, life had largely returned to the controlled chaos of mafia family business, and the unfortunate incident seemed behind us – all that remained was discovering who was responsible for the brazen attack on the Thorne family compound and delivering the appropriate retribution.