King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Seventeen
Adrik
While Persephone was having a private conversation with her neighbor, I decided to light a cigarette. Inhaling deeply, my mind racing in circles, wondering why we couldn’t get reliable information on Anthony’s whereabouts. There was no way that asshat of a child could get the loyalty of this much of the city. He had to have help, which meant I had dissenters in my ranks. Even more than the situation with Anthony, that bothered me.
When I took over the business from my father, I tried to be fair and reasonable in every one of my decisions. My father was known for being ruthless, and maybe greedier than he should’ve been. No one ever called him on it on account of his reputation. I wanted to take the business in a different direction, where we weren’t constantly at war with the people of the city, or the police. It was exhausting. Too many good people died because of my father’s rule. I was tired of death on a daily basis.
Gradually, I mended the relationships with the people of the city. We started giving back to the people, supporting their causes, giving money for little leagues, building parks. With a little time, the people of the city lost their fear of my organization. They started coming to us for business deals, for help with matters that the city wouldn’t help with. My empire has grown exponentially as a result, but the people of the city are safe. They’re protected. Gone are the days when kids couldn’t play outside for fear of stray bullets.
I was proud of what I had done. The police worked with us, instead of against us. Sure, they required their cut of the illegal side of the business, but that’s to be expected. They knew what we were doing in the dark, but because we had helped build the city up so much, they said nothing about it. This was how you conducted business successfully.
Now, clearly, I had at least one boss, likely more, that had openly declared war on me. What was his end game? It can’t be all to do with Sephie. I would still end his life for harming her, but there had to be more to his play. What was he after? Power? Territory? Did he know that I found out about his recent venture into human trafficking?
That was a lucrative business, but one that I absolutely would not allow. It was disgusting. More so than the drugs and the gambling. I forbid it and every other boss in the city knew it. I’ll give Anthony credit, he had serious cojones for going against my direct order. It would not serve him well in the end, but he had chutzpah.