Gao Yang involuntarily looked at Justin because he was caught up in this, seemingly because of Justin.

Justin looked utterly defeated; even when he just returned from Iceland in utter despair, he didn’t look this bad.

Justin muttered to himself, "Are you saying Alfonso betrayed me from the very beginning? Everyone thought he was dead, but it turns out it was just the reward for Alfonso’s betrayal?"

Cesare replied solemnly, "Yes."

Justin took a deep breath and said, "I really didn’t see that coming."

Gao Yang frowned, "What does Alfonso know? Could he pose a threat to us? I mean Satan."

Justin spoke dispiritedly, "No, your matters are handled by me personally, Alfonso only managed finances for me, he wasn’t involved in intelligence."

Gao Yang sighed in relief, "That’s good, take your time hunting him down."

Justin shook his head, "No, it’s not good, very bad, extremely bad."

Justin looked at Gao Yang, helplessly saying, "Alfonso was a friend I grew up with; he was the one I trusted most, my best friend. How could he betray me? He had nothing, I gave him a decent job and a very generous income. If caught and couldn’t withstand it, his betrayal could be understood. But how could he actively betray me from the start?"

Gao Yang shrugged, "These things seem not uncommon, right?"

Cesare scoffed, quietly saying, "This kind of thing happens every day, so don’t be too surprised. Let’s continue addressing Mr. Ram’s questions. Yes, when you actively approached Mario, we all thought you were working for Justin and looking for a chance to make your move, so it was natural for Mario to deal with you."

"F**k!"

Gao Yang couldn’t help but curse, Cesare said wistfully, "Speaking of which, we return to my part; from my perspective, Satan is Justin’s last hope. So I must retain the last strength of retaliation for Justin, fulfill my promise to make him the new head of the Cicero Family."

Justin whispered, "Arranged by my father, right?"

"Yes."

Cesare looked at Justin, whispering, "Your father, he was a great man, the Cicero Family reached its pinnacle under his leadership, but you all, you all aren’t good enough." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Cesare waved his hand, emotionally saying, "One shouldn’t be too arrogant; Mister Cicero was the most powerful person I’ve ever seen, yet he always remained humble. No matter the great achievements and high status you attain in the future, always maintain a humble heart."

Justin spoke quietly, "Yes, he often educated us like that."

"This world is inherently survival of the fittest, and the underworld where we are is even more vicious. Mister Cicero knew full well the difficulty and danger of surviving in this world. Behind the Cicero Family’s strength are countless eyes of hatred and envy. An arrogant man unaware of the danger clearly can’t lead the Cicero Family."

Cesare waved his hand, saying, "Saying all this means nothing now. Your father told me you are his chosen successor, and to assist you to the best of my ability. If Mario has no objection, then continue being his good assistant. If he has objections, inform your father immediately. But unfortunately, when Mario decided to usurp, I wasn’t part of his plan, so I couldn’t notify your father in time."

Justin took a long breath, "What happened afterwards, we all know. I just wonder why you still choose to be loyal to him after my father died."

Cesare looked at Justin, softly speaking, "I’m from Naples, my father once was a very famous man there, he was a gang leader. My father wasn’t Mafia but controlled over half of Naples’ waste recycling business. Later, he died. Do you know how he died?"

Justin shrugged, "Gang matters? Then maybe he died in gang fights or got killed by the police?"

Cesare bitterly smiled, "A fourteen-year-old kid, with a sawed-off shotgun, fired at my father’s face. That kid’s gun was loaded with birdshot, chose the wrong bullets, so the first shot didn’t kill him. The kid then fired another shot at his chest. Finally, my father lay in the hospital for days in agony before passing away."

Cesare wiped his mouth, "Do you know why that kid shot at my father?"

Justin said, "Under someone’s orders, what else?"

Cesare bitterly laughed, "That’s right, but the orders weren’t from a gang but from that brat’s friend. Let me put it this way: several little hooligans who make trouble on the streets every day were too young, not of legal age, so they wouldn’t receive proper punishment when they caused trouble. They wanted to be the toughest hooligans nearby, what to do? One of them said, if anyone dared to kill the toughest boss here, then he of course would become the toughest boss. Then, that little brat went home, got his dad’s gun, and killed my dad."

Justin said in surprise, "Oh, it turned out to be such a thing."

Cesare exhaled, "My dad died, his best brother took all his money, and conveniently accepted my mom. My father was quickly forgotten, and after taking several beatings, I ran to Rome. I was eleven then; it’s a complicated story. In short, I met your father, he took me in, funded my education, helped me graduate from a prestigious university, and later work for Mario. Just like that."

Justin said solemnly, "So you’re willing to do anything for my father, even after his death, you are willing to pay any price to fulfill the promise you once made."

Cesare nodded, "That’s right; also, just like Alfonso ran away with your money, I managed finances for Mario. So I will help you get Mario’s money. Compared to Mario’s estate, the money you lost is just pocket change."

Justin nodded numbly, then nervously said, "Money is important, but what’s more important is, did Mario spread Satan and Grand Ivan’s intelligence for free?"

Cesare shook his head, "I don’t know, until I was discovered by him, he hadn’t, but by then I had been preparing to do it, mainly targeting Grand Ivan. But we don’t have particularly deadly intelligence to threaten Grand Ivan. As for Satan, Mario never regarded Satan as too much of a threat, and as I understand Mario, he likes to find mortally critical opportunities before making his move."

Justin sighed, "That’s great then, looks like I don’t have to worry about cleaning up Mario’s mess anymore."