Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 99: The Throne of Bellini.

The next days was the most brutal and fucked up experience James had ever endured.

The after effects of the drug were so bad that he lay in bed for two straight days, doing nothing. He didn't even want to turn to his other side because everything hurt, and he was scared he would throw up.

Hector, on the other hand, was only out of it for half a day, maybe because he had already done White Magic and Greenweed before. Of course, separately. But maybe his body already knew what was coming.

That was exactly why James, who was practically dying from the after effects, let Hector handle whatever needed to be done on his own.

So, basically, for a day, Hector became the boss.

To the others, they just said James had caught some nasty virus or something. They believed it, or at least his mother and Charlotte did who was crying beside his bed all day, convinced he was going to die. Which, honestly, just annoyed him more. But this is what happens when you have a daughter.

"Are you really sure about this?" Hector asked, staring at James, who looked like someone in the half-stage of turning into a zombie.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale, and he had literally no strength in his body.

"Yeah…"

"But it means they might believe that—"

"Hector…" James slowly tilted his head to the side. "Just fucking go and do what you need to do."

Hector kept staring at him, still unable to believe it. He was excited but also felt the weight. He was the underboss, but he had never stepped into James' place, even when he was in coma, Hector just stopped everything waiting for him to get well.

But now, Hector Bellini, the underboss of the Bellini family, became the acting boss.

For a day.

And for some reason, he felt like a fucking intern. His whole body was shaking like it was his first day on the job.

Maybe it was because of the misconception people had about his role.

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To most, the underboss of the family meant they were just one step away from becoming the boss. The one who would take over if something big happened. The one who would inherit the family.

The underboss handled the business the boss ordered him to.

Well, that part was kind of true because James almost always told Hector about his plans and what the next step would be.

But even if James called Hector the underboss, it never really felt that way.

Hector's role in the family felt more like an operative leader. He is the one handling the trafficking, the production, the trading, and, most importantly, the money.

The money laundering, the transfers through shell companies, the offshore bank accounts, hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, went through Hector. Through his men. Through his associates.

And this was exactly why James wanted a clearer hierarchy, because everything was so mixed up in bullshit.

At the top stands James as the family boss. That is clear to everybody.

What isn't clear was where his mother stood.

She clearly enjoys the money, even if she never admits it. She is living her best life, even if her son died. But her position in the family?

That is a mystery to many. So they just started calling her The Mother. A simple yet powerful name, Mother of the Bellini Family.

So there is James at the top. And maybe, beside him, his mother.. But without any official criminal connection.

Below James comes Hector, the underboss of the family. Outsiders, even the agencies, might assume that Bella and Ferucci are directly under James. But no. Before them, there are others.

These people don't outrank Bella and Ferucci. They never could. But they work for Hector, and they are some of the closest players to the family.

They are the ones who handle the money, count the money, and launder the money. And when there is too much cash, they convert it into assets. Houses, gold, cars… anything money could buy.

This is the secret James didn't know about.

He actually has a luxury car garage with 34 cars sitting in a hangar, just because they needed to spend the money.

There are twenty people working on this, day and night. They are nicknamed 'The Bankers'. It might seem like a small number for handling that much cash, but every single one of them has the right connections to make it work.

They are among the most valuable members of the family, because without them, none of this would be possible. After Hector and the Bankers, comes Bella and Ferucci.

Bella's the one going after reporters, making sure every piece of news about the Bellini family that leaks out gets buried.

Ferucci? He doesn't really care about any of that. He barely cares about his own men. The whole "bossing people around" thing isn't for him. He just likes to cause pain. He's the personal interrogator.

And beyond them, there are smaller group leaders.

With all of this in mind, it's safe to say that James, as the boss, never really does much. Everything is done by the people under him.

The only thing he ever does is make the plans, which he shares with Hector. After hearing them, Hector does his best to carry them out with the people under him, making sure things happen exactly how James wants.

This is exactly why he tells Hector to redo the whole hierarchy, because, to some, it might seem like James is just a puppet and Hector's the one actually pulling the strings. Of course, if anyone ever said that, or even started gossiping about it, they wouldn't live more than a few hours.

Because nobody questions James.

Not out of fear, but out of respect.

In their eyes, whether it's the Bankers, the last soldier, or some low level worker in the jungle, James is someone deeply embedded in their lives. In their hearts. They owe him everything. Because he gives them something they can hold on to. The work. The money that comes with it.

But most of all, safety.

They know that if anything happens, James will be there.

And it became even clearer after the attack on him.

The bodyguards who died?

Their families got a huge sum of money. Even their funerals were paid for by James. Because that's what it means to be under him.

James wants to be like Lauci Gabbin. He wants people to love him, not just out of fear, but genuinely love him. But it already happened when he stepped into this world.

The moment people started to follow him, they did it out of respect and love because he wasn't like the other mafia bosses.

He isn't the one shouting orders at them like dogs. He isn't the one who'll kill them for making even the smallest mistake. He isn't the one who pays lower wages than a legitimate job.

No, James Bellini is different from them. He pays good money, even for the lowest person. Even the workers respect him. The ones that work with deadly chemicals, they do the job because they get good money, and they know that James respects them, just like they respect him.

This is how the tale of James Bellini began.

That's why the word spread like wildfire in the underworld. That's why people came to work for him, for the money and the respect they got for what they did.

And this is exactly why nobody ever dares to betray him.

Because James gives them something. Not just money, not just safety, but a place where they belong. This is the difference.

Other mafia bosses see their men as disposable. But James? James makes them feel irreplaceable. They carry his name, respect him, and trust him.

Because James Bellini didn't just build a mafia family...he built a kingdom.

And in his kingdom, betrayal is an impossibility. No one can turn their back on James, because doing so means turning their back on everything they've built, everything they've earned.

James Bellini has created something no one can easily destroy, a loyalty so deep, so unshakable that questioning it is a sin.

This is about creating a legacy. And legacy, James knows, isn't something you build with blood and bones alone, it's something you build with respect, with trust, and with the understanding that no matter where someone comes from, no matter their past, they can always find a place in his kingdom.

And in that kingdom, loyalty is worth more than money.

This is what James Bellini built, this is how the hierarchy works.

But most importantly, this is why Hector is freaking out. Not because he's scared, but because now he understands what it means to be at the top, what it means to have so many people's faith and loyalty, that even a misstep, a miscalculation, can cause something big.