If you're enjoying the story, please consider leaving a review—it helps new readers find the novel and lets me know what you love (or what you'd like more of!). 💬✨And if you really want to support me, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your votes mean a lot and help the novel climb the rankings! 🔥📈
----------------------------
In Josh's impression, the most famous things about Turkey were kebabs and ice cream.
It was only after looking at the menu that he realized there were actually quite a few varieties, though the primary cooking method was still grilling.
However, there was no trace of the globally popular rotating kebab that would appear in later years.
That dish, although called Turkish kebab, was actually invented by a German in 1971.
For the main course, he ordered a swordfish skewer, a beef skewer, and grilled eggplant. He didn't order more because Turkish food portions were rather large.
Margot kept it simple—just a serving of lamb chops and a salad.
Once the food arrived, Josh eagerly dug in. For breakfast, he had only bought a hotdog from a street vendor before leaving, so he was already starving.
And while Josh was leisurely enjoying a meal with a beautiful woman, down in the south of Chicago, a group of people were getting stirred up because of him.
It was still that old warehouse, but where once there were few people, now it was crowded with more than a dozen.
A middle-aged Italian man with a grim face sat behind the office desk, holding a cup of coffee in one hand, looking very commanding.
He was Eddie Scarpa, a high-ranking member of the Chicago Mafia, the third-ranking figure in the Moretti family and kneeling before the desk were the original owner of the warehouse, the black market car dealer named Mike, and the car thief Joe.
Judging by their bruised and battered faces, it was clear they had received some "enthusiastic attention" from Eddie's men.
The atmosphere in the warehouse was tense. As a top figure in the Mafia, Eddie Scarpa was a classic anti-social criminal. Back in the Prohibition era of the 1920s, he had followed the current Moretti family boss, Carlo Falcone.
Of course, back then, both of them were around Josh's current age.
After nearly two decades of grinding, the two had grown from lowly street bootleggers to top Mafia bosses in Chicago, with more blood on their hands than one could count.
Facing such a fearsome figure, Mike and Joe were terrified to their core.
Mike especially regretted ever taking on this business deal.
Just as the two were trembling with unease, another of Eddie's men walked into the warehouse.
"Boss, we've got news. Someone saw the car leave the city from the west side and never return," the subordinate whispered in Eddie's ear.
Eddie nodded slightly upon hearing this, then stood up and walked over to Mike and Joe.
"My guys got some intel. Looks like you weren't lying—the guy wasn't local and has already left Chicago. That car's probably gone for good," Eddie said slowly.
"Boss Eddie, since everything's clear now, does that mean I can go?"
Joe forced an awkward smile, trying to flatter Eddie but Mike gave him a look like he was an idiot.
Thinking this guy would let them go just because the situation was clarified? How naïve.
If the Mafia were reasonable, would they still be called the Mafia?
"Heh, go? Sure. That car was worth $8,000. Mike pays half, you pay the other half. Bring the money, and you can leave," Eddie said with a cold chuckle.
"Huh?" Joe was dumbfounded. Four thousand dollars? He was just a petty thief—where would he get that kind of money?
"What do you mean, 'huh'? That's right—I couldn't find the guy who stole the car, but it disappeared under your watch. You didn't protect what you should have, so you're responsible."
"And don't say I'm not being fair. I'm giving you one week. I don't care if you steal or rob, get the money together. Of course, if you can get me the exact same car, that works too."
"If I don't see the money in a week, I'll have you dumped in the lake!"
"And don't even think about running. I'll have people watching you and your families. If you try to skip town, I guarantee it won't just be you who dies. And Joe—I know you don't have family, but you have friends. You wouldn't want your little buddies getting dragged into this mess because of you, right?"
Eddie patted Joe's face and snarled.
Then, without looking back, he left the warehouse, followed by his men.
Only Mike and Joe were left behind, looking ashen.
That was eight thousand dollars.
To Mafia bosses, sure, that kind of money was pocket change but not to Joe and Mike. In fact, they weren't even formal Mafia members, just fringe affiliates living off Mafia scraps.
For people like them at the bottom, even if they saved every penny for years, they might not come up with that kind of money.
And now they only had one week...
"What should we do?" Joe asked Mike, voice trembling.
To him, this was utterly unfair. He'd just come to fence a stolen secondhand car and didn't make much money—only to get dragged into this mess.
"I don't know. Figure it out yourself," Mike avoided Joe's pleading eyes and replied evasively.
Unlike Joe, Mike—while also a fringe member—had access to many channels in the black market car trade and had some savings. He couldn't come up with $8,000, but maybe $4,000 by pawning everything and gritting his teeth.
So for him, sharing the blame with Joe was a stroke of luck. If Josh had robbed the car from him alone, he'd be the one in deep trouble now.
At least now, he'd lose some money but not his life.
As for Joe? That wasn't his problem.
Of course, if he knew that Josh had shown up because of Joe's car theft, maybe he wouldn't be feeling so lucky.
Seeing Mike avoid his gaze, Joe realized he wasn't going to get any help from this old fox.
He could only drag his bruised body out of the old warehouse, spirit broken.
Watching Joe's back as he left, Mike sighed to himself. To raise $4,000 in such a short time, robbing a bank might be the only option. Of course, there were other gigs—stealing, robbing, smuggling—but most of those needed time to convert to cash, and a week just wasn't enough.
As for the events in that run-down warehouse, Josh knew nothing. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
After all, the whole thing started because Joe stole his car. You do the crime, you pay the price. That's how the adult world works—simple as that.
At that moment, he was being led by Margot to tour his new home.