“Stagnant?” The accusation stings because it echoes criticisms I’ve heard from other families, suggestions that Matteo’s measured approach has made the DeLucas predictable, vulnerable. “Is that what you call maintaining power and stability?”
She tosses her head, ponytail swishing behind her. “I call it playing it safe while other families get stronger and bolder.” She starts pacing, her movements sharp and agitated. “The Calabreses wouldn’t have dared challenge us if they thought we were truly dangerous. They see weakness, Alessandro. They see a family that’s lost its edge.”
“And you think charging into a warehouse like some kind of berserker is going to restore that edge?” I ask in disbelief.
She’s smarter than this, Iknowshe is.
“I think showing them that Giuseppe’s daughter is exactly as ruthless as he was will make them think twice about testing us again.” She stops pacing, fixing me with a stare that’s purely Giuseppe—cold, calculating, absolutely certain of her own rightness. “I think it’s time to remind everyone what the DeLuca name really means.”
The conviction in her voice is both thrilling and terrifying.
She believes completely in what she’s saying.
She sees her transformation not as a loss of humanity but as a return to the family’s true nature.
And part of me—the part that’s attracted to her darkness, that finds her embrace of violence intoxicating—wants to support her completely.
But the rest of me knows this approach is going to get us killed.
“What you’re talking about isn’t strategy, Bianca,” I say carefully. “It’s revenge. You want to hurt people because you’re angry, not because it serves any purpose.”
“Maybe revenge and tactics aren’t mutually exclusive.” She crosses her arms, defensive and stubborn. “Maybe the best way to handle our enemies is to make them suffer enough that others won’t want to become our enemies.”
“That worked for Giuseppe for a while.” I point out. “Right up until someone put a bullet in his head.”
The words hit their target, and I watch her flinch involuntarily. But instead of backing down, she doubles down on her position.
“Giuseppe died because he got old and careless,” she shoots back. “Not because his methods were wrong.”
Oh, so now we’re re-writing history? I shake my head. “He died because he made too many enemies and not enough allies. Because people feared him more than they respected him, and fear only works until someone decides they have nothing left to lose.”
“Fine.” She scowls at me. “Then I’ll make sure they have everything to lose. I’ll make sure the consequences of crossing the DeLucas are so severe that no one will risk it.”
We stare at each other across my office, and I realize this conversation has moved far beyond tactical planning.
This is about fundamental philosophy, about what kind of leader she’s going to become and whether I can support her choices even when they contradict everything I know about survival in this world.
“You’re asking me to help you become something that might destroy you,” I say quietly.
“I’m asking you to help me become what I’m supposed to be.” Her chin lifts in that defiant gesture that reminds me so much of Giuseppe. “The question is whether you’re brave enough to do it, or whether you’re going to try to control me like everyone else has.”
And there it is—the accusation that cuts deepest because it forces me to confront my own motivations.
Am I trying to protect her from her own nature, or am I trying to control her because watching her embrace this amount of darkness makes me uncomfortable?
“This isn’t about control?—”
“Isn’t it?” She moves closer, her eyes blazing with anger and challenge. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re doing what Matteo did—trying to convince me that my instincts are wrong, that I need to be someone gentler and more careful than what I am.”
“Your instincts are going to get you killed!” I exclaim hotly.
“My instincts are the only reason I’m still alive!” The words explode out of her, raw and furious. “Myinstincts told me not to trust Matteo’s lies.Myinstincts told me to embrace whatGiuseppe made me instead of fighting it.Myinstincts are what let me pull that trigger without hesitation when the Families were watching for weakness.”
She’s not wrong about any of it, and that’s what makes this conversation so goddamn impossible.
Her transformation has made her more powerful, more dangerous, more capable of surviving in our world.
But it’s also making her reckless in ways that could destroy everything.
