Because when Alessandro De Luca spoke, the world listened, and when he didn’t, it trembled.
My father was his loyal dog.His blade in the dark.The one who did the dirty work, spilled the blood, kept his hands steady while other men broke, begged, bled.He never questioned.He never flinched.
Until he did.
Until greed, fear, and desperation snapped whatever loyalty he had left.And just like that, he went from asset to liability.From trusted to hunted.
And when he ran, he didn’t run alone.He dragged me down with him, tied me to his sins, an anchor I never asked for.
That day… my father looked me in the eyes and told me to run.Told me to fear for my life, because the monsters were coming.Told me to vanish so deep, so far, that even the ghosts wouldn’t find me.
And I did.
I ran until my legs gave out, until the fear became a constant hum in my bones.I didn’t go to Matteo.I couldn’t.Because even back then, I knew I’d already lost him.He was too far gone, swallowed by that world, bleeding himself dry just to earn a nod from the man who never once saw him as a son.
Matteo was busy proving he could be the monster Alessandro De Luca needed.
Not the boy who used to trace promises on my skin.
Not the boy who said he'd never let anything touch me.
Not the one who kissed me like I was his only truth in a world built on lies.
Matteo buried that softness, choked it out of himself one order at a time.Every scar, every shattered look in his eyes, was just another step closer to becoming the man his father could finally be proud of.A soldier.A weapon.A loyal fucking shadow.And maybe that’s the part that hurts me the most.Is that I was never enough to make him stay the boy he once was.Not when he could be his father’s perfect creation instead.
I’m so fucking pissed I can’t see straight.
Not at Matteo.At him.My father.
If what Matteo said is true and I don’t doubt it, not with the way he’s got me locked in this life like I’m collateral.My father has sold me out.Traded my life to save his own.And now I’m the one left carrying the weight of his betrayal.The one paying the price for a deal I never agreed to.
He whispered my name into the dark, fully aware it would reach Alessandro De Luca’s ears like a signal flare.He knew what he was doing.Knew they’d come for me.They’d get me no matter the cost.He didn’t just throw me to the wolves.He gift-wrapped me.Laid me at their feet with a bow on my back and a knife buried deep in my spine.And when they came for me, I bet he didn’t even flinch.Didn’t hesitate.Just watched the flames catch, lit the match himself, and called it strategy.
All while I burned.
And now… I wonder if he thinks I’m dead.If he sleeps better pretending my bloods already soaked into someone else’s floor.If he closes his eyes and imagines a body bag zipped shut with my name on it.
Maybe that’s easier for him.Cleaner.No guilt if the problems already buried.But I’m not in the ground yet.I’m still here thanks to Matteo, still breathing for how long, I do not know.
A sound snaps through the silence.My body jolts before my mind catches up, instincts yanking me out of the chair and into the shadows—pure muscle memory.Every breath feels too loud, a betrayal in the quiet.
Matteo left hours ago.Said something about supplies.Something to eat.He didn’t look back when he said it.He just disappeared into the night.
Now the silence, it just feels… different.Tighter.Tense in a way that scrapes against my skin.It feels off.
I press myself against the cold wall, heart pounding against my ribs like it’s trying to claw its way out.For a second, I wonder if this is it.If De Luca’s men have finally found me.Or if Matteo never planned on coming back.
Or worse… if he led them right to me.
My pulse spikes as the sound comes again.It’s closer this time.Then I hear footsteps.Measured.Unhurried.Like whoever it is knows I have nowhere to go.
I scan the room in a panic, eyes darting for something, anything.
A weapon.
A defense.
A fucking chance.
