Chapter 8 - Confessions in the Dark
The study was a dark,
oak-paneled room filled with towering bookshelves and antique globes.
Luca,
a terrified nineteen-year-old kid with sweat pouring down his pale face,
was shoved onto his knees before Dominic's mahogany desk.
Dominic sat in his high-backed leather chair,
spinning a heavy silver fountain pen between his long fingers.
He hadn't said a single word for two full minutes,
letting the unbearable silence crush the boy's resolve.
"I didn't want to do it!" Luca finally sobbed,
collapsing forward against the rug.
"Vince's men.
.
.
they have my younger sister.
They said if I didn't slip the powder into the boss's broth,
they would kill her!"
I stood near the corner of the room,
watching Dominic's face for any sign of mercy.
Instead,
his expression remained carved from solid granite.
"Family is everything,
Luca,
" Dominic finally spoke,
his voice dangerously soft.
"A man who betrays his house to protect his blood understands my world better than most.
"
"Please,
Mr.
Rossi! Don't kill me!" the boy wailed,
pressing his forehead against the floor.
Dominic looked up,
meeting my eyes across the room for a fraction of a second.
"Leo,
" Dominic commanded coldly.
"Take Luca's sister out of Vince's reach immediately.
Put both of them on a train to Switzerland with fifty thousand dollars in cash and new identities.
"
Luca stopped sobbing,
staring up in stunned,
tearful disbelief.
"B-boss? You're not going to kill me?"
"You were a coward,
Luca,
but you weren't a traitor by choice,
" Dominic said,
waving a hand dismissively.
"Get out of my sight before I change my mind.
"
As Leo dragged the weeping,
grateful boy out of the room,
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"You surprised me,
Mr.
Rossi,
" I murmured,
stepping out from the shadows.
"I expected a bloodbath.
"
Dominic leaned back in his chair,
rubbing his bandaged shoulder with a grimace.
"A true king knows the difference between a malicious enemy and a desperate pawn,
Nora.
"
"And right now,
May you like
my real enemy is walking around my city thinking he won.
"
