(LUCIANO'S POV)
Luca had been waiting in the car parking of the office beside his car, half his body leaning on his black Mercedes, dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks,cuffs folded, coat already discarded. The soft glow of the light cutting across the sharp lines of his tan face. The cigarette between his fingers glowed like a tiny ember of rebellion. He didn’t speak at first, just leaned against the hood, that familiar careless smirk plastered across his face.
“You didn’t sleep much, did you?” he finally asked, voice low and teasing.
There we go,again. How does he always know everything about me by just looking at my face.
“Didn’t have the luxury,” I muttered.
"Why? Got pranked by Maria again?",he said smirking.
I smacked his arm, then winced softly but it didn't miss Luca's ever watchful gaze. But thankfully he said nothing. I rubbed the ache in my shoulder. My ribs still throbbed from yesterday, the faint echo of bruises reminding me of the fight that I’d buried quickly. Luca chuckled and flicked ash into the wind. “You never do, brother. You think too much.”,Luca said concerned.
“Someone has to,” I said flatly. Someone has to keep the world spinning, someone has to make sure it doesn’t devour the people I love. And that someone was me.
Luca looked like he might argue but didn't press further.
We sat in his car, he started the engine and we drove towards our work of the day.
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Luca and I had been best friends since we were kids, we grew up together in streets lined with smoke and secrets. We were forged in the same crucible of fear and survival by our fathers, sons of the Family who learned early that loyalty was the only currency that mattered. We worked for the Cassano family,- a huge empire standing on blood and ashes-,just like our fathers. He was reckless, charming, a flash of light I once envied before l loved it. I was steady, calculated, the one they sent when things had to be cleaned quietly. Debts collected. Messages delivered. Threats erased. My world was bloodless on the surface but never without cost. After working for many years, we've just reached the positions our fathers once held. Several teams of men from different cities and states worked under me and Luca.
It wasn't glorious work but it kept my Mama and Maria safe. That was enough reason for me to keep bleeding.
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We drove in silence. The meeting was set in a rundown warehouse at the edge of the port,the kind of place that reeked of sea salts and secrets. We were supposed to negotiate over a shipment,- nothing too loud, just a reminder to smaller families that our silence cost more than their pride.
Luca drove while l went over the details again, though l already knew how it would go. lt would go. It always went the same. Words first,Guns later.
The warehouse doors groaned as we entered. Inside three men waited, trying too hard to look relaxed but failing miserably. One of them, younger than me, a twitch in his jaw screamed trouble. We took our seats on the black oak table and the meeting began. I folded my hands on the table-
“You were supposed to deliver last week,” I said, voice even, controlled.
“There were delays...,” he said, shrugging.
“Delays,” I echoed, slower, sharper. “A generous way to say theft.”
He sneered, the older man started talking about being sorry but my focus was on the younger one , he reached for his gun under the table, he thought noticed and no one did but l and l kept quiet until he pointed that gun on Luca under the table only. Something inside me snapped. Before anyone could understand, l grabbed the man by collar and slammed him on the table, making creaks and splattering blood on the polished table.
I pulled him upright. My knuckles cracked against his jaw, once, twice- a sharp pain blooming in my ribs as l moved. The others shouted,hands reaching for weapons but Luca was quicker.
"Don't", he warned them, his gun leveled, voice deadly calm.
The room stilled. The man l held was unconscious, barely breathing. I let him drop.
"Tell your boss", l said calmly, wiping blood drops off my grey coat, then l met their eyes, "next time it won't be just this."
We walked into the fading light, the air thick with the smell of iron and salt. My hands ached, and when l flexed my fingers, blood glistened faintly across my knuckles.
Luca glanced at me,while we were walking out of our third meeting of the day, it was almost evening. The other two meetings were a little less aggressive, but not entirely.
"You're getting sloppy", he said.
"I'm getting tired", I said simply.
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The unease had been with me all day, growing like a shadow behind my thoughts. It wasn’t the fight. It wasn’t the work. Something else pressed down on my chest, a quiet whisper that had been gnawing at me since the morning - Maria’s laughter. Her light. She had left for Rose’s house hours ago, promising to be back before sunset. I had promised myself I’d always protect her. She is quietly fierced, she herself doesn't know about the fire she's got in her. Even when she was small and foolishly brave,she used to climb trees to pluck a fruit for me,or Mama or papa, her little palms and used to get scraped, l used to patch up her cuts."l'd always keep you safe piccola", l used to tell her. She is unaware of the strength she has and l want it to stay that way because if this world saw the fire l do, it'll drag her in and l can agree on anything but that, this world is not for her she gets scared of a gunshot's sound and not to mention that happens all the time here, just like l use to tell her l'll always protect her. But tonight, the air seemed wrong, stretched thin and cold.
I drove slower, scanning every street. The city lights stretched past in streaks, distant echoes of life I barely noticed. Each turn of the wheel made my ribs flare, a dull reminder that my body carried its own limits,but my mind refused to acknowledge them. Tomorrow will be again a day of bloodshed and shadows, but for tonight,I needed to get home. To see her. To see Mama.To make sure they both are safe.
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When I reached the house, it felt… wrong. The door was closed, the light inside dim except for the small lamp in the hallway. Mama’s hands gripped the edge of the table , knuckles white against the wood. She looked up at me, pale, fragile in the golden glow. Her lips trembled as she whispered: “Where’s Maria?”
I froze. “She… isn’t back yet?”
“From Rose’s. Hours ago,” she said, voice breaking. “She doesn’t answer. She...she’s never late.”
My stomach clenched. The ache in my chest wasn’t just fatigue anymore. It was fear, sharp and cold. “Did you call her?”
“She doesn’t answer. I don’t know where she is. I checked the streets, neighbors, every friend she might have visited. Nothing. Not one person had seen her since she left Rose’s."
"Why didn't you call me Mama?",l asked her, spitting out the words harsher than l wanted.
"I did try, Luciano. I called you twice.It rang once… then cut off. The second time, it didn’t ring at all. It said unreachable.”
Unreachable.
Of course - I’d been inside the metal-walled warehouse. Zero signal.
"I even tried calling Luca, but couldn't reach him as well", she continued "I decided to wait till you came home, I thought maybe she'll return but she didn't and I also didn't want to tell anyone else in the... business."
She never interfered in our work. Always said violence destroys families.
I nodded thinking about what to do.
Just then my phone buzzed in my pocket.l pulled it out, opened the lock, an unknown contact sent me a photograph.
My fingers shook slightly as l clicked on the message, sensing the weight of something terrible inside. The photo downloaded and my blood ran cold.
Maria.
She was seated on a wooden chair, hands bound tightly in front of her, the rope biting into her wrists. Her blouse was slightly disheveled, a smear of dirt across her cheek. The cloth gag pressed against her lips, eyes closed, head tilted backwards - unconscious. Strands of hair fell across her forehead, tangled, framing her face like a storm around a fragile flame.
The world contracted. My chest tightened, ribs burning in rhythm with my heart. My knuckles itched to act, to tear this scene apart and set her free, but the image burned itself into my mind, a promise I couldn’t break.
Mama’s small gasp echoed behind me. “My God…” she whispered. She moved to the couch, trembling, clutching herself.
I stared at the photo, memorizing every detail: the small bruise forming on her wrist from the tight rope, the tear on her cheek, her eyes- the brightest eyes l've ever seen - closed. My little sister - my light - stolen, and I had no path but forward.
My mind went through possibilities. Who could have done this? The Families we’d negotiated with? An enemy I didn’t know yet? The questions swirled, but there was only one certainty: Maria had to be found.
"Find her!", Mama's quiet whisper snapped me out of my thoughts. I kneeled in front of her. She trembling like a leaf but when she looked at me- straight in the eye- with the fire l've never seen in her. "Luciano, hunt them,break them...". She took a pause then continued. "kill them if you must, but don't you dare return without your sister.". Her tears still falling on her clenched fists in her lap, but her eyes- those gentle eyes l grew up looking in- spoke more power and determination than her words could ever.
"I promise Mama, l promise, l'll bring her back!", I said to her and got up.
I pressed the phone to my chest, feeling the weight of her in my hands, the fragility and warmth of her life that I would protect with everything I had.
“I’ll find you,” I whispered, voice low, firm. The words weren’t for Mama, or anyone but her. “I swear it, piccola. I’ll find you.”
The promise echoed in the silent house, louder than any gunshot, heavier than any threat. It anchored me.
The city outside continued its careless hum, indifferent to the chaos it held within its streets. But I wasn’t indifferent.
I was Luciano Rossetti. And no one, no shadow, no hand of the world, would keep Maria from me.
I picked up my car keys, and stormed out of the house, the door slamming shut behind me.
Tonight, the city would learn that taking my sister was not just a crime -it was a declaration of war.
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Hey guys tell me what do you think about the chapter??What do you Luciano would do now?? Will he find Maria?? If yes Dead Or Alive???
Stay tuned to know the answers of this question. I'll upload the next chapter soon.
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