29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Luca
You cross me, you die. That’s never been a mystery. I am not known for my mercy in this world. Everyone knows not to cross me. Everyone has seen what happens when you do. The entire Trovoli clan is a shining example of that. But Enzo’s mother was an outsider who had been promised the world by a man who had nothing to give. She was foolish and desperate. And it cost her her life.
“We were double-checking to see if she had left a note. Enzo said it was out of character not to. But when I opened the door—” Elise chokes on her own sobs, burying her face in my chest as she tries to explain what she saw. Her sobs are violent, shaking my body as she clutches my shirt.
We’ve been in the lobby for an hour as the police turn this posh complex into a crime scene. I shift my attention to Enzo. He is sitting on the cushions as police ask him questions, but his expression is blank. The only movement he gives is when his mother is wheeled out under a white sheet.
I know that expression all too well.
Shock.
And while I wasn’t expecting this to happen, I couldn’t have planned it any better myself. Enzo’s mother had become a problem—a problem I was more than happy to eradicate when the time came. Unfortunately, I once again underestimated Arianna. She is out for blood now that her husband and her family are dead. As it turns out, she doesn’t need her husband to make use of those higher-up connections that came with him.
Enzo’s mother and Arianna were not only using her son to fund their venture, but were able to secure a group threatening enough to attempt to take my life. Neither of them accounted for who I am, however. And it cost one of them their lives, and the poor souls they dragged into this. Now, Arianna is back on the run, and Enzo is an orphan.
At this point, it is stupid for me not to wash my hands of this kid. I killed his mother. And if he ever finds out, he will be a problem. He has consistently fucked up from the moment I introduced him into this world, proving himself unfit to be part of the Pasquino empire. My last resort was giving him work around the house, trying to find some kind of purpose for him, seeing as his death would cause a rift between Elise and me.
Now that he has seen what can become of loved ones in this world, maybe he will come to understand it better. Maybe now I can use him and his desire to avenge his mother once I convince him this was the Trovolis. I can use his desperation to mold him into the proper soldier for my cause.
“We’ll contact you if we have anymore questions,” the officer comfortingly says to Elise. I gently rub her back, locking eyes with the cop. If only Elise knew this officer and that more than seventy percent of the police department are in my back pocket.
He probably already knows this is my doing.
But with Enzo’s mother’s past, they will chalk this up to gang violence or a burned dealer and move on within the week. I just hate that Elise is the one who discovered my handiwork.
“What about Enzo?” Elise asks.
I fight my immediate reaction as she says his name aloud, not realizing her mistake. I figured she knew who he was. She thinks she is a master sneak as she hides in the bushes and corners of the house. But I have cameras everywhere. And I’ve been in this business long enough to know when someone is spying.
Still, it irritates me that she took one of the cars, evading her driver to knowingly transport her brother. She not only put her life in danger but also betrayed me once again for her family.
“He’s almost eighteen. So he’ll probably go to a home for a few months, and they’ll cut him loose once—”
“Elise, go wait in the car,” I say, interrupting the cop.
She watches me with red eyes before nodding, and I watch her leave, making sure Romelo sees her as he escorts her outside and into the car before turning back to the officer.
“I want no record of him. Scrub it all clean,” I say, turning away.
“But Mr. Pasquino, I at least have to—”
“The fuck did you say to me?” I ask.
His eyes widen, and he pulls in a deep breath.
“I at least have to report his condition—”
I laugh, my eyes finding his badge name.
“Jacob. Do you like having a job, Jacob?” I ask.
He slowly nods.
“And do you like being able to walk to and from that job? To speak whenever you so please, and to go home and do whatever the fuck it is that you do at the end of your sorry days?” I ask.
“I—”
“Then hear me this one time because I won’t repeat myself again. I own you.” I step closer to him, letting my rage boil over as I look him in the eyes. “Now. What did I just say?”
“N…no record,” he whispers.
I continue to watch him, my eyes shifting over every piece of his face. I don’t respond, moving away from him to approach Enzo. I shift my attention briefly to Nicolai. The fresh stitching above his eyes is a bitter reminder of everything that ensued yesterday because of Enzo’s mother.
I had no intention of seeing Elise today, not after last night. We were ambushed, and Enzo’s mother thought it wise to back me into a corner while threatening my wife’s life. I blacked out after that. But when I came to this morning, Romelo and Nicolai explained to me what happened the remainder of the night. I am sure I terrified Elise in that moment. And this is the first time I felt any form of regret about it.
“Take the car Elise drove back and bring Enzo with you once you’re finished up here,” I say to Nicolai.
He looks at me in shock, his eyes shifting to where Romelo once stood.
“I thought Romelo—”
“I need a more empathetic hand when handling this kid. I trust you’re up for the task?” I ask.
Nicolai’s expression shifts, all of his shock disappearing, replaced with a serious expression.
“Of course, Capo,” he says.
“Good. We’ll discuss where to go from here once everything has calmed down,” I say.
I shift my attention to Enzo, and he’s still staring blankly at nothing. My judgment is once again clouded because of Elise. I am debating opening my home to the biggest threat in my life, all because my emotions are getting the better of me. Enzo finally looks up, his eyes falling on me. His expression shifts slightly, going from emptiness to fear. He knows he fucked up dragging Elise into this. And he knows from what happened to their family that I don’t mess around when it comes to mine.
But I don’t offer him any form of comfort as I hold his gaze. I want him to be frightened. I want him to know he is not on my good side at the moment.
I turn away from him, making my way out of the building to where Elise is waiting in my car. As I get in, I immediately notice her emotional state. Her head is in her hands as she tries to quiet her sobs. I know I should feel angry with her for leaving the safety of our home and driving into what could have been her death. The more I think, the heavier my anger comes over me.
She brought this one herself, just like she has done with every little setback in our relationship.
I release a huff of irritation, not bothering to offer her words of comfort as I put the car in drive, taking us home.
The drive home is silent, and as much as I thought I was giving Elise the silent treatment, it’s beginning to feel like I am the one getting it. The entire drive, she never once uttered a word or looked in my direction. She only stared out the window, letting her tears fall.
And as I pull into the garage, turning off the engine, she tells me why.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asks.
Silence passes between us. And for the first time in my life, I don’t know how to respond.
“You disappeared in a hurry yesterday and came back last night covered in blood—” Elise chokes on a sob. “And the next day, his mother is dead.”
She places her hand over her mouth, swallowing her nausea as she finds the strength to speak.
“Enzo told me he searched the house. He thought looking there was a waste of time because he had already done so. He came to our house, frantic because his mother was missing…”
She finally turns to look at me with horror in her eyes. My irritation grows within me, but not for her, for me, as a foreign feeling swells up within me.
Guilt.
But I keep my expression blank.
“God, Luca. Why? What did he ever do to you? Be born to the wrong family? How long are you going to torture us for something our father did—” She trails off, realizing her mistake, but quickly abandons her fear as anger takes over.
“I thought you, of all people, would understand the pain of having a murdered parent. How could you consciously do that to him? He had nothing to do with any of this,” she whispers.
I release a deep breath, reaching for her.
“Elise—”
“Don’t! Don’t touch me!” She snaps, slapping my hand away. “You’re a fucking monster.”
Her gaze remains locked to mine as we glare at one another. I don’t have a response. She’s right about all of it. She shakes her head, quickly getting out of the car, slamming the door behind her as she storms into the house.
“Fuck!” I scream, hitting the steering wheel in frustration.
The weight in my chest feels unfamiliar to me, and it only angers me further. The fact that she can look at me as if I am the monster. I am the one who protected her from her father, I am the one who saved her brother, I am the one who continues to protect her from what remains out there to destroy her. Me. Not anyone else.
Yet she sees everything that I do for my family through the eyes of disgust. All of this—every last piece of this is because of her father. He started this. And because of my weakness, I have willingly placed myself in the middle of it. But no more.
I’m going to end it.
I reach for my gun, pulling it out before making my way into the house. She should be dead now. She should have died in that warehouse with her father, just as my father warned me. Keeping her alive will only bring more trouble.
The house is silent as I walk past each room in search for her. I’ve never felt such a heavy weight in my chest before killing anyone. Never. But as I make my way up the steps, and a melody pours itself into the hallway, I hesitate.
I slowly approach the door to Elise’s practice room, pushing it open slightly. Her back is to me as she sways gently to the music she plays. I make sure my footsteps are slow as I quietly enter the room. Each step I take brings me closer and closer to sealing my wife’s fate. The fate her own father had ready for her the day her bastard brother was born.
And as I stand directly behind her, lifting my weapon to the back of her skull, she continues to play that lovely melody. She is so immersed that her eyes are closed.
I run my finger over the trigger. Just one pull, and it can be over. Both of our sufferings can end here. And we will no longer be pawns of those who came before us.
I squeeze the trigger.
Lightly.
My heart pounds in my ears, making it difficult to breathe. I can’t do it. I won’t.
I take a slow step back, determined not to disturb Elise, who is so immersed in her song that she is unaware of the danger lurking behind her, just as she has never been a day in her life.