7. Luca
Chapter seven
Luca
My heart stops beating for a moment as Sterling’s words repeat in my head. I’m staring at Gianna in disbelief. It can’t be. It just can’t fucking be. The pieces of my phone are scattered on the floor next to the wall I smashed it on. I’m breathing heavily as I pick up my briefs and hurriedly put them on.
“How? What happened?”
I slip on my pants and pick up my shirt in a rush. “I don’t fucking know. I have to go now.”
Gianna is putting on her dress, worried as she stares at me.
I take my car keys and run out of the house, leaving Gianna behind. I’m not thinking straight as I start the car.
Sterling told me where the accident had happened. They were on their way to my house to see Bianca. This is all my fault. I should have been with her and brought her back home.
Fuck.
I hit my fist on the steering wheel angrily. The horn goes off from the impact. I hold myself back from hitting it harder.
Sterling better be fucking wrong. He has to be.
Father and Mother can’t be gone. I’m not forgiving myself if they are really gone. My chest hurts like I’m being stabbed and the blade is twisted in me. No, it’s worse. Nothing would have happened if I hadn’t been selfish.
My knuckles start to turn white as I grip the wheels tighter. The thought of Sterling’s words makes my heart fucking race.
Shit.
I press on the gas desperately, wanting to get to the accident scene as soon as possible. Maybe I could save them. The road is chaotic and unsettling as I reach Manhattan. It is unreal as I drive closer in the direction of the blaring sirens. My breath hitches when I stop the car near the scene.
It’s fucking real. So fucking real.
Fuck!
A car I recognize is in front of me. My father’s.
I jump out of my car to run to the scene. Two of my men try to stop me as I run to the bodies laying on the street. “Leave me the fuck alone,” I grunt as I fight off their arms on me.
My father’s black SUV is upside down as I reach the spot. Debris is scattered around. It’s so fucking real.
I forget how to breathe in air as I spot bodies laid on the street behind their car. No one is in the car when I peep through the broken glass.
Sterling walks up to me with his jaws clenched.
“Where the fuck are they?”
He stares at the bodies.
No... no... no.
He tries to hold me as I run up to the bodies. The first is the guard who was driving. He has a chunk of glass piercing through his head.
Father’s body is right beside his. The side of his neck is cut deep, with wounds on his face.
My heart is beating too fast, staring at my father’s dead body. “Who did this?”
We had been together only a few hours ago and now he is gone. Just like that. “Who the hell did this?”
My heart shatters completely as I walk over to the last body. Madre’s .
“ Madre ,” I yell as I uncover her face.
Her eyes are shut. The wounds on her head leave her face bloodied.
I can’t breathe.
I’m squeezing my chest hard to ease the tightness I feel. Someone tries to touch me but I push them back, screaming a curse. “Wake up, Madre. Fucking wake up.”
A tear rolls down my eye. I’m staring at my whole world, both are gone.
As I fall to my knees beside her to kiss her forehead one more time, a mark catches my eye as the blanket shifts further down. I recognize the fucking mark.
It belongs to the Mancinis. They inscribe their mark on every one of their victims to claim the kill.
Mother’s left arm is marked with a berserk sign.
“Sterling,” I growl as I move to my father’s body.
This isn’t an accident. My parents were fucking murdered.
Father has the exact mark on his left arm. As does the guard.
The Mancinis did this and I was so foolish. Stupid to believe Gianna couldn’t be involved in this fight. I let them get to me and my fucking dick did the thinking for me.
Fuck.
I’m furious at myself. How could I take Salvatore’s threat lightly and let this happen?
He killed my father. My mother.
Sterling runs to me.
My teeth are gritted as I heave in anger, standing to my feet. I ball my fists, wanting to hit something. Anything. The rage coursing through my veins has a strong hold on me.
I’ll kill the Mancinis. Every last one of them till their bloodline is terminated for good.
“This is war.”
I leave the bodies open for him to see the mark.
Giovanni betrayed me and Gianna assisted him. I’m never forgiving him or Gianna. I’ll make them feel everything I feel tonight. No, I’ll make them hurt even more. They’ll pray for death and I’ll deny them that joy. I’ll take everything they love and rip it up right before their eyes. They’ll never forget me, even in their graves. I’ll make sure of that.
I grip the steering wheel right as I return to my car. Sterling knows to take care of the bodies quickly. I stare at the car wreck and the bodies for a moment before I start the car's engine. It's nothing my clean-up team can't handle before the authorities arrive. They've taken care of more bodies working for me. I pay a good fucking amount for their silence while they clean up my mess. Sterling is already on a call with Shadow to get his team down here as fast as he can.
I can’t have the authorities claiming their bodies. Family business stays as family business, with no fucking federal officials poking into it. They’ll be all over me if they find out about this murder. I can’t fucking have that. It’ll ruin everything… my business, especially. No one wants to do business with anyone involved with the authorities. Sterling had better do this now.
A tinted van drives past my car as I drive out to the main street. It is Shadow’s van. Never did I think he'd be helping me dispose of my parents’ bodies. Ever.
Fuck .
Gianna fucking did this to me. I let them use her to distract me. Everything was a lie all along. She pushed herself on me to have her family rid me of mine. I am such a fucking fool. I failed my parents.
Now they are dead… because of me.
***
“Giovanni!” I yell as I jump out of my car. “Show your fucking face.”
I walk up to the front door of his house, banging it hard. It’s 2 a.m.
My fist connects to his jaw the moment he opens the door, but I don’t hit hard enough. Or maybe I’m not satisfied with just one fucking punch. “How could you?”
I try to punch him again but he dodges this time. “Answer me,” I grunt, lunging at him again with a balled fist.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Luca?”
The punch lands on his head. He returns another to my abdomen. “You killed my family.”
He stops moving and lets me connect a punch cleanly to his face.
“You murdered them.”
“I don’t fucking understand any damn word you’re saying.”
“Bullshit! You killed my parents and still had the guts to mark their bodies. You figlio di puttana .”
“Luca!”
“I’ll make every single one of you regret this. Every last one of you.”
His lips are busted as he fakes being puzzled. “I didn’t kill anybody. No one in my family would order your parents’ hit.”
Liar! “You fucking lie to my face. I thought I knew you better than this, Giovanni.”
He wipes off the blood seeping out of his busted lip.
It isn’t enough. I want his whole face to be gushing out blood. “You steal from me, betray me.”
“Family comes first. You fucking know that.”
His words hit my insides like a fucking blow. He was aware of everything. “I took you as my fucking brother, Giovanni. You were family!”
He tsks, shaking his head.
“No, Luca. I’ve always been a Mancini… Giovanni Mancini.”
His tone is firm as he says his name.
“Is that why you have taken away mine? Mia famiglia (my family)!”
“I didn’t take anything from anyone. My best friend betrayed me and wanted to ruin my family’s business. Do you have any fucking idea how much that hurt?”
“Oh, you don’t know pain yet. I promise you, you will soon.” I spit on the ground, disgusted by his words. “Like double-crossing me wasn’t enough, you used your sister to get to me. Even had her lay in my bed to accelerate your plans.”
“What are you talking about, Luca?”
“Just so you know, I fucked her so damn good and turned her into my dirty slut.”
Giovanni’s face lights up in anger and he punches me in the face hard.
Fuck .
“You fucked Anna?”
“Yeah, and I made her beg me to fuck her even harder.”
“You fucking bastard!”
I strike a nerve.
Giovanni comes at me again but I’m prepared this time as I take the first hit, punching him in the face. He doesn’t stop as his nose starts to bleed.
My lips are already bleeding as I taste blood, running my tongue over them. His father’s words repeat in my head.
“I’ll be the end of you, Antonio; mark my words.”
Giovanni looks furious as he stops trying to hit me. He hits the wall instead and repeats curses while doing so.
It doesn’t compare to how I fucking feel. I want him to feel unbearable pain watching his loved ones die right before his eyes. He should know how it feels when they are taken away from him forever.
“I, Luca De Santi, will be the end of your family. I won’t stop till I kill every last one of you. Blood for blood.”
He runs his fingers through his hair and pulls the root hard as he watches me return to my car.
I meant every word I said. The Mancinis will pay for messing with the De Santis.
***
Bianca is fast asleep on the couch when I walk into my house. She jerks up, half-awake from the sound of the door I slammed shut. She doesn’t have any idea about what has happened.
We have to leave. I can’t stay in this city a day longer.
“Luca,” Bianca says as she tries to sit upright. Her hair is scattered on her face. The wound on her face has stopped bleeding. Ivan must have cleaned it up.
“Pack your bags; we are leaving.”
She blinks repeatedly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She groans loudly as she mistakenly touches a wound.
None of this would have happened if she hadn’t gotten into trouble and Father and Mother weren’t trying to get to my place. She wouldn’t forgive herself if I told her the truth.
“To where? Why? I swear, I’m changing. I’m trying to be better.”
Her eyes are almost convincing as she stares at me. I can’t even look at her. She reminds me of Mother.
“It isn’t you, Bianca.” My voice is slightly higher. I’m trying to stop myself from yelling, but I’m so fucking angry.
“What is wrong, brother? Did you get into a fight? Your lip is busted.”
“They are dead!” I look her dead in the eye. “Mother and Father are fucking dead.”
Her eyes grow wide, almost bulging out. She’s breathing heavier as she shakes her head. “Tell me it isn’t true, Luca.”
A lump forms in my throat and I’m unable to speak. I forget how to say the fucking words.
Bianca screams and falls to the floor.
Watching her is torture. It reminds me of the moment I saw their dead bodies, and the mark. The anger and hate I felt. My chest starts to hurt again. I’m burning with anger from the inside.
I leave the living room to go to my bedroom, feeling guilt. Still, betrayal hurts the most. From my fucking best friend. Former best friend. And the woman I love. No, the woman I loved.
This is it. I’m never stopping until I get my revenge. Bianca and I are going to leave the city till I plot the perfect plan to destroy the Mancinis.
I’ll avenge my parents and I’ll be their end.
Everyone last one of them.