Chapter Thirty-Three
Sabrina
The morning had started quietly. I was getting ready in the bathroom while Dario sat on the closed toilet lid, still half asleep and stubbornly refusing to change out of his dinosaur pyjamas.
The house was unusually peaceful, which should have been my first indication that something was about to go wrong.
A loud crash echoed from somewhere downstairs, followed almost immediately by shouting.
Dario's head snapped up, and I paused mid-brush as another crash rang out, sharper this time, followed by a voice that was impossible to ignore.
Carlo.
That alone was enough for curiosity to win over caution. Dario was already moving before I could stop him, slipping out of the bathroom and heading for the stairs. I followed, the noise growing louder with every step until it filled the entire lower floor.
By the time we reached the kitchen, the situation had escalated into something completely unhinged.
Carlo was standing on top of the kitchen island, gripping a spatula like a weapon while pointing frantically at the floor.
“Grab it!”
I stopped in the doorway. “What?”
“Grab it!” he repeated, as though that somehow clarified everything.
I followed the direction of his pointing and immediately spotted a spider crawling across the kitchen tiles. It was so small it was almost offensive.
I looked from the spider to Carlo and back again. “That spider is smaller than my fingernail.”
“It has eight legs,” Carlo said, as though that settled the matter.
“That is not an explanation.”
“It is when it has eight legs.”
Dario leaned forward, studying the spider with far more interest than I was comfortable with.
“I think it’s winning.”
“It is definitely winning,” Carlo agreed gravely.
I folded my arms. “You’re six foot one.”
“Fear doesn’t care about height,” Carlo shot back.
I stared at him.
Beside me, Dario nodded as though this was all perfectly reasonable. “I think it’s plotting something.”
Carlo pointed at him immediately. “See? Dario understands.”
“Dario is four.”
“And yet somehow he’s the smartest person in this room.”
Footsteps sounded from the hallway, and Matteo and Luca walked into the kitchen. They both stopped at the sight of Carlo standing on the island, then looked at the spider before looking at each other.
They burst out laughing.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Matteo said between laughs.
“Not again,” Luca added, shaking his head.
Carlo gestured furiously towards the floor. “Get rid of it.”
“You’re terrified of dust with legs,” Luca said.
“It moves like it has a plan,” Carlo argued.
Luca sighed. “I can’t believe we’re related.”
Before anyone could continue, Leonardo walked into the kitchen.
The mood shifted slightly when I saw him. There was a bruise on the left side of his cheek that definitely hadn't been there yesterday.
“How'd the fight go?” I asked.
Matteo answered before Leonardo could. “Oh, you’re going to love this.”
Leonardo shot him a warning look.
“The Great Blaze lost,” Matteo announced, clearly enjoying every second of it.
“The undefeated streak is officially over,” Luca added.
Leonardo crossed his arms. “She got lucky.”
“Sure she did,” Matteo replied.
“She did,” Leonardo said sharply. “Next time won’t be the same.”
Carlo immediately forgot about the spider.
“Last night was the best day of my life.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“It wasn't that bad?” Carlo repeated. “You have spent the last three years reminding every person in this house that you're undefeated.”
“I am undefeated.”
“Were.”
Leonardo glared.
Carlo grinned. “Past tense.”
Matteo nearly choked laughing, while Luca leaned against the counter.
“I think he’s been waiting for this day.”
“For three long years,” Carlo confirmed.
Leonardo looked seconds away from violence.
Carlo turned to me. “Do you want to see it?”
“You recorded it?” I asked.
“I’ve watched it about twenty times already,” he said proudly.
“Twenty?”
“Twenty-three,” he corrected.
Leonardo closed his eyes. “I hate all of you.”
Carlo was already pulling out his phone.
The video started. The arena appeared first, loud and packed, before the camera focused on the cage. Leonardo stood on one side. Opposite him stood a woman with short, cherry-red hair tied back, her stance calm and controlled.
There was something immediately different about her. Most fighters bounced on their feet or tried to intimidate their opponents before the opening bell.
Runa simply stood still, watching and waiting.
The fight began, and for several seconds neither of them moved. The crowd started to shift, restless and unsure. Then Leonardo went first.
Everything changed immediately after that.
Runa fought with calm precision, never rushing or wasting a movement. By the time Leonardo realised he was losing control of the fight, it was already too late.
One clean strike landed, and he went down.
The referee declared Runa the winner.
She didn't celebrate. She simply turned and walked away as though the result meant nothing.
The video ended, and for a moment nobody spoke.
Then Matteo laughed, followed by Luca, while Carlo nearly folded over laughing.
“The best part is she just left.”
“She treated you like a side quest,” Matteo said.
“You weren't even the main character,” Luca added.
Leonardo looked personally offended. “I hate this family.”
Then his gaze shifted back towards the floor, where the spider was still slowly crawling across the tiles.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Carlo noticed immediately. “What?”
Leonardo bent down.
“Leonardo.”
He picked up the spider.
“LEONARDO.”
Then he looked at Dario. “Want it?”
Dario's eyes lit up. “Can I keep it?”
“It’s yours.”
Leonardo turned slightly. “Go.”
Carlo froze.
“Don’t.”
Dario grinned.
Then he ran.
Carlo's scream echoed through the house.