Screams and tears

Screams and tears
Luca’s POV

She could have been behind everything, and yet I not only believe her over Aria, but I was also about to marry her.

Viola used me... She played with my head and turned me against the one woman I loved.

I was only finding out the truth now when it was almost too late...

I felt guilty... If only I had believed Aria when she tried to tell me before, this wouldn't have been happening. I should have given her a chance.

This was all my fault.

But more than guilt... I felt angry.

How could she manipulate me like that?!

I shut my eyes and slowly asked, the words coming out of my mouth one after the other, each colder than the last.
“Where. Is. Viola?”

The words left my mouth without heat, without force. That was the dangerous part.

Payson noticed it immediately... He always did.
He shook his head before responding. “I only just arrived, I haven’t..."

“Find her." I opened my eyes and stared at him, my gaze cold. "Now.”

My gaze never left his face. I didn’t blink or move. The room felt frozen, the air thick enough to choke on.

Payson nodded. “Yes, boss”

Even after the door clicked shut, I still didn't move.

I found it hard to believe that I... Luca Morretti was played so hard by Viola and Noel.

I had always prided myself on being able to read people; I knew their next moves most of the time before they did.

But these two... They had messed with Aria and me, practically controlling my life for the past few years in the shadows.

I wanted blood.

I had to deal with them...  Both of them.

Because of them, I threw Aria in that fold dungeon for six weeks when she was pregnant with my baby!

How could I let them go?

I sat back down on the chair, still lost in thought, when the study door was pushed open again. “Boss…”

I lifted my eyes slowly, to the door. It was Marcus.

I didn't want to think about it... But anytime I saw his face, u would always remember that he loved her too.

This also must be hard on him.

But... He had always believed her, even when I didn't.

He wasn't the one who threw her into the dungeon... He probably didn't feel as much guilt as I did.

He walked in and bowed. “All the kitchen maids are currently at the dungeon,” he reported.

“Good.” I rose from my chair. The legs scraped softly against the floor, the sound sharp in the quiet room. “Let’s go.”

The walk to the dungeon was long.

Too long.

Every step echoed with images I couldn’t get out of my head ... Aria lying unconscious, pale against white sheets, machines doing what her body couldn’t. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides, my nails biting into my palms.

I felt nothing.

That scared me more than rage ever could.

The doors opened, and the smell hit me first... damp stone, iron, fear.

I had kept Aria in here before without caring about her feelings.

This was the first time I was walking in here since Aria got out. And that was just a few days ago.

I shook my head, pushing the memories to the back of my mind before raising my head to look around.

The kitchen maids were huddled together, some on their knees, others pressed against the wall as if trying to disappear into it.

It looked as though they knew that they were hopeless, but the moment they saw me, the crying started.

It was loud, desperate, and ugly.

But crying wasn't going to get them anything from me. If anything, it only made me a lot more irritated with them.

My face was kept expressionless as I stood in front of them.  “I’m only going to ask this question once,” I began, my voice cutting cleanly through the noise. “And if I don’t like your answers, or if I don’t get any answers… I will murder all of you, right here.”

A few of them whimpered. One fainted on the spot.

I wasn't joking, it wasn't a threat either.

I stretched out my hand to Marcus.
“Marcus, my gun.”

He didn’t question it. He never did. The cold weight of the weapon settled into my palm as it belonged there.

I was too angry to think... The rage I felt was just too much.

I wanted the world to burn, I wished I could make it happen. But I couldn't, so I could only try to do the nearest evil thing...

Take them all down.

As soon as the servants saw the gun in my hands, their crying intensified and they begged.

“Oh please...” Some who were standing fell to their knees.

“Please spare us...” the younger ones were louder. Their face were messy and ugly yet they didn't stop.

Their voices blended together, meaningless.

The more they cried, the more it made me want to punish them all.

I removed the safety from the gun and placed my finger on the trigger before pointing the gun at one of them while addressing each of them. "Who made soup for Aria and why?” I asked.

Silence... They still cried, but their tone lowered as soon as they began to speak. Yet no one answered my question.

They stared at one another, eyes wide, mouths trembling, each hoping someone else would speak first. The hesitation stretched.

I could see the shock on their faces.

It wasn't a 'what the hell is he talking about?' type of shock... It was a 'how did he find out?'

Which meant they indeed knew something about that soup.

I wasn't wrong for wanting to interrogate them.

But nobody spoke... Almost as though they wanted me to repeat the question even after I had just said that I wasn't going to do that.

Fine then...

I counted slowly in my head.

One.

Two.

Three.

I released my hand on the trigger... Almost instantly a loud sound was heard.

Pa!

The sound rang violently through the dungeon.

People gasped in shock, others cried even louder unsure of what happened. Some peed on their selves.

The next second, a body dropped, hitting the ground with a dull thud. A loud scream followed... sharp, piercing, hysterical.

“Ah!!!”

They all moved away revealing the body of the servant I had just shot. She was the one who was trembling the most... So I took care of her first.

None of the maids were standing now... They also didn't fare collapse. They just wailed and cried, begging for their lives.

Now they knew that I was serious.