Chapter 137 Perhaps ghosts don't deserve peace

Chapter 137 Perhaps ghosts don't deserve peace
Carlino’s POV

When Ruciano snatched Lina’s mother’s phone, I almost stepped out of the shadows.

I couldn’t let anyone destroy the life she had fought so hard to build. The peace she had tried to wrap around our children like an armor.

Erla and Rotha stood frozen by the doorstep, watching the chaos unfold before them. Their tiny faces were pale with confusion, their young minds unable to understand the storm erupting around them.

That was enough.

I stepped forward instinctively, but a hand gripped my arm and yanked me back into the shadow before the light could expose me.

“What the fuck are you doing, Ace?” Kaden’s voice sliced through the tense air.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My thoughts tangled together violently inside my head as my chest rose and fell with heavy breaths.

Finally, reasoning returned.

“Let’s leave,” I muttered coldly.

“Yeah. We should,” Kaden agreed without hesitation. “It’s for the best.”

We walked back toward my car, but before we got far, more commotion erupted behind us.

Victor had arrived.

At least he would handle it for me.

I met Victor a few months after arriving in San Diego. At first, he was just another stranger lingering around Lina’s life. Sometimes he accompanied her to the supermarket. Other times he picked up my daughters from school or ran errands for her.

The closer they became, the more my blood boiled. I couldn’t stand watching another man take care of my woman and my children.

Victor eventually confessed his feelings to her, but she rejected him.

That alone gave me some relief.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

~~Flashback~~

One night, I waited for Victor inside his apartment.

He had gone out to dinner with Lina and her family. From what I had observed, they welcomed him openly. No suspicion. No resistance.

And I hated that.

I hated how comfortable everyone had become with his presence. My girls laughed with him. Trusted him and felt safe around him.

I couldn’t allow another man to replace me so easily. So I decided to do what I did best.

Erase him completely.

I sat in the darkness of his living room with my revolver resting beside me, the silencer gleaming faintly beneath the dim light leaking through the curtains. My head leaned against the couch while I waited patiently for him to return.

After a while, boredom settled in.

I got up and wandered around his apartment.

Victor lived on the eighth floor of the building. The place was spacious enough—a living room, open kitchen, bar, and two bedrooms.

I walked into what was obviously his room. Clothes were scattered carelessly across the bed, and the scent lingering there made my jaw tighten.

Then I saw it.

The shirt Lina had gifted him for his birthday.

I stared at it for a long moment before opening his wardrobe. Inside were dozens of clothes she had probably seen him wear around her. Some of them even carried traces of her perfume.

The sight made something dark twist violently inside me.

How could I allow another man to have pieces of her like this?

Without hesitation, I yanked every item she had touched from the wardrobe along with the gifted shirt, shoved them into the trash can, poured alcohol over them, and lit a match.

Flames erupted instantly.

I walked to his bar afterward, poured myself a glass of wine, added ice cubes, and drank slowly while watching the fire consume everything.

Piece by piece.

Ash by ash.

Not long after, the apartment door bursted open.

Victor rushed into the room coughing from the smoke. The moment he noticed the fire was contained inside the trash can, relief briefly crossed his face.

Until he saw me. The relief vanished instantly. Fear replaced it. Pure fear.

“What are you doing inside my house?” he demanded, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him completely.

I smiled faintly and swirled the wine glass lazily. “You have an excellent taste,” I said calmly. “Your wine is amazing.”

“That wasn’t my question.” His voice rose shakily. “What the fuck are you doing in my house?”

“Lower your voice,” I warned softly. “And watch your tone before I rip your tongue out and chop off your fingers. Then you’ll never be able to tell anyone what happened tonight.” I tilted my head slightly. “And forget communicating with Lina after that.”

The threat settled heavily in the room.

Everything about me turned cold. Venomous.

“Everything you own can disappear overnight if I decide so,” I continued with a humorless chuckle. “And neither you nor anyone else could stop me.”

“Please,” he begged immediately. “Leave Lina out of this. She’s done nothing to you.”

I laughed.

“Lina?” I repeated slowly. “She’s the center of this entire situation.”

Confusion clouded his face. “What are you talking about?”

By then the smoke had faded completely into the night air. I pushed myself off the wall and walked toward him deliberately. Every step I took forced him backward.

“Running won’t help you.”

He hit the edge of the bed and froze.

“Lina belongs to me.”

Before he could react, I slapped him hard enough to send him crashing onto the floor. I dragged a dining chair across the room, spun it around, and sat directly in front of him.

From that position, I could practically feel his terror crawling beneath his skin. Part of me wanted to make him suffer. Truly suffer.

But then another thought crossed my mind. Maybe his feelings for Lina could become useful.

I lit a cigarette and inhaled quietly before speaking again. “On second thought,” I murmured, “your love for her may actually benefit me.”

His eyes flickered upward cautiously.

“You’ll stay close to her. You’ll work for me. You’ll protect her.” I leaned forward slightly. “And if anything happens to Lina…” My voice darkened dangerously. “I swear to you, Victor, you won’t live long enough to see the next sunrise.”

“I—I’m not doing any of that,” he stammered. “I don’t even know who the fuck you are.”

I smiled slowly. “Your father and sisters are living peacefully in Illinois, aren’t they?”

Immediately, his expression changed.

I continued casually, sipping the wine again.

“Maybe their lives need a little excitement.” I pretended to think for a moment before reciting the address calmly. “742 Willow Creek Lane, Maplewood Heights, Springfield, Illinois 62718.” I looked directly into his terrified eyes. “What do you think? Should we give them a little exciting time in their lives?”

“What do you want from me?” he whispered desperately. “Please… leave my family out of this. They know nothing.”

“I already told you what I want.” I stood up slowly. “You don’t need to know anything else.” I adjusted my sleeves before continuing. “You’re not only protecting Lina. You’re protecting my children too. And if you fail…” I crouched slightly in front of him. “You and your family will pay for it.”

Victor remained silent for a long moment, staring at the floor as he weighed his options. But we both knew the truth. He had none.

“You already understand,” I said flatly. “Either you accept this… or your family suffers because of your choices.”

Finally, he nodded weakly.

“I’ll do it.” His voice cracked. “I will. Just… just keep my family out of this.”

“As you wish.”

I dropped the wine glass onto the table, crushed the cigarette beneath my shoe, and walked away.

~~End of flashback~~

And that was how Victor started working for me. Protecting Lina and my daughters whenever I couldn’t.

“Ace.” Kaden’s voice dragged me back to reality.

“You need to let go of this obsession with Lina,” he said firmly. “Everything between you and her ended five years ago. If you keep drowning yourself in this, it’ll destroy you.”

We sat silently inside the car afterward.

The worst part was… he wasn’t wrong. I had abandoned everything trying to remain close to Lina from the shadows. The companies. The legal businesses I was supposed to manage. My responsibilities. My life.

I left all of it behind just to stay here.

Watching her. Protecting her. Existing like a ghost around her life.

No, I couldn’t keep living like this.

No matter how badly I wanted her, the darkness tied to me would never truly disappear. Even after giving up the throne, the blood, violence, and danger still followed me like a curse.

And I couldn’t allow that darkness to consume her peaceful life too. I shut my eyes briefly before speaking.

“Ace,” Kaden called again carefully.

“We’ll handle the business,” I interrupted quietly. Looking out the windshield into the empty evening sky. “And get me a house in New York City.”