Chapter 51 Ch. 31.2
"You should get rid of her, she's useless," Lorenzo said again.
"Compelling her is enough. I'm not killing a woman I love."
Lorenzo’s glass clinked against the table as he set it down, irritation flaring in his voice.
"This is the problem. You boys get attached. You meet humans, you sleep with them, you think they’ll love you the way you are. They won’t. They’ll turn on you the second they know the truth."
Dylan chuckled, though his jaw was tight.
"You sound like an old vampire cliché, Lorenzo. Brooding, dramatic, and allergic to love. Maybe if you tried it sometime, you wouldn’t be so cranky."
"Don’t test me, Dylan," Lorenzo snapped. "That woman is a liability. She may not remember now, but compulsion wears thin if triggered. One slip, and she ruins everything."
Dylan rolled his eyes. "She’s not a liability. She’s… mine. And I’m not touching her. End of story."
Lorenzo pinched the bridge of his nose. "This family is doomed. Ethan, your uncle is soft, you are... Neither ready to take over this mafia... Or our clan. Remember this lesson: humans are good and toys at best, threats at worst. Nothing more."
Ethan leaned back in his chair, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Wow, family dinner is always such a delight. First courses of threats and lectures — dessert’s gonna be what? A bloodbath?”
Lorenzo’s eyes flicked toward him We. “This is not a joke, Ethan.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Ethan muttered under his breath, twirling the ring on his finger. “Uncle Dylan compelling his girlfriend, should be enough. Why are you up in his ass?"
Dylan shot him a look, half warning, half gratitude for speaking what he couldn’t. “Stay out of this, Ethan. It’s between your father and me.”
“Yeah,” Ethan drawled, smirking. “Because you two are so good at handling things between yourselves. No grudges, no centuries of resentment. Totally healthy brotherly bond.”
Lorenzo’s jaw clenched, his voice low and venomous. “You talk too much. This is your fault."
“It's not my fault. Yes, I was at Riverbend in, but I never took my training bag there, much less leave a key holder in their room."
"We all make mistakes Ethan, no wrong in admitting that."
"An heir shouldn't make mistakes," Lorenzo said, looking pointedly at Ethan. He chugged the last of the blood in his glass.
Ethan said nothing.
"By the way, I received an email from your principal," Lorenzo said. He beckoned to one of the maids and gestured towards the glass.
"They're all passed out sir," she said.
"What email was that?"
"The governor extended a special invitation to you... For the marathon."
"Yeah, Ethan, way to keep your identity hidden," Dylan butted in. "Last year was a mistake, but you still ran this seasons. Broke another record."
"Dropping out of races suddenly is going to be a lot of attention," Ethan said quietly, looking down at his food.
"And it'll be forgotten. Sure, your coach, principal, everyone around you will question why you suddenly stopped running... But stand firm on your decision, and they'll move on to the next star."
"I love running."
"Except you don't run. You use your abilities," Lorenzo, his father said pointedly. He shifted restlessly in his chair, looked at his wine glass and sighed.
"I don't need my abilities to win. I've won races without them."
"With a minimal gap. We both know without them..."
"That's not true," Ethan defended.
"This is pointless. Anyways, why did you say no Ethan? Finally decided to take my advice? That's very much unlike you son."
Ethan's brow furrowed as he looked at his father, his mouth opening and then closing. "We don't want the attention on me, remember? There's been enough. And I already screwed up again with the inn situation."
"I cleaned that up for you Ethan," Dylan said. "And you know what, I think this marathon will be perfect to take everything off your back. Say yes."
"You must be crazy Matteo," Lorenzo said warningly.
"It's Dylan brother. Get used to it in here, or you'll make a mistake if we run into each other in public."
Lorenzo ignored him.
"I can't run the race Uncle."
"No. You will. Train for it, show your coach you're weak. Marathon is what? Forty thousand meters? You're an eight hundred meter athlete Ethan, it's as simple as failing severally during training at about 4,000 meters when you practice on the course... Doing good sometimes, failing sometimes... Show there's a limit to endurance."
"He barely appears winded on his normal races, it'll be suspicious."
"You know nothing about sports brother," Dylan tutted, circling the table. "Even cross country runners can't manage it. It requires so much endurance. Ethan will train, and he will fail."
"It's in four months. That's enough time for a good athlete to train and win."
"It is... But when there's so much expectations on that athlete... He's doing well, getting better... And on that day, he collapses... The toll being too much. There'll be an uproar, but it'll die down and they'll forget Ethan because he won't be going back on track."
"And why wouldn't he?" Lorenzo asked.
"What will happen to him in that marathon will be career ending... He will be in a coma...never to run again... He'll die in the hospital. We can disappear from all what Ethan has caused here very smoothly and for a good reason. It's better than disappearing out of the blues and some... Obsessed people will start looking and digging more," Dylan finished.
"Fake his death, how?"
"Well, a stab in the heart while he's in the hospital. We leave a portion of the silver metal in there with no visible and the machines will show he's dead. We mourn him, publicly... Befitting. But we wear shades, hats, coats... Our hair down."
"And faking a coma?"
"We're vampires," Dylan scoffed. "Brother, do you know what happens when we are tested in human labs? We show a resting heart rate below normal. Change Ethan's nutrition for a bit and we lower it even further."
"It's a solid plan. Four months and we are out of here."
"It's amusing how you two are planning my life for me... without even asking what I want with my own life," Ethan commented drily, his eyes travelling from his father to his uncle.
"We're doing this to protect you," Dylan said.
"You have no reason to protect me uncle," Ethan countered. "You need something from my father. What is it?"