Chapter 119 Rocco
The ride to Antonio's villa was silent, too silent for three men with bloodlines founded on violence. The engine purred in the stillness, and the tension between us was thick enough to cut through. Rafael rode in the passenger seat, jaw clenched, eyes fixed forward. Riccardo was seated behind me, boot tapping against the floorboard.
The morning had been long, with calls and half-answers, and now we were here, approaching a man whose name had started to taste bitter on my lips. Antonio. An old associate.Rosalia's father.
Rafael was the first to discover the file buried deep in the ledger, signature of Antonio with the Valentis' seal. One signature that explained every damn thing.
He'd betrayed us.
The De Luca estate fell behind us as the road opened up to the countryside, a winding, gravelly expanse that cut through vineyards and centuries-old olive trees. I could feel Rafael's rage simmering beside me, churning like a volcano he was forcing to lie dormant until the moment was ripe.
"He'd better not lie to my face," he muttered.
Riccardo snorted in the backseat. "He will. And then you'll lose your temper and break his jaw. So let's just skip the polite greetings, eh?"
Rafael's glare showed up in the mirror. "Stay out of it."
"Gladly," Riccardo said, voice dry. "As long as I get to pull the trigger when things go south."
I didn't speak. I didn't need to. My fists were tight on the wheel, the leather groaning under my grip. The closer we got, the heavier the air felt.
When we reached the villa, Antonio's men were already there, stationed at the gate like loyal dogs pretending their master had not already betrayed the hand that fed him. One of them stepped forward, hesitating only when he saw Rafael get out of the car.
"Tell your boss we're here," Rafael said coldly.
They didn't resist. Some muttered words on a comm device, and the gates opened. The three of us walked in without breaking step, boots echoing off marble as the door slid open.
Antonio stood in the middle of his grand foyer, wearing a robe over his suit pants, his hair uncombed, his face hollow. The years had aged him cruelly since I’d last seen him—too much liquor, too much fear. He tried to smile when he saw us.
“Rafael,” he said, voice unsteady. “Boys. What brings you—”
Rafael never let him. His fist connected with Antonio's jaw before the man could bat an eyelid. The crack was loud in the room.
Antonio reeled, grabbing hold of the edge of a table to stay upright, eyes wide with shock. "What the hell—"
"You know what the hell," Rafael snarled. "Don't you dare play ignorant with me."
Antonio's men reacted in the same moment, guns out, safeties clicking off. Riccardo and I had our guns out in the same second. The air froze, a standoff pulled tight as a wire.
"Tell them to drop it," I said, my voice level but low. "Before they die on your floor."
Antonio raised a trembling hand, and slowly his men hesitated. Some of them lowered their guns. Not all of them. It would have to be enough for the time being.
Rafael moved forward, anger etched in every feature of his face. "You want to tell me why your name is signed beneath a Valenti shipping contract? Why our family suffered due to your greed?"
Antonio's gaze shifted between us. "You have it wrong—"
Rafael slammed him into the wall. "Wrong? I watched my wife nearly die because of you. You made deals with the same shitheads who tried to kill her!"
"I didn't—"
Rafael hit him again, knuckles tearing skin. Blood smeared the wall.
"Stop the lies," I growled, stepping closer. I pulled out the folded paper from inside my jacket and flung it at Antonio's chest. "Your signature. Your seal. Your bank accounts. Do not insult our intelligence."
Antonio looked down at the papers, trembling hands. His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Riccardo's head tilted to the side, his voice verging on lazy, "Spit it out, old man. Because if you don't, I'll put one between your eyes just to see if it helps your memory."
Antonio's voice broke. "I had no choice."
Rafael shoved him harder. "We always have a choice."
“They came for me first," Antonio said, inhaling in torn breaths. "The Valentis, after my son's debts. He owed them money for months. Gambling. He thought he could play with fire and not get burned."
Riccardo sneered. "Your son was a fool. Died like one too."
Antonio's face twisted in agony, but Riccardo didn't flinch. He leaned forward, eyes shining. "You want to join him? Keep talking in circles."
Rafael's tone was venomous. "You sold the De Luca contracts, the shipments, the guns. to pay off your son's mistakes? You think that excuses you?"
"I did not sell everything!" Antonio shouted, desperation rending his facade. "One deal! One, to buy time. But they would not stop. Each time I paid, every time, they raised the interest. I was drowning. I—"
"You dragged us down with you," Rafael cut in. "You didn't just sell a deal. You opened our doors to them. You put Rosalia in their sights!"
Antonio's voice froze, breath catching.
Rafael's voice trembled, not with weakness, but fury. "She's your daughter. Do you have any idea of that? Your flesh and blood. They shot her. Because of you."
"I didn't know they'd go after her!" Antonio sobbed. His legs gave way, and he fell to the floor, trembling hands covering his face. "They told me they'd come for me, not her. My wife, she was shot too. She's recuperating in the next room. They don't care anymore, Rafael. They want it all."
"Then give them your life," Rafael snarled. "That should settle the account."
Antonio's face was red and swollen as he looked up. "Rafael, please. You've been like a son to me. Help me make this right. I can..”
Rafael stepped backward, his head shaking. "You're not my family. You're the reason my wife almost died. You betrayed us for pocket change and a coward's mercy. You want help? Ask the Valentis when they come for you next."
"Please," Antonio whimpered, crawling toward him, grabbing at Rafael's coat. "They'll kill me. They'll kill her."
Rafael's face was stone. "Then you'll finally pay your debt in full."
He yanked his coat free and strode toward the door. I followed, Riccardo's gun still trained on Antonio's men as we backed out.
Antonio's cries echoed behind us. "Rafael! Rocco! Don't leave me!"
I didn't look back.
When we got to the car, the outside air struck me like a blow.
Rafael waited by the open door, chest heaving with slow, deliberate breaths. Riccardo put away his gun, speaking first to cut the silence.
"You think he'll make it through the night?"
Rafael's jaw tightened. "I don't care."
I looked back at the villa, the man who had been one of our good associates , now collapsing in on himself beneath the weight of his own betrayal.
He'd pleaded for mercy. But there was no mercy in the world we lived in. Not anymore.
Rafael finally got into the passenger seat, his voice rough. "He made his choice. Now he lives or dies with it."
I started the car. The tires ground across the gravel, carrying us away from the estate, away from the man who'd traded blood for life.
But as the villa fell back in the mirror, I couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't over. The Valentis didn't forgive debt. They collected it, one body at a time.
And now, with Antonio exposed and trapped, we were next in line.