Chapter 12 Chapter 12
Luciano POV
“Stephen summoned this meeting because you killed his right-hand man,” Matteo said, his voice tight. “You know it is a crime to kill anyone who belongs to us.”
For a second, the room stayed silent.
Then I laughed.
The sound burst out of me, loud and sharp, echoing across the hall. Heads turned. Faces stiffened. Some of them looked shocked. Others looked angry. I didn’t care. I laughed until my chest felt light, until their discomfort fed my satisfaction.
“Matteo,” I said slowly, wiping a smile from my lips, “you know me better than that.”
My eyes moved around the table, studying each face. I saw fear hiding behind pride. I saw judgment pretending to be justice.
“I have a reputation to protect,” I continued calmly. “I would never kill a man—or send pieces of his body back—unless he tried to kill me first.”
The room shifted,I could feel it. They had already talked before I arrived. They had already decided I was the problem. That only made this more enjoyable.
I leaned back in my chair, my fingers resting calmly on the armrest. Inside, my blood was burning. I wanted them to feel it. I wanted them to understand what it meant to stand against me.
“You broke the rules, Luciano,” Matteo said again. His voice was low now, careful.
He paused, choosing his words like a man walking through fire.
But before he could continue, I cut him off.
“What rules?” I asked sharply. “The same rules you’ve all broken a hundred times?”
I leaned forward slightly, my gaze hard.
“Let me be clear. If Stephen dragged me here because I destroyed an alliance between his daughter and that—”
“I’m-becile!”
Eric snapped before I could finish. He slammed his hand hard on the table, the sound cracking through the room. He jumped to his feet, pointing a shaking finger at me, then turned to Matteo.
“Did you hear him?” Eric shouted. “Did you hear him insult my son?”
He moved toward me, fury written all over his face.
I didn’t move, I didn’t blink,I stayed seated, watching him calmly, patiently. Inside my mind, I was already deciding where I would bury him if he took one more step.
I was ready, Eric was close now. Too close, Then Stephen stood up and grabbed him, pulling him back with force. Eric struggled, shouting curses at me, his face red with rage.
I smiled.
Slowly, deliberately, I pulled out a cigarette. I lit it without looking at them and took a slow drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs. Their shouting became background noise. They were beneath me.
“Careful, Eric,” I said quietly, blowing smoke to the side. “You’re old now. All this anger might give you a heart attack.”
My smile widened,That was when Matteo slammed his hand down on the table.
The sound was final. Powerful.
Silence fell instantly,Everyone froze.
For a brief moment, I enjoyed it. The tension. The fear. The truth was hanging heavy in the air.they wanted to judge me.
But deep down, they all knew one thing.
I was not the man to cross, and this meeting?
It was far from over,If you want the next part to,explode into open threats
expose Stephen’s guilt show Valeria being used as leverage or push Luciano closer to violence
“Luciano,” Matteo called out, pulling my attention back to the table.
I turned slowly to face him. The room was quiet again, too quiet. Matteo hesitated, like a man walking on thin ice. Then he spoke.
“Your father was a good man,” he said. “But this is not the right way to handle things. We can still stop a war before it begins.”
I said nothing. I only watched him.
“You will hand Valeria over to Noah Booneman,” Matteo continued carefully. “And you will end whatever engagement you have started with her.”
There it was,the real reason for this meeting.
I felt a dark amusement rise inside me. So this was Stephen’s plan all along. He couldn’t touch me directly, so he hid behind tradition and council rules. He wanted to take Valeria from me and dress it up as peace.
I almost laughed,I had expected more. More shouting. More fear. More desperation. I had prepared myself to enjoy every second of their downfall. Instead, they handed me this weak offer, hoping I would bow.
Pathetic.
I took one last slow drag from my cigarette, letting the smoke burn my lungs. I placed it gently into the ashtray, my movements calm and deliberate. I could see it in their eyes now hope.
They believed I would agree,They thought they still had control over me.
“Is that all?” I asked calmly,Matteo nodded once,That hope in their eyes grew stronger,I stood up.
The chair scraped softly against the floor as I rolled up my sleeves, one at a time. My heartbeat was steady. My mind was clear. I lifted my head and locked eyes with Stephen.
For a moment, the room disappeared.
It was just the two of us,I smiled.
Not a friendly smile.
“Never,” I said.
The word landed like a gunshot.
Gasps filled the room. Chairs shifted. Whispers broke out in panic. I heard anger, fear, disbelief but none of it mattered.
I had made my choice a long time ago.
I turned my back on them and started walking toward the door. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to. They knew exactly what my answer meant.
If they wanted peace, they chose the wrong man.
If they wanted Valeria, they would have to come through me, And if they wanted war
I welcomed it.
The doors closed behind me as I stepped into the hallway, my footsteps steady and sure. Whatever they planned next would fail. I was done playing by their rules.
They had underestimated me, And this time, they would pay for it.