Deadly Vows - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Luca steps out of the shower with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. He walks by the bed, only glancing at me momentarily before entering the closet. I don’t know if he remembers what he did last night. He has yet to speak to me this morning.

The knowledge that my little brother has been here all along is shocking, to say the least. All this time, I’ve been looking at him and have been completely unaware of who he truly is. It now makes sense why Luca never wanted me near him. But why does Luca have him here? According to Matteo, Luca has been in his life over a year. I’m guessing, from the time we were married since the time slots add up. But why? Why is Luca interested in my little brother?

Luca steps out of the closet dressed in all black. He is pulling a dark shirt over his head when I call out his name.

“Luca.” My voice is small. I am scared. I am definitely risking a lot by doing this, but I need to know. “D-do you remember anything from last night?” I look up at him after a moment of silence as he watches me with those emotionless eyes.

His eyes flicker from my face to my throat, where he left a large hickey on my neck. His brow furrows a moment, as if thinking, before he responds.

“No.”

I take a deep breath. What I am about to do is either really smart or really stupid.

“You told me about Matteo … the truth …” I look down at the floor, not wanting to see his reaction, in fear of what may be waiting for me. I look up after I hear footsteps. Luca is walking toward the door.

“Wait!” I shout. He pauses and looks back at me. “Please, I have to know, What do you plan on doing to him?”

His hand drops from the doorknob as he sighs heavily, looking at my direction. “That doesn’t concern you.”

I can feel my anger immediately flare up. I jump up from the bed with my fists clenched in anger as I stare Luca down.

“Not my concern? That’s my little brother! It’s every bit of my concern, Luca!”

His eyes narrow at me, and my mind is screaming at me to shut up and sit down, but I can’t, not when my little brother’s life may very well be on the line.

“I think you’re forgetting your place, Elise.” His voice comes out like a whip, but I don’t budge. This is for Matteo. The only family I have left.

“No. He’s my brother, Luca. My blood. It is my business.”

He looks at me with a dangerous glare, and I have to swallow my fear. He steps away from the door, coming toward me until he is standing over me at his full height. Intimidating me to the center. His face is blank as he stares me down, until a small smile creeps its way over his lips. He reaches forward and cups my face in his hand, piercing me to the spot with his gaze.

“I plan to swear him in. By blood. I plan to train him and make him just like me. I plan to use him as retribution for my father’s death and use him to kill the rest of your bloodline that I couldn’t get to.”

Something clicks in my head. “The rest?”

His smile grows wider. A small chuckle finds its way from deep within him.

“Oh, did I forget to tell you? Half of your family is finally dead.”

He says it as if he were revealing some kind of happy surprise to me. But I can only gasp in horror. “And if you don’t believe me, you can ask your stupid cousin Ari. She had a front-row seat.” His smile grows more and more vicious. “The ones we couldn’t bait to come here have gone into hiding once they heard about their relatives getting shot down in cold blood. So I plan to track them all down after your brother is sworn in and use him to end their existence. They all know who he is. He was a part of their plan once you and I were out of the way. A perfect scheme set up by your father will be the downfall of the Trovolis."

I’ve always known that Luca is evil, but this is beyond that. He’s going to use an innocent boy and make him murder his own family? Just to teach them a lesson? Even though I don’t know some of my relatives, the fact that Luca has baited them and shot them down in cold blood makes me see him in a whole new light. He isn’t just evil; he is evil incarnate. How can one man be capable of such things?

I take a step back, and Luca follows the movement with his eyes, his smile dropping.

“Why are you doing this? To me, to him? Why, Luca? Surely, you can’t be that … evil?”

Luca quirks an eyebrow at me, and a small laugh escapes his lips. Followed by a full-blown laugh. This one is nothing like the one he had when he was with Matteo. This one is the same laugh he had when he murdered my father. I can feel the chills as they break out across my skin.

Luca’s laugh finally dies down.

“You don’t know what I’m capable of. This is what it is to be capo. Instilling fear in the hearts of others so that they don’t revolt against you. Taking care of the family, through whatever means necessary. Taking down anyone that dares get in the way. Compared to the things I’ve done, this is child’s play.”

My legs grow weak, and I collapse on the ground. Who is this man? What is this man?

“I’ll kill him.” The room goes silent as Luca takes in my words. I know I sound crazy, but I am grasping at straws, trying to find some way to protect my brother from this cruel fate Luca has planned out for him. “I’ll kill him, and I’ll kill myself. You won’t have him to hold against me anymore. You won’t have me to torture and abuse anymore. And you will lose everything.”

Luca only smiles wider at me.

“Then I’ll keep you separated. I’ll lock you up. I’ll torture him before you can do anything about it. Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Elise.” His smile disappears, and he kneels on the ground in front of me, placing his fingers under my chin, forcing me to look up.

“Besides, do you really think you could kill your own brother, Elise?” His eyes are filled with amusement as he takes in my predicament.

I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. My sobs fill the room.

“Please…don’t do this.”

I can’t think of anything else. Once I open my eyes again, Luca is heading toward the door, not looking back. He slams the door behind him.

When I finally grow the courage to leave the room, I walk toward the kitchen and pass by Luca’s office to see the door slightly open. I slow my pace and peep in the door. Luca is sitting at his desk, with papers in front of him. He is speaking, but I am so far away I can’t hear what he is saying. My heart clenches as I see Matteo in front of him. Luca is looking down, but when he looks up, his eyes immediately meet mine. He doesn’t falter in his speech when he sees me.

He looks to his left and motions to someone, pointing toward the door. Next thing I see is Romelo coming to the door with a firm face and closing it. I drop my head, letting hopelessness consume me.