Chapter 3 - The Broken Vow
Luca didn't answer with words. He reached inside his tailored jacket, going for the concealed snub-nosed revolver he always kept against his ribs. It was an act of raw, panicked desperation. But before his fingers could clear the holster, the metallic click of a dozen safety catches echoed throughout the hall.
Marco, Adrian's chief bodyguard and right-hand enforcer, stepped out from the shadows near the bar, a heavy semi-automatic trained directly between Luca's eyes. Across the room, five other seasoned veterans raised their weapons, all pointing not at the prodigal younger son, but straight at the dais.
""You miscalculated, Luca,"" Marco growled, his scarred face grim. ""You bought off three junior captains at the docks and thought you bought the family. We bleed for Adrian. We always have.""
Luca’s face drained of color. His hand froze inside his lapel. ""Mother... do something!""
Helena Vale buried her face in her hands, trembling violently. ""Adrian... please. He's your brother. Your father's blood.""
""My father is dead, and his blood has gone rotten,"" Adrian said, stepping onto the dais. He didn't draw a weapon. He didn't need to. He closed the distance in two broad strides, his hand shooting forward like an iron vise. His fingers clamped around Luca's neck, mirroring the very marks that stained Emma’s skin, and slammed his younger brother onto the mahogany tabletop.
Glasses shattered. Red wine spilled across the crisp white linen, spreading outward like a fresh pool of blood. Luca choked, his hands flailing as he clawed at Adrian's impenetrable grip.
""Did it make you feel powerful?"" Adrian whispered into his ear, leaning down so only Luca could hear the pure venom in his words. ""Putting your hands on a defenseless woman because you lacked the spine to confront me directly? Did you feel like a boss, Luca?""
""A-Adrian..."" Luca gasped, his eyes rolling back as air escaped him. ""P-Please...""
Adrian ripped the snub-nosed revolver from Luca’s coat and tossed it carelessly across the room. Then, he grabbed Luca's right hand, twisting the wrist until bone popped, and forcibly pulled their father’s gold signet ring off the younger man's finger. Luca screamed in agony.
Adrian pocketed the ring, releasing his grip just enough to let Luca collapse onto the ruined banquet table, coughing and gasping for breath on the wine-soaked cloth.
Adrian turned his back on him, walking back toward Emma. He took her trembling hands in his own, kneeling slightly so his eyes were level with hers. The entire room watched in stunned awe as the most terrifying man in the state treated his quiet wife with a gentleness nobody believed him capable of.
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""Come,"" Adrian murmured, wrapping his jacket securely around her once more. ""We are leaving this den of snakes. From this moment on, you will never be afraid again. That is my vow to you, Emma.""
As Adrian led her toward the heavy double doors of the restaurant, he paused, looking back over his shoulder at Marco. ""Lock the doors. Nobody leaves this building until I know every name that took money from my brother. And take Luca to the basement on 4th Street. He wants to know what it feels like to be a real boss? Let him sit in the dark until I arrive.""
