Chapter 8: The Consequence of Silence
(First-person POV: Alessia)
The room was a cavern of silence, the only sound the faint ticking of a clock somewhere in the distance. Luca's words lingered like smoke in the air, a suffocating reminder of the stakes I had yet to fully understand.
"Blood," he had said.
It wasn't a metaphor. It wasn't a poetic flourish. It was a promise, one that echoed through my mind long after the meeting had ended.
I could feel Matteo's eyes on me as we left the building, his sharp gaze burning into the side of my face as though he was trying to read my thoughts. But I didn't dare look at him. My hands were clammy, my chest tight, and my mind racing with questions I knew I couldn't ask.
The car ride back was silent. Nico drove with his usual stoic demeanor, his eyes fixed on the road, while Matteo sat beside me, radiating a tension that was impossible to ignore.
"Does any of this bother you?" I finally asked, my voice breaking the heavy quiet.
Matteo didn't respond right away. He kept his eyes straight ahead, his expression unreadable. When he finally spoke, his tone was flat, emotionless. "Bother me?" he echoed. "No, Alessia. This is my life. It's what I was born into. There's no room for hesitation."
"That's not an answer," I pressed, my frustration bubbling to the surface.
He turned his head then, his gaze locking onto mine. "It's the only answer you're going to get."
I wanted to scream at him, to demand more, but the weight of his stare silenced me. Matteo De Luca was a man who thrived on control, and he wasn't about to let me crack through his carefully constructed armor.
By the time we returned to the estate, the tension between us was almost unbearable. Matteo stepped out of the car without a word, his long strides carrying him toward the house. I followed reluctantly, my heart heavy with the knowledge that I was spiraling deeper into a world I didn't understand.
The house was eerily quiet as we entered, the kind of silence that felt unnatural, deliberate. Matteo disappeared down a hallway, leaving me standing alone in the foyer. I debated following him, demanding answers, but something about his demeanor stopped me.
Instead, I wandered into the library, the one room in this vast estate that offered any sense of peace. I ran my fingers along the spines of books I'd never read, the scent of old paper calming my racing thoughts.
But the calm didn't last.
The sound of raised voices broke through the quiet, distant but unmistakable. I froze, my hand hovering over a book as I strained to listen. The voices were muffled, coming from somewhere down the hall, but I recognized Matteo's sharp tone.
I hesitated for a moment before creeping toward the source of the noise.
The argument grew clearer as I approached Matteo's office, the door left slightly ajar. I peered through the gap, my breath catching at the sight before me.
Matteo stood in the center of the room, his posture rigid, his face set in a hard line. Across from him was Luca, his older cousin, his expression just as severe.
"You think you can handle this alone?" Luca's voice was sharp, laced with disbelief. "You're a child playing at being a king, Matteo. You don't even see the threats right in front of you."
Matteo's jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "This is my family now. My responsibility. I don't need you undermining me at every turn."
Luca let out a bitter laugh. "Your responsibility? You think wearing the De Luca name gives you power? It makes you a target, Matteo. And the more you push me out, the harder it will be to protect you when this all comes crashing down."
"I don't need your protection," Matteo snapped, his voice dangerously low. "I don't need anything from you."
Luca's gaze darkened, his voice dropping to a whisper that sent chills down my spine. "You're making enemies you can't afford to make, Matteo. And when the time comes, don't expect me to clean up your mess."
The tension in the room was palpable, the air thick with unspoken threats. I should have walked away, but my feet felt rooted to the ground.
Suddenly, Luca's eyes flicked toward the door, and I realized too late that I had been caught.
"Well, well," Luca drawled, a smirk spreading across his face. "It seems we have an audience."
Matteo's head snapped toward me, his expression unreadable. "Alessia," he said, his tone laced with warning. "What are you doing here?"
I stepped into the room, my heart pounding in my chest. "I heard voices," I said lamely, my voice barely above a whisper.
Luca chuckled, shaking his head. "She's curious. That's dangerous."
Matteo's gaze hardened as he turned back to Luca. "Leave."
Luca raised an eyebrow, but he didn't argue. "Careful, cousin," he said as he moved toward the door. "Curiosity kills."
The words hung in the air long after he was gone.
Matteo turned to me, his expression a mixture of anger and something else—fear, perhaps? "You shouldn't have been here," he said, his voice cold.
"I wasn't spying," I said quickly. "I just—"
"I don't care what you were doing," he interrupted, his tone sharp. "This isn't a game, Alessia. You have no idea what's at stake."
"Then tell me!" I shot back, my frustration boiling over. "Stop shutting me out!"
For a moment, I thought he might. His jaw tightened, his eyes searching mine as though he was weighing a decision. But then, just as quickly, the wall came back up.
"Go to your room," he said, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Matteo—"
"Go."
I turned and left, my hands shaking with a mixture of anger and fear. But as I walked down the hallway, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen, something that would change everything.
Later that night, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I heard it.
The unmistakable sound of a gunshot.
It echoed through the estate, shattering the fragile silence. My heart leapt into my throat as I bolted upright, my pulse pounding in my ears.
I had no idea where it came from, who it was meant for, or what it meant.
But I knew one thing for certain: the consequences of silence were no longer something I could ignore.