The Return of Victor De Luca
789 Words
The problem with knowing the truth was that it only created more questions.
I thought my mother's letter would give me peace.
Instead, it gave me a warning.
Trust your heart.
Ask questions.
Those two sentences followed me everywhere.
Especially when I looked at Alessandro.
Because now I knew something I hadn't known before.
He wasn't the monster I first imagined.
But that didn't mean he was innocent.
People could be both.
A person could save someone and still carry darkness inside them.
And Alessandro De Luca carried more darkness than anyone I had ever met.
---
The next morning, the atmosphere in the mansion changed.
I noticed it immediately.
The staff moved faster.
The security team was everywhere.
Nobody explained anything.
Which meant something was happening.
I found Marco near the entrance.
"What's going on?"
He looked at me.
Then away.
That was enough.
"Who is coming?"
A pause.
"Victor De Luca."
The name alone changed the room.
I had never met him.
But everyone reacted as if his arrival was a storm nobody could stop.
"Why is everyone afraid of him?"
Marco answered quietly.
"Because Victor doesn't need to raise his voice to hurt people."
That was not comforting.
"How is he related to Alessandro?"
"His uncle."
"His father's brother?"
"Yes."
I remembered Alessandro's words.
The man his father feared.
The man my mother warned about.
"What happened between them?"
Marco looked at the doors.
"Alessandro was twenty-two when he betrayed Victor."
I frowned.
"Betrayed?"
"He helped Sofia escape."
I already knew that.
But Marco continued.
"Victor believed Sofia's information belonged to the family. He saw her as a threat. Alessandro saw her as a person."
"And Victor never forgave him."
"No."
Marco's expression became serious.
"He spent sixteen years waiting for a chance to remind Alessandro what happens when someone chooses against the family."
---
The doors opened.
And Victor De Luca entered.
I understood immediately why people feared him.
He wasn't loud.
He wasn't aggressive.
He didn't need to be.
Power followed him into the room.
He looked older than Alessandro, but there was something similar between them.
The same eyes.
The same confidence.
The same ability to make a room feel smaller.
His gaze moved through the mansion.
Then stopped on me.
"So."
His voice was calm.
"The daughter of Sofia Rossi."
I stood still.
"I have a name."
A small smile appeared.
"Good."
He stepped closer.
"You have your mother's courage."
"I don't know if that's a compliment."
"It is."
He studied me.
"She was the only person who ever looked at this family and refused to be afraid."
My expression hardened.
"You hunted her."
The room became silent.
Victor didn't look offended.
Only amused.
"That is what Alessandro told you?"
"No."
I held his gaze.
"That is what the truth suggests."
For the first time, his smile faded slightly.
"You are smarter than I expected."
Before I could answer, Alessandro entered.
And the change was immediate.
The air became colder.
"Victor."
His uncle turned.
"Alessandro."
No greeting.
No warmth.
Only history.
"You shouldn't be here."
Victor smiled.
"This house was built by my family."
"Not yours."
A dangerous silence followed.
I looked between them.
Two men who shared blood.
But clearly shared nothing else.
Victor looked back at me.
"Did he tell you everything?"
Alessandro's voice sharpened.
"Enough."
Victor ignored him.
"Did he tell you that when he saved your mother, he was still working for the same people chasing her?"
My heart stopped.
I looked at Alessandro.
His face remained unreadable.
But he didn't deny it.
"Answer me."
Alessandro stepped closer.
"Yes."
One word.
But it changed everything.
I stared at him.
"You were?"
"I was inside the family."
"That's not what I asked."
My voice shook.
"Were you part of them?"
A long silence.
Then Alessandro answered.
"Yes."
The honesty hurt more than a lie.
Victor smiled.
"There is the truth."
I turned to Alessandro.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you would see me differently."
"Maybe I should."
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
"I understand."
That surprised me.
No argument.
No excuse.
Just acceptance.
Victor watched us.
Almost enjoying it.
"Your mother understood something you don't."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"That monsters are not always born."
He looked at Alessandro.
"Sometimes they are created."
The words hung between us.
Then Victor turned toward the door.
"I didn't come here to fight."
Nobody believed him.
"I came to warn you."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"About what?"
Victor looked at me.
"About the person who truly wanted Sofia Rossi dead."
A chill ran through me.
"Who?"
Victor smiled faintly.
"Ask Alessandro."
Then he walked away.
Leaving behind the one thing he knew would hurt us most.
A question.
- Writer
