Forbidden Claim: A Mafia King’s Obsession

Chapter 42: A horrific sight

Nadia’s POV

The air in the dining hall turns to ice.

Don Roberto’s hand trembles so violently that the porcelain cup clatters against the saucer. Across from him, his sons sit frozen, their faces as pale as a ghost’s.

“Lorenzo… please,” Roberto rasps, his booming , proud voice reduced to a pathetic whisper. “There must be another way. A penalty . A fine. Take all I own.”

“Drink,” Lorenzo repeats. His tone is terrifying and flat, devoid of any human warmth.

I press my back firmly against the soft leather of my chair. My stomach twist so violently as the sweet scent of cinnamon drifts across the mahogany table. The exact same smell.

The sensation of rusted blades tearing through my insides, the cold marble floor against my face, the thick crimson pooling beside me.

Lorenzo is forcing them to digest their own death.

Marco, the elder son lets out a ragged sob as he stares down at his cup. “Father… I don’t want to die like this.”

“Be quiet!” Roberto snaps, though his eyes remain wide with unadulterated terror. He looks up at Lorenzo, searching for a single crack in the Don’s armor. “You are a monster, Romano.”

“I am the Don, Roberto,” Lorenzo corrects softly. “You brought this war into my home. And now, I’m ending it.”

With a deep, breathy sigh, Roberto closes his eyes and brings the cup to his lips. He tilts his head back and swallows the warm, golden liquid in three heavy gulps. Marco and Mateo follows immediately after their father, their hands trembling so hard half the liquid spills onto the white table cloth before they set it down.

The silence that follows is as heavy as a tomb.

I watch in horror as nothing happens for ten agonizing seconds. Roberto stares at Lorenzo, his chest heaving, a spark of hope flickering in his eyes — as if praying the treat was an elaborate bluff.

Then, the compound takes effect.

Roberto suddenly grips his tie, loosening it and massaging his throat, his other hand grips the edge of the mahogany table, his knuckles turning white. A strangled gasp escapes his throat as his eyes widens in pain.

Mateo suddenly doubles over, clutching his abdomen with a horrific scream. Marco slides out of his chair, crashing heavily to the floor, twisting in pure agony.

Blood spills from Roberto’s lips, splattering across the white linen.

I gasp, flinching as I squeeze my eyes shut and slam my hands over my ears, but it did nothing to block out the horrifying sounds of their frantic gasps and struggling bodies. My chest heaves as the panic inside me burst out of control.

Lorenzo doesn’t move a muscle. He just sits at the head of the table, watching as the three men collapse, his icy, blue eyes completely void of remorse.

After what felt like an eternity, the horrible thrashing finally subsides into a terrible silence. Lorenzo rises smoothly, unbuttoning his shirt down to his chest and looks at the guards.

“Clean this up,” he commands coldly. “Throw the bodies in the river.”

He turns his massive frame toward me. My breathing comes in short, ragged gasps as I stare at the empty cups on the table, my body shaking uncontrollably. Lorenzo reaches down, locks his firm fingers around my wrist and pulls me out of the chair.

“Come,” he says, pulling me away from the nightmare.

Lorenzo drags me up the staircase, his grip on my arm tightening with every step. My legs feel like lead, barely able to support my weight, but he doesn’t care and simply keeps hauling me.

The moment we step into the bedroom, he releases me and shuts the heavy oak doors, locking them with a sharp click.

I stumble backward in terror, hitting the edge of the mattress. I look at him — his hair is slightly disheveled, his face clearly unbothered by the cruelty he just displayed.

“You murdered them,” I whisper, my voice cracking under sheer shock. “Right in front of me. You forced them to their own deaths.”

Lorenzo steps closer, his dark gaze fixed on me. “So what, Nadia? They dare try to murder you in my house. What did you expect? That I’d send them flowers?”

“You could have shot them! You could have handed them over to the authorities!” Tears blur my vision as I stare up at him. “You made it a show. You forced me to sit there and watch!”

“I forced you to watch what happens to anyone who dares touch what is mine,” Lorenzo growls, closing the distance between us until he is looming over me. “They needed to suffer the exact agony they inflicted on you.”

“As if you haven’t done worse to me!” I cry out, pressing my hands against his chest to push him back, but he doesn’t budge. “All you’ve done is torture and torment me ever since you kidnapped me and forced me to be your wife! You make me watch while you murder people! You are a monster! You are so cruel!”

Lorenzo freezes. His expression drifting to a dark, dangerous frown. He reaches out, wrapping his large hand gently around my throat — not choking me, but holding me firmly in place, forcing me to look directly into his eyes.

“Shut the f**k up, Nadia,” he whispers, his voice dropping to a dangerous pitch. “Or I’ll be forced to do something much worse to you.”

“No one touches what is mine. Your life is mine to destroy. Mine! Only I get to hurt you, only I get to torture or torment you. Only I get to end your life. And I’ll kill anyone who lays their filthy hands on you.”

My heart stops as I stare into his cold eyes, completely stunned by the raw, dark intensity in his words.

“You are my wife, whether you like it or not,” he continues, his thumb brushing over my trembling lower lip. “If the entire world has to burn to keep you breathing, I will light the match myself.”

My entire body trembles beneath his touch, torn between the terror of the monster standing before me and a strange, overwhelming confusion at the fierce, possessive fire in his voice.

He releases his grip on my throat and steps back slowly , his expression smoothing back into a mask of cold granite.

“Get out of these clothes,” Lorenzo says, heading toward the door. “The house will be locked down until tomorrow. No one comes in or out.”

He slams the door shut behind him, leaving me alone in the heavy silence.

My legs give out and I sink onto the edge of the bed, burying my face in my trembling hands as tears finally spill over my cheeks. I am trapped in a cage of blood and silk, bound to a man who will destroy everything in his path just to keep me alive and to destroy me.