VALERIA DE LUCA

Valeria’s POV

SIX YEARS AGO

“Dad?” I called, hurrying into the living room. “Did you send all the guards away?”

No response came but I caught the glimpse of my dad sitting in his usual position, staring towards me.

I frowned, tightening my grip on my suitcase. I had only told my brother I was returning. The plan was to surprise Dad after years away at college studying Corporate and International Law.

I lurched forward but just then, my foot caught on something causing me to stumble forward. At that moment, a sharp metallic stench slammed into me. It's been ages since I smelt it so strongly but I knew what it was. Blood.

My stomach twisted violently as my gaze dropped to the floor to see what I had stumbled on. It was a body and not just any body. It was my brother’s body, his face battered and mauled beyond recognition.

A strangled sound clawed its way out of my throat as I staggered back, my eyes darting wildly around the room.

“No, no, no…” I whispered disbelievingly.

My sisters were crumpled beside my mother on the marble floor, their lifeless bodies huddled together as though they had died clinging to each other, each with a bullet hole perfectly between each of their eyes.

A sob ripped from my chest and my eyes moved to find my father. He sat motionless in his armchair at the far end of the room, but this time I realized that his white shirt was soaked crimson, his dead eyes staring directly at me.

***

A scream tore from my throat as I lurched upright in bed, my chest heaving violently. For a moment, I fought to breathe, the darkness playing out the memory of their faces in death.

My trembling fingers flew to my mouth as nausea rolled through me. Sweat clung to my skin beneath the silk sheets tangled around my legs.

I dragged in a shaky breath and reached for the glass of water on my nightstand, only to realize my hand was trembling too badly to hold it steady.

The digital clock beside the bed blinked at 3:03 AM and the date, October 14th.

My gaze lingered on it for a long moment as I remembered what today signified for me. The anniversary of the death of my family and six extra years the traitor had gotten to live.

Tears and anger made my eyes water but I shut my eyes briefly before reaching for my phone on the nightstand. The line rang thrice before it connected.

“Yes, Miss De Luca?” Reign answered immediately, her voice thick with sleep.

“Prepare the jet. We’re leaving for Chicago in fifteen minutes,” I announced.

“Chicago?” she repeated carefully. “But your meeting with the Pines investors is by nine this morning and the luncheon with…”

“Cancel them,” I ordered, cutting in. There was another pause which I know was another wheel turning in her head and quite frankly, it was giving me a headache already.

“Miss De Luca, these meetings took weeks to arrange. If you postpone now, it could affect negotiations and considering the flight duration…”

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion,” I snapped.

She was quiet for a second or two as I turned on the lamp.

“The jet will be ready,” Reign finally said, her tone clipped back into professionalism.

“Good.”

I ended the call before she could say anything else.

Swinging my legs off the bed, I walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Sicilian coastline. The sea was pitch black beneath the night sky, but I could hear the violent waves crashing against the cliffs below the villa.

It was a beautiful sight, but I lacked the mood to properly appreciate it. For a moment, I stood there in silence, staring at my faint reflection against the glass.

Slowly, I reached for the silk robe draped over the chair and slipped it over my shoulders before walking toward the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, I was on the elevator to the roof to get on the private jet back to Chicago.

“Miss De Luca, I've rescheduled the meetings for next week Wednesday and Thursday,” Reign said, walking in tow behind me but I merely hummed in response with a wave of my hand.

I had hoped being in the air would ease the way I felt but a few minutes into the flight and I still couldn't stop the flashes, I had Reign bring over some paper work I hadn't finished.

The moment the jet touched down in Chicago, exhaustion had settled deeper into my bones. I slowly massaged my forehead with my fingers, before stretching slowly.

Cold air swept across the private airstrip as I descended the stairs of the jet, my coat tightening around my body. Floodlights illuminated the tarmac while the ground crew moved noisily in the background.

“Your car is ready,” Reign informed, falling into step beside me while scrolling through her tablet. “I also moved tomorrow’s conference with the Nakamura representatives to Thursday evening.”

I hummed absently.

“Should I have the driver take you home first?” she asked carefully.

“No.”

She glanced up briefly but before she could ask her next question, I added, “I’ll drive myself.”

There was a slight pause and then she said, “Miss De Luca, it’s already past six and you’ve been awake since…”

Cutting her off, I enunciated, “I Said I’ll Drive Myself.”

Reign immediately went silent, nodding as she fell behind me quietly. The driver was already standing beside the black Aston Martin when we approached. The moment he saw me stretch my hand out, he handed over the keys without question.

I appreciated competence without questions. Rolling the keys in my hand, I announced, “Everyone can leave.”

“Should security at least follow at a distance?” Reign asked.

“No.”

Another pause lingered between us before she finally nodded once. “Understood.”

I slipped into the driver’s seat and shut the door before any further conversation could happen. Silence immediately engulfed me and for a few seconds, I simply sat there with both hands resting against the steering wheel, staring ahead at nothing.

Then I started the engine, Reign watching me as I pulled tarmac. Chicago blurred past me in fractured streams of light as I drove towards the outskirts. A ghost of a smile crept onto my face as I watched the buzzing and liveliness which was unlike Sicily.

My fingers tightened unconsciously around the steering wheel as another memory clawed its way into my mind, my foot unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator before I abruptly slammed on the brakes. I lunged forward a bit on impact but the seat belt held me in place.

The city had gradually thinned as I drove farther away from downtown. Towering buildings gave way to isolated roads lined with trees stripped bare by autumn cold.

Eventually, I turned onto a narrow private road hidden between stretches of undeveloped land. The black gates ahead slowly began to open before I even reached them and I drove through without slowing down.

Despite how deserted it looked, it was very clean, the garden was well taken care of and there was no sign of dirt.

I parked near the marble structure at the center of the property and turned off the engine. For a moment, I stared into nothing silently before stepping out into the cold night air. The private tomb was located on the far end of the estate.

The wind cut across the estate as I stood before the marble structure, silence pressing against my ribs like a second skin. I read the names slowly, “Alberto De Luca, Federica De Luca, Vincenzo De Luca, Francesca De Luca, Felice De Luca.”

The tears stung my eyes but I blinked it back, patting my face softly, the cold wind biting at my exposed skin.

“A gun is not for the innocent… only those who deserve it,” I began, repeating my father's last words before I'd gone to study abroad.

My fingers tightened around the metal in my coat and I pulled it out, gazing at it. It was my father's gun. Buried in the latch under his armrest. He never pulled out the gun for a fight.

“I haven’t forgotten,” I whispered into the night. “And I haven’t forgiven.”

I stared at the gun some more and then placed it on the marble structure.

“The next time I hold a gun,” I continued softly, “it will be to put a hole in the head of the man who murdered you. You won't spend the next anniversary dining alone papa, I'll bring the head of the coward to you.”

I stood there a while longer, letting the weight settle then I turned away. Tonight, I wouldn’t stay with the dead. I’d drink with the living.