They studied the Russian submarine with amazement. It was a shame that it would be sunk by the hour is over. It took them ten hours to arrive. They caught up on their sleep, ate, and pondered over the battle steps over and again.
The darkness and serenity of the ocean were disturbed by the Russian submarine light and the bombs the hacker's submarine created as it was fired upon. The armed mafia soldiers were lined up near the air-sealed doorway in each of the small submarines secretly coming up behind the enemy's ship, with their weapons clutched to their chest and their expressions were blank.
The brothers were also ready for the upcoming fight. All of them were armed from head to toe. Ace and Elijah wore stern and serious expressions, Ares was in deep thought - thinking about what he'd do when he gets his hands on the Russians, and Salvo was grinning as he cracked his knuckles time from time in excitement.
"Let the battle begin," Elijah murmured as he saw they were nearing their emergency exit entryway.
Once their small submarine's entryway connected to the Russian's main one, the whole ship vibrated and the brothers had to grab into something to keep themselves upright. There was a drawing, a long beep before the slide doors slowly opened. Inside the enemy's territory, the lights were blaring, painting the whole empty metal thin and long corridor with the color red.
They wasted no time running into them with raised guns. The brothers were in the middle, huddled around their soldiers - protected in case someone came out with guns blazing. As the more small ships connected, the more solider filed in - soon they would overwhelm the numbers of their enemies.
It looked like almost a practiced dance - the way the more solid briskly walked in five perfect lines, the sides turning a corner when it appeared. Another group came as soon the others were gone into another corridor.
It wasn't long before the alert blasted in their ears and the Russian mafia soldiers came running toward them. They halted when they saw the numbers of them. Some of them ran to another emergency exit in the opposite way but unfortunately for them - the others have already taken over them.
Salvo and Ares pushed through the frontline and raised their machine guns with gleeful expressions on their faces. They cackled at the horror on the Russians before they pushed down the trigger and held it, the machine spun and countless bullets flies from it.
"Die, motherfuckers!" Salvo shouted and Ares laughed in return as they effectively killed them and their bodies fell one by one. They slowly but surely piled up on one other.
They finally stopped when nobody was coming but knew there would be much more on the further path.
"Do not kill all of them. We need some of them alive." Ace rose his voice to command his soldiers as the crowd parted for him when he walked to the frontline with Elijah. "Keep the ones with black stitched names on their uniforms alive - all of them if possible."
A short pause before he snarled, "Kodiak Mozokiv is mine and I want him alive."
There was a chorus of various voiced obligations such as 'yes, boss.' or 'yes, sir.'
Ace turned to save the corridor to lead the way only to find that made him halt suddenly.
Salvo and Ares were taking selfies of the dead bodies with their faces on the screen- tongues stuck out and thumbs up.
"What the hell are you doing?" Elijah barked, causing them to jump a little and spun around.
Ares shrugged nonchalantly. "Alex requested some pictures."
Salvo nodded in agreement. "He's disappointed that he's not part of the fight. Maybe this," he waved his phone up to show his point, "will cheer him up a bit."
Some of the soldiers snickered but halted from a cold glare from their Don. He sighed and shook his head slightly. Elijah pinched his nose and muttered, "oh, for the fuck's sake."
"Let's go." Ace signaled with his hands to go and went past the two idiots with his gun out. The soldiers and Elijah trailed him.
Before Elijah catches up with them, he paused to inform Salvo and Ares to go on their way along with their unit to get rid of the Russians on the other side of the submarine. He made sure to take the time to lecture them to not stop for any pictures.
"Not even a little click?" Salvo had whined like a baby and Elijah snapped a sharp and stern no.
They proceeded to leave on their ways.
P E R D I T A
Salvo Romano was having the time of his life - gunning all of his enemies down. He would be more than happy if he had to live in a war zone for his entire life. Death and blood were his solaces even if they made him slightly insane.
Although he wasn't even close to winning the top three most insane awards out of all his brothers.
His day only got better when he saw oh, a very handsome man running and bravely - or foolishly- raised his gun at a grinning Salvo a few feet away. Salvo had 'accidentally' lost his unit and Ares moments ago while in reality, he wanted to take more men for himself - more bodies at his hands than his selfish brother, Ares and win the bet between them that they'd made before that day.
"Oh, well, well," Salvo murmured, wiggling his eyebrows. "What do we have here?"
The man was taken aback, lowering his weapon slightly as he blinked at Salvo in confusion.
Salvo clicked his teeth and clapped his hands once. "Look at you!"
"Huh?"
Salvo didn't reply and just grinned in return as he took a step forward toward the handsome boy.
But it seems like the universe was against them because suddenly the boy fell sideways with a bullet in his head. One of the Ace's high positioned soldiers came out of his hiding place from a closet in the corridor with a gun in his hand and gave the young Romano brother a nod of acknowledgment.
"Hey!" Salvo cried out. "We had enemies to lovers in making here!"
"Pardon?" The soldier frowned, unsure what he did wrong. His orders were clear - to kill or disable any enemy in the sight depending on their uniforms.
"Never mind," Salvo grumbled. "You ruined everything." He added under his breath as he moved on to meet Ace, Elijah, and Ares.
On another side of the large submarine, Ace Romano felt the opposite way. He usually found the happiness and the rush of adrenaline but not this time.
Each time he lay his eyes on one of them, he couldn't help but wonder if they were involved in Ariana's captivity and what exactly they did to her baby sister. There were countless possible ways. Each time one of the imagines of her sister in that cell receiving unimaginable pain that was inflicted upon her that he didn't want to see appear in his brain, there was a blinding rage that threatened to take over as they cut anyone down who got in his way in the slowest and painful as the possible end.
He wanted to take all of them alive and take his sweet time with them. But it wasn't possible. There wasn't enough room for all of them and they had only thirty minutes left before their armed extra men arrives in another submarine, miles away.
It was faster if he killed most of them off so alas they only kept the black stitched names alive - which was meant to mark them as the higher rankings who was guaranteed to be involved with his little sister's four years of hell.
"Sir?" One of Ace's men's voices trembled slightly as he spoke to his Don and Ace tilted his head at the man, lowering his gun as all of the Russians in a group fell.
"What is it?"
"Kodiakisnthere.hesatameetingsir."
"Pardon?" Ace hardened his tone at his rushed words. He was a busy man and didn't take people who waste his time very kindly.
He gulped and one of the men took pity, coming beside him to explain. "Sir, Kodiak isn't here. We questioned one of them. He's currently at a meeting. We missed him by hours." A grimace came out at the end of his words.
"Fuck!" Elijah ran his hands through his hand beside Ace and his tone was laced with frustration. Ace's jaws clenched and he wanted to punch the living hells out of someone. But under the watchful eyes of his men, he had to stay stern and hardened. He took a very discreet deep breath and gave a firm nod before he went on his way to his father.
On the way, bumming into another few units of the enemy and killing them without any struggles, Salvo and Ares appeared from a corner. The soldiers almost blew their heads off but fortunately, Elijah and Ace realized Salvo's childlike stomping way too easily before head and stopped them.
They halted a few feet away from the supposedly Luca's "cell." Most of the Russians were dead or evaded so he doubted there were any of them hiding inside. Plus the lock was still intact so no one attempted to enter and whisk away his father too far far away.
But regardless, Ace retrieved his second handgun from his waistband just in case. His brother was at his shoulder breathing down on his neck. Ace called off his men to back off. They had to do this alone.
Ace was afraid of what he'd find inside - nothing could be the worst thing in his life than finding out about Ariana's four years of suffering but this could be the second one.
Without trying to prolong it, he ran into the room with the gun raised, pointing around the surroundings - all while feeling the sense of deja vu when he found Ariana causing the familiar anxiety crawling up his spine.
There he was.
In the middle of the room, there was a table and couch where Luca Romano in the flesh sat, casually taking a sip of tea.
Ace released a breath he didn't know he was holding.
The room was neat and its theme was navy blue. The bed was set against the middle of a wall by the headboard. A high chest was beside the end of the bed and a TV was placed on it. A couch was placed on the left side of the wall - where their father was sitting - and was grey and soft-looking.
Luca looked as healthy and the same as he did two months and a half ago - the last time they saw him. Except for his hair which had been noticeably turned into grey instead of his dark black neatly slicked-back hair and his new grown beard. If you looked very closely, there was a hint of dark bags underneath his eyes.
"Hello, boys." He jerked his chin in greeting when he looked over at his children at the doorway, breathless and dumbfound. "Took you long enough."
"Are you hurt?" Ace asked, scanning his eyes over his father's body for any injuries. He was still slightly breathing heavily after the rush here, although he tried to hide it.
"My back hurts." He replied nonchalantly. "The bed is a bit hard. But I'll live. Thank you for your concern, son."
They all looked at him in disbelief.
"Let's go, shall we?" He said when none of his sons replied. "As nice this vacation was, I miss my bed." He stood up and set down his cup of tea.
"Seriously?" Ares snapped. "You were kidnapped and we've been worried out of our minds! We were turning over our sleep wondering if you were being tortured and you're just here sipping a fucking tea!"
Luca froze at his son's rudeness directed at him. Slowly, he tilted his head at his younger son, the one who he found the most annoying and bratty.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I stay and politely ask them to torture me?" Luca deadpanned. "After all, I want to appease my son."
Ares blinked. "No-" His defense reply was cut off by a smack on the head and Luca was suddenly faced to face with him.
"I was gone only for two months and it seems like you already forget your place, son. If you ever talk to me in that manner again..." he finished threateningly. Safiaised with a frantic nod from the suddenly terrified Ares, he shook his head in disapproval.
"I missed you, old man." Salvo grinned, coming from behind his younger brother. "I'm happy you're alright."
Luca smiled at this. "Me too."
Then he added menacingly. "Don't think I forget about your stupid decision to go to that street racing match."
Salvo grimaced.
"I changed my mind. You can stay missing for all I care." Salvo muttered under his breath, thinking his father wouldn't hear. That wasn't the case because he also earned a smack in the head, too.
"You just had gotten yourself in a deeper shit, boy."
Ace couldn't stop the slight lift at the side of his mouth.
P E R D I T A
It was hours since the rescue and they were in the airplane on the way to their hotel. The prisoners were dropped off in a warehouse they'd bought and under the heavy guard of their men. Most of the brothers were sleeping in the small rooms while Ace and Luca sat on a booth near a window with a table between them.
They've been conversing with each other for the past thirty minutes and Ace mentioned Luca's daughter, putting a pang to his already broken heart.
"Speaking of Ariana, I admit that I'm afraid to ask..." Luca trailed off, losing his words. For the past two months, all Luca could think of was her daughter. His dreams were full of nightmares of his youngest child and only daughter being tortured and Luca not being able to help.
He couldn't wait until he saw her again. He wasn't afraid of most things but he was so fearful that he would die under their hands and never be reunited with her long-lost daughter ever again. But now with Ariana and himself free, it became possible. Just a plane ride away and he wasn't happy to find out he wouldn't be returning for a while yet.
Soon, Luca reminded himself.
"I don't know, dad." Ace said grimly. "On one hand, she's getting back on her feet. Faster than all of us had predicted. She interacted with us merely a month after we rescued her which is just amazing - a miracle. She speaks more and more as the time passes. Physically, she's still weak. Her legs were broken a few times in the past and it was never readjusted properly. Because of this, plus the four years of not walking, she struggles to walk on her own for long. We got a wheelchair for her. But she's stubborn and is determined to walk on her own far as possible."
Ace's voice held a glimmer of pride at the end. This earned a smile from Luca.
So Ariana inherited the stubbornness from our blood, after all. She's still as determined as ever, Luca thought. Some things don't change.
Ace proceed to tell Luca about the past two months until what happened to the "Almost two weeks ago-"
He abruptly stopped and his face was unsure as to if debating to tell Luca or not. Luca stiffened, knowing he wouldn't like what he was about to hear next.
"Spit it out, Ace." He ordered his firstborn son to end his conflicting silent debate.
"She tried to kill herself." Ace decided to do it in his way - it was the best if he didn't beat any brush and get it over with.
"What?" Luca breathed. He could swear he heard his heart break. "How? Is she okay now?"
"She tried to jump from a window in one of the guests' rooms on the top floor. I think she fell before she could and Ares found her on the floor hours later. She got hypertonia because of the stormy weather that day. Her head was hit and bleeding. She recovered but she had a severe fever for a few days."
"And who is supposed to check up on her?!" Luca snarled, his anger stirring.
"A maid I had assigned to her. Savannah. She was taken to the warehouse and put up on a stake."
"Good." Luca nodded with approval at his son's decision. "Ari needs a therapist. Did you get her one?"
Ace's heart swelled at the old nickname that Luca used for her daughter. Everybody also used to call her Ari when she was a toddler. He haven't heard that name for a long time and it brought a lot of happy memories to him.
"I did but she didn't meet them yet." Ace grimaced. "I had too much on my plate in these past few months to focus on one thing. I don't know how you do it."
"Neither do I." Luca patted his knees. "That's why I'm grateful I'm not the Don at this time." He let out a cackle.
"Thanks for the help, dad." Ace said sarcastically, letting a bit of his rare jokester side seep through his walls.
"You're welcome, son." He chuckled but then sighed heavily - getting serious. "Ace, I want you to know I'm always proud of you, no matter what. I don't expect you to be perfect although it seems like it. It's to be expected with the stuff going on currently. It would be too much for anyone to bear. And you're still here, not giving up yet. This is why you're so strong."
Ace let his father's word sink in slowly and suddenly felt tenfold stronger. As if he was reborn and ready to bear the whole world-sized responsibilities as long his father was on his side.
"Thanks, dad." The emotions were obvious in Ace's tone, no matter how much he tried to keep it out. He had a strange itch to hug his father, which was rare. Luca seemed to share the same feeling because his hand shoot out to grab his shoulder to pull him in. The hug lasted for exactly five seconds before they both pulled away at the same time - the pride from both dominating men refused to allow them any more physical contact in comfort or solace.
"Anything else? About Ariana." Luca quizzed after a few minutes of silence, leaning back on his seat. Ace's sharp forest zoned into his father's matching ones and his mouth pressed into a tight, straight line. His chest heaved visibly as he breathed in slowly, preparing for what he had to say to Luca.
"There's a lot more." He replied as he went to the table between them to pour himself a glass of whiskey. He would be needing a lot of glasses if he was going to have this conversation.
Luca nodded, having already expected this as soon he saw his son drinking strong drinks in the middle of the day. "Tell me."
"There's a billion dollars bounty on her head."
Luca froze. No father should have to hear that their daughter was a high demand on the black market the underground although he had heard and seen the worst things that happened to her. "What?" He breathed, not able to let this information sink in yet.
Ace nodded and stayed silent to allow his father to take the news in slowly rather than overwhelming him.
"Has there been any attempts?"
Ace explained the situation at their mansion and Ariana's near-death experience with the man with a gun. Luca hearing this felt the growing rage inside him. How dare anyone want her daughter dead? How dare they lay a single finger on her? How dare they give her years of trauma?
He failed as a father. He'd allowed this to happen for years, prolonging to find her daughter from Cata. He let it go and it ended up with Ariana suffering at the end of the stick. Now she was at risk of dying at hands of assassins.
Fury tore through his entire body - at both the world and himself.
Luca was pulled out of his spiraling depressing thoughts by his son.
"She is rather peculiar, though." His brows furrowed and he shook his head slightly as if to try to clear it - to no avail, of course.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You would think it's strange that she was held at gunpoint, the roof she's been sleeping in was bombed, a man murdered by her brother in front of her eyes, and suddenly moved to a new house - all that and she doesn't have a single question, would you?"
"Rather strange, indeed." Luca marveled. "Ari had been in a torture chamber for years. She sees that kind of grim vision every day. Perhaps she's used to that kind of action."
Ace shook his head. "I have my numbers of people who were tortured for years under my watch and Ariana is different somehow. A person with that kind of trauma would be scared out of her mind in a new place and flinch at the little single thing. For god's sake, Alex tore through a man's windpipe and she barely blinked her eyes! Yet when the cousins and uncles are mentioned, she freaks out. It's not normal. Something's going on."
Luca stared at him, deep in thought. Perhaps it was slower for Ariana for everything to hit her. He knew some people who weren't greatly affected directly after the trauma occurs and was suddenly blasted with memories - all at once much later after the events.
"Father..." Ace started gently and slowly, a tone he seldom used. Luca stiffened, knowing it meant he was about to hear something that he was going to not like. "I think the traitor had something to do with Ariana's kidnapping. Ariana seems to realize-"
"No." Luca's sharp voice cut through. "Do you not dare. Family means everything and they will never do anything to harm us."
"We cannot be purposefully ignorant all of the time, Father. We have discussed this too many times. But now that we have Ariana at the risk, we need to face it." Ace hissed. He didn't want to start an argument with his father so soon after their reunion that he knew this conversation couldn't be put on a hold. "I've been delaying the talk with her for your sake and now you're denying the very thing that would put all stop to everything!"
"What if it was one of your brothers?" Luca challenged and Ace tensed. "I love my brothers with my whole heart. Besides didn't you just inform them she doesn't remember her past? It's unlikely she would even realize her torturers if she saw them."
"I thought the same thing but the doctor says it will come back one by one. So it's possible she already had regained some of her memories. I doubt she trusts us enough to inform us about it."
"She cannot remember this fast. Four years in total darkness...It's almost impossible." Luca shook his head.
"Yet she's already capable to speak fluently after two months and walk on her own for a while this quick. Alex notices the way her focus darts around on her surroundings observant...she's smart. If Alex says she is, then it's almost guaranteed he's right. You know that, Father. Who are we to say she cannot also start to regain her memories by now?"
"Leave it alone." Luca snarled. "I'll be the one who speaks to them myself."
"What about speaking to Ariana? If she knows, it could end it much faster."
"No. Let her come to us. If we try to force it out of her, she won't trust us. I said I'll talk to my brother and leave us at that."
Ace leaned closer to Luca and put up his most deathly stare.
"And you said your brothers."
"Yes, I did," Luca said coldly. "What about it?"
"How do you know it's the uncle?" Ace marveled and Luca's muscles tensed further. He knew deep down it was his brother who betrayed his family, but having something to do with his precious daughter's kidnapping? It was unthinkable and it hurt to even consider it.
When Luca didn't have a reply, Ace knowingly nodded to himself. Luca had no energy to scold his son for treating him in this way when he was to be given respect at all times. "You know it's him. I know they're important to you but they don't consider you to be. You're in denial. Snap out it or else something might happen that we can't take back or fix.
Ace stood and fixed the buttons on his suit close. He swiped up his handgun from the table and put it back in his waistband. Before he made his way out, he murmured something that cut straight through Luca's usual stone heart.
"If something happens, it's on you."
I'd originally planned for this whole chapter to be emotional but somehow it went the opposite way 🧍♀️ but anyway...nvm ig.
What would you do in Luca's position? If it was someone you love and trusts completely are suspected of betraying you? (Without knowing what the traitor did to Ariana)
I would definitely have a hard time if it was my sister who is the traitor. I would probably be in denial at first, too, before accepting the truth tbh.