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"You are not the man you used to be. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you ever used to be. And now you have come at the crossroads of the destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." -General Iroh, ATLA.
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Third Person POV
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He stood by the window watching the rain plummet down. The downpour hadn't ceased for the past six hours. The only sounds that could be heard were the harsh patter of raindrops and thunder. The earth seemed silent and grey like everything was mourning.
The raindrops racing down the window-pane reminded him of tears.
Her tears.
Tears of grief ran down her cheeks when he told her that her father was dead.
"You can either choose Sangue prima di tutto. Or you can choose me."
Her words repeated themselves in his head in an infinite loop. He was surprised that she'd taken this long to give him an ultimatum.
She had given him too many chances. She had tolerated his selfish actions without a word for so long.
An all too familiar feeling made his chest tighten. Guilt.
His whole life had been filled with regret for so long that he had learned to live with it but this was the first time he felt like he was suffocating in his own remorse.
His shoulders tensed when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." He rasped.
He already knew who it was.
Warren's large frame stepped inside.
"Mi hai chiesto, Sebastian? (You asked for me, Sebastian?)" Warren questioned gruffly.
Sebastian's gaze remained trained on the window.
When he had hired Warren five years ago his Uncle and brother had questioned his decision. To them hiring someone with no relation to the Alfonsi family and no reliable background information was foolishness. But Sebastian had his reasons for hiring him. He knew something about Warren that no one else did.
Sebastian's lips curled up into a solemn smile.
He knew what he had to do in this moment. He could see it as clearly as he could see the raindrops on the window right now.
Even he himself couldn't have predicted that this is what it would come to in the end.
He finally turned to face Warren.
"We need to talk old friend."
~~
The blood pounded in his ears as Sebastian walked down the hallway. The guilt and anger consuming him threatened to eat him up alive.
He threw the doors of the study open and stormed inside. The storm brewing inside his head clouded all of his senses.
His uncle was seated behind the large mahogany desk. He didn't look too surprised to see him raging inside without knocking or at the look of fury on his face.
Sebastian stalked toward Lorenzo.
When he reached the desk he slammed his palms on the wooden surface so hard that the whole desk shoved backwards a few inches.
Sebastian leaned forward, his breaths coming in harsh pants, his eyes livid.
"How dare you defy my direct orders! I told you that no one was supposed to get hurt and you-" He shuddered, his shoulders shaking. "You killed them all!" His lips drew back in disgust. "Those men were loyal to us. They were your own blood, they were your family and you fucking murdered them!"
Lorenzo stood up abruptly. "Those men died for a noble cause. Carlos Vitale is dead because of their sacrifice and any man loyal to the Alfonsi family would happily give up his life if it meant killing a Vitale."
"Sacrifice?" Sebastian shook his head in disbelief. "Sacrifice means that people have a choice! What you did wasn't sacrifice it was a massacre. You've fucking lost your mind, you fool!"
"You're the one who's lost his mind, Sebastian!" Lorenzo roared. "You've forgotten your family values! You were willing to let the man who killed your own father and brother live! And for what? A woman? A Vitale woman?" His lips drew into a sneer. "Even now you are blind, you fail to see that what I did was right. I restored balance. I reinstated justice."
Sebastian's whole body tensed as Lorenzo leaned closer, his hands balled into tight fists as he looked into his uncle's unfeeling black eyes.
Lorenzo reached under his desk. "That woman has become your undoing Sebastian. She has weakened you. Your men have started to question your leadership. And Lucian and I have started to question your loyalty to this family."
Sebastian chuckled coldly. "The people who killed over thirty men from this family less than a day ago are questioning my loyalty?"
He retracted a revolver from under the desk and pointed it at Sebastian.
Sebastian barked out a laugh, his eyes filled with steely determination. "What? Are you going to shoot me? Kill me like you killed those other Alfonsi men?" His lips stretched into a full smile. "I don't fear death uncle. Go ahead and shoot me. Shoot me and prove exactly the kind of coward you are."
Lorenzo's eyes flashed with sadistic excitement and there was a sudden flash of movement.
The cold metal of the gun slapped against Sebastian's palm.
Lorenzo was giving him the gun.
His eyebrows drew together in confusion.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
Lorenzo's eyes turned towards the door. "Now!" His voice rang loudly.
As if on cue the doors burst open and Angelica's distraught frame stumbled inside. Her hands were bound behind her back.
Sebastian staggered back in shock. His chest squeezed in panic and fear as the thought of her being harmed in any way raced through his mind.
Sebastian observed how Angelica glared at the man who had dragged her in. He had a torn lip and a blackened eye probably the reason why he'd resorted to binding her hands. He felt a pang of satisfaction at the thought that she'd fought back.
"What is the meaning of this?" Sebastian turned to his uncle. He tried to keep the dread he was feeling inside out of his voice.
Lorenzo signaled to the man who had brought Angelica and with a final glare in her direction he exited the room closing the doors behind him.
"Just look at you." Lorenzo's eyes turned to him. "A few moments ago you were laughing in my face when I pointed a gun at you and as soon as she entered the room you turned into a terrified little boy. A man who doesn't even fear his own death brought down to his knees by a woman. How pathetic."
Lorenzo's glare focused on Angelica. "She has already caused too much damage to this family. And I will not allow this to continue any longer."
Lorenzo's cold expression hardened even further. "You need to prove that your loyalty still lies with us, Sebastian. And there is only one way you can do that." He paused, his lips drawn into a sardonic smirk as he eyed the revolver clutched in Sebastian's hand. "You need to get rid of the thing that made us question your loyalty in the first place, get rid of her."
"You sick bastard!" Angelica spat out her livid gaze training at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo didn't look at her, his eyes remained trained on Sebastian.
"Shoot her in the head right now with the revolver I gave you. Kill her and prove your loyalty to this family. Kill her and regain your men's respect."
He chuckled. "If it makes it any easier, I'll let you know that if you kill her right now, you will be doing her a favor. She is to die anyway, if you don't kill her she will be handed to our men and they will not give her a quick death I can assure you." His smile vanished and his expression became harsh once more. "But if you don't kill her, you will no longer be the head of this family. You will be stripped of your title as Don and that deal you made regarding your nephew- that we weren't to touch him as long as you agreed to remain the head of this family will be null and void."
Sebastian's whole body went rigid. His hand curled around the revolver.
Lucian's black eyes flashed.
"Kill her Sebastian. Get rid of your weakness and regain your place as il Demonio."
~~
A/N:
Thank you for 87K views!
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