Sofia’s pov
“I was sent back here on a mission.” Came a weakened voice, followed by a cough. Luca had motioned for one of his guards to keep delivering punches to a particular spot in his stomach until whenever he was ready to start confessing. After that incident at the park, a call was instantly put through to Luca and he demanded that I be brought back home at once. Unfortunately for Zander, Luca took the day off to rest at home, which means he’d have more time to torture him today.
Looking at Zander’s face made me feel so much pain, which was why I chose to sit in the front of the car instead.
“Can you please look at me, Sofia? Please?” He began as soon as we began to drive towards home, and when he kept on trying again and again after I ignored him, Ryan who was seated behind a tied up Zander to ensure he didn’t try to escape, ended up gagging him with a part of his own shirt.
The expression on Luca’s face was very gloomy when the car pulled out of the house. After Zander was made to kneel before him, Luca spat on his face after regarding him silently for the first few moments.
“I stopped considering you a threat, I should have known better.” He declared, right before he motioned for his guard with him.
He led me into the house and gave me some water, and then he pulled me into his arms. He remained quiet throughout, which I was glad about. Unsurprisingly, Luca just knows when I need nothing but quiet. I held onto him tightly, humming positively when he asked me if I was fine.
It hurt right there in the middle of my chest, but I refused to let a tear out this time.
When we made our way outside this time, I had to look away because Zander looked like a completely different person. He looked like a beaten up stranger, a dangerous one, and not the goofy one I was friends with. When Luca neared him and grasped his tight, and that was when he said those words.
“You were sent here by who?” Luca asked calmly and when Zander hesitated, Luca pulled hard on the strands of hair until almost all the strands he was gripping had been pulled out, while Zander howled in pain.
I pursed my lips and forced myself to remain strong even though I felt extremely sick to my stomach.
“I was sent by my dad, by my dad’s mafia… to get into your mafia and bring information back.”
I almost flinched at his response because that was definitely not what I was expecting to hear.
“And?” Luca prodded.
“I wasn’t able to get in, y- you barely glanced at me twice and I knew it w- was hopeless.”
After a few seconds passed, Luca motioned for the guard to resume the blows. Once he motioned for him to shop, Zander was coughing out blood.
“You ready to continue speaking this time, without any stops except I ask you to, got it?” Luca growled and shoved the strands of hair he had pulled off his hair, right into his mouth. I gagged as I watched him swallow the strands of hair and retched right after. Tears rolled down his eyes as he coughed out blood once again and I felt tempted to ask Luca to stop torturing him.
“Since I was unable to get into your mafia, and all attempts to pay for information were met with silence, I thought it would be wise to abduct Sofia.”
“Hm. So you were never friends with her for a moment?” Luca mused and Zander wheezed while shaking his head.
“I- I was! I was. I- I liked her romantically since bsck in the past, and since we easily began to hang out, I felt it would be easy to get her abducted when i didn’t know what else to do.” He explained and my heart broke even more.
“Hm.”
“I didn’t know any better before, but I do now. I- I’m sorry sir, I just didn’t want to return home without anything because then I’d look like a failure, and my birthright will shift to my brother.”
Luca snorted this time. I inched backwards till I was leaning against a wall, because it felt like I was getting a little dizzy.
“You know the biggest mistake you made?” Luca asked as he leaned towards Zander. “It was thinking abducting Sofia was gonna end up well for you. Now, you’re gonna end up a liability for your father, I think that’s better than being regarded as a failure by him, no?”
Zander’s eyes widened just as Luca retrieved a gun from one of his guards and shot him in his two legs before I could blink. My mouth fell open but nothing came out.
Zander’s wail pierced through the atmosphere and he began to bleed everywhere. Luca, unfazed, grasped Zander’s right hand and held it up.
“And this one’s for using this hand to touch what belongs to me. I believe this should send more than enough messages to your pussy of a father, no?” Luca said before shooting Zander’s right hand. The way his hand flopped downwards, I doubted if he’d ever be able to use that hand ever again.
I glanced away from the sight and gagged, there was so much puddling on the floor beneath Zander’s chair. When I glanced at him this time, I realized he had passed out.
“Make sure he doesn’t bleed out. Send him to his father like this, make sure he gets there this way.” He said to the group of guards gathered before dropping the gun in a guard’s hand and making his way towards me.
“Let’s get out of here, bunny. You look as pale as a ghost.”
“Is he going to die?” I found myself whispering as I clenched his hand. Luca chuckled and cupped my face.
“He shouldn’t, except he’s a pussy. Those gunshots might render him a liability, but at least he’d be breathing.”
~~~
Two days later, with a blank expression, he informed me he had taken Zander’s life exactly six hours ago and that Luca isn’t doing a good enough job in taking care of me, because there was no way Luca should have left Zander alive after the shit he pulled, which is why he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Once he was done speaking, I wasn’t sure I knew what to think next.