ANTHONIO’S POV
The flavorful juices of the steak, tender and savory, filled my mouth with an explosion of flavor, but my attention was diverted by the sight of a man sitting across the dining room, his face a canvas of purple and blue, his eyes vacant and haunted.
I took another bite of my steak and looked at him again.
“You’re not going to eat?”. I asked, but his eyes were distant. “I figured you’d be hungry after that”. I said, but he still didn’t reply. “Please eat?”
As I nudged my plate forward, the clatter of utensils a gentle invitation to conversation, I turned my gaze to the man, a smile dancing across my lips, and he turned his gaze toward me.
“Let me go”. He croaked.
“Ah. Now that’s something I can’t do”. I said to him after a chuckle.
“She’s no more, Anthonio. You can’t keep me here”. A wild cry threatened to burst from the stranger’s lips, but I drowned it out with the sharp, bitter laughter of one who has seen too much, who has known the darkness within.
“She’s dead”. The words exploded from his mouth, his voice resonating throughout the dining room like the toll of a funeral bell. His proclamation struck me like a bolt of lightning, my hand seizing the knife with a feral instinct, ready to lash out against the unseen threat that seemed to be around him and just then.
“Anthonio?”. I heard a very familiar voice call out.
“Stop Anthonio. Don’t do it”. The voice that cut through the air revealed itself to be none other than my own flesh and blood, my brother, the one I had sent on a mission to uncover Matteo’s secrets.
The shock of his sudden appearance washed over me in waves, my heart thundering in my chest as I struggled to comprehend why he was here. This was why I was always two steps ahead of Matteo because I had my most trusted man as his most trusted man.
“Relax…killing him won’t help”. He said, and with a quiet resignation, I released the tension coiled within me, the knife falling from my hand with a quiet clatter.
My arms unfolded, an act of surrender and love, as I drew my brother into my embrace, his presence a balm to the bruises that littered my soul. For a moment, the world dissolved, the chaos of our lives fading away in the warmth of our connection, two halves of a whole finally reunited.
“Alonzo…”. I said. “Ah…I missed you, brother. Have a seat. We’ve got steak, um…ham”. I said with my voice dripping in excitement, but he kept a straight face.
“No…I’m fine”. He replied in a low voice.
“Wine?”. I offered to celebrate our reunion, but he refused, his stony expression unwavering. So, I definitely finished the bottle, determined to enjoy the moment despite his cool demeanor. His unwavering stare, however, only intensified the tension in the room.
“Are you eating good, Anthonio?”. He asked, but I smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.
“Fratello, I am, and …I’ve been taking meds as well”. I said happily, but that didn’t help change the expression on his face.
“Good”. He uttered with a nod, but his eyes still remained on me as he sat.
“Did the gunshot hurt? Ohhhhh…the look on Matteo’s face when he finds out you’ve been on my side all along”. I dragged my words. “He’ll piss in his pants!!!!!!”. I yelled, and a laugh escaped my lips, but he didn’t join in.
“Anthonio…”. He called out. “How’s gab-“.
“Stop! Ahhh…”. I rubbed my temple. “Fermare”. I pretended my head was throbbing, and I grunted.
“Anthonio…”. He rushed to my eyes, and I broke into a laugh. “Caught you!”. As if in slow motion, the mask of indifference slipped from my brother’s face, the cracks in his stoic facade revealing the raw emotion that lurked beneath.
His jaw fell open, his eyes welling with unshed tears, his expression of shock and disbelief. In that moment, the armor he had so diligently crafted fell apart.
“I’m doing all this for you. You know that, right?”.
He asked, and I nodded and whispered a small “I know”.
My attention shifted towards the old man, his meal untouched and cold upon the table. His stillness, his unwillingness to partake in our reunion, triggered a dormant rage within me, a fire that erupted from my core with a ferocity that sent a shiver down my brother’s spine.
“Eat!!”. I yelled, but he kept his eyes away from me as he sobbed bitterly.
“Let him go…”. Anthonio whispered, but I ignored him.
“Eat!”. I yelled again.
“Let him go, brother”. He whispered again, but this time, my hand reached for the pistol with a feral hunger, the cold steel a familiar friend in times of conflict. As I leveled the weapon at the old man, my breath grew ragged, and my heartbeat a war drum against my chest.
Alonzo’s countenance remained still, his composure still intact.
“Let him go, Anthonio. She’s dead”. He said, but I kept my finger on the trigger, waiting for the perfect moment.
“He has a younger sister!”. Alonzo said in one breath.
As I discarded the pistol with a casual flick of my wrist, my mind raced with the implications of Alonzo’s revelation with the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. His statement was a newly found opportunity.
“How old?”
“Nineteen”. He replied, and I nodded.
“Matteo has two weaknesses. It’s getting a bit too easy”. I said to him, patting his shoulders as I smiled in victory.
“One…”. He murmured.
“What was that?”. I asked
“One weakness”.
“Gia or Aria”. I asked, searching his face, but he gave me nothing to work with.
“It’s Gia. She is his weakness. He hates Aria”. He said, and I smiled to myself.
“That’s not possible. Everyone knows he’s in love with her”. I said, shaking my head at Matteo’s foolishness.
“Everyone but him”. He stated.