I was in Palermo for about two days when Feli called and told me she would be in Rome starting the next day.

I specifically told her I needed her home with Becks but to my bad luck, her long-term boyfriend was going to be in Rome as well and I couldn't say no.

They barely see each other a few times per year, and I can't take from her the only moments when she's completely happy.

I was supposed to be back home one day after Feli left for Rome and I thought nothing could go wrong in a matter of a few hours.

Besides, having most of my men with me, left me with almost no guards at the mansion, so I had two of the men to watch over the Valentinis' mansion and report every move they make, every fucking breath they breathe.

Since I came back to Sicily they were walking on my toes and kept pocking me in the nastiest ways so I knew they would plan something as long as my return was not official yet and I thought watching their nest was the safest.

I wanted it this way. My official return would have put all the weight of a Don on my shoulders but fuck, there was no way to avoid it and this trip to Palermo was meant to seal the support of the families here.

The news of Becks being left home alone was hanging heavy in my mind. I just hoped Valentinis were not stupid enough to try something while I was away but fuck! That's exactly what happened.

Fucking idiot likes to play with fire.

One of my men called me saying that Paolo Valentini and Roberto Calpodini, Vivi's brother, had left their place with a few cars and were heading towards my mansion, where I had Becks alone.

I left the moment they called, and I hoped to make it there on time and stop whatever shitty thing they planned to do.

Taking my jet back home was supposed to be the fastest way to get there but it felt like an eternity before the staff announced our landing.

Before I left Palermo I had Alex coming to pick me up and ordered the other two men I left behind to never lose sight of whatever Valentinis were doing.

We finally land and as I descend the stairs, Alex welcomes me.

"Brother, we need heavy weapons," he says without any other introduction.

"What the fuck! Becks..." I put the pieces together seeing the heavy look in Alex's eyes that is telling me Becks is not home anymore.

Cazzo! They couldn't stop the Valentinis! (Fuck!)

"Yeah..." he says as if reading my mind. "We were outnumbered, Enzo. They discovered the two men we left at their mansion and took them down. I'm really sorry. But we have everything ready. We can leave to their warehouse right now, we brought everything," Alex suggests and I agree.

As I'm approaching the cars waiting for me, two men open the trunks of their cars and show me the heavy weapons they have gathered, and we start to pick one each. The rest of my hitmen are already off the plane, and they have grabbed their guns with full determination.

"You need each one of you to wear bulletproof vests," I order them while I wear myself one. "And get ready for a fucking war."

I'm ready to kill, mercilessly, blindly until I have Becks back.

This is my shit and Valentini is supposed to take revenge on me. It isn't necessary to involve Becks, but the idiot doesn't know what is coming.

"Alex, as soon as we are in, you and Blade take Becks out and go home. Stay with her and Feli till I come," I instruct Alex and he nods without a word.

I'm sure he doesn't like me keeping him far from the action, but he's also someone outside of this issue and I don't want him to fight my war.

I know he wants to help, and this is the only way he can help, taking Becks away and staying the fuck out of my way. The will I have to take the Valentinis down for good is blinding and the people I care about most need to be out of my way.

We get all in our cars and we start the engines, driving towards my forever enemies' warehouse.

"Enzo, you really need to make it official," Alex says, breaking the thick silence. "You're Don, Enzo. Your father has decided this, and you're really needed. And without the families' support, you and Becks will always be in danger. There is no other way. You know that, right?" Alex states the obvious. "If you keep dragging it, they'll keep doing this kind of shit and maybe worse. They need to fear you, Enzo."

I know Alex is right and this is why I don't reply. I just nod and keep my eyes on the window, diving my stare into the dark outside.

"We're going to throw a reception soon. That will be my official return." I say after a few good minutes of silence.

I so much don't want to do it, but I've promised Papa and Becks is the prize I've got in the chance of accepting to be the Don. I've postponed it long enough. Papa is getting too anxious lately and now Becks is in a matter of life and death. I know the Valentinis. I know the motherfucker Paolo Valentini. He won't give up till he sees blood, mine, or someone close to me. And Becks is more than close, she's the air I breathe to stay alive.

Soon I see the warehouse of Valentinis in the headlights of our cars.

The idiot Paolo Valentini could not be even more predictable. The front entrances are guarded by a few tenths of his cars, a clear sign this is where he has brought Becks.

And still, I keep as an option the fact that this can also be a trap to lure me into the lion's nest and become an easy target.

The option rules out when it has been confirmed to me that he has Becks in there.

Too bad for him! I know him well and I'm smart enough to have brought all my men.

We get down from the cars we've come with and spread around the building while some of us stay grouped at the front door.

Each window or potential entrance or exit is being watched by my men while Alex and I, together with two others plant dynamite at the main entrance and light it up.

It explodes, blasting the doors and opening the way for us to access.

A spree of gunshots breaks immediately after and taking down their men, one by one, we reach in front of the door where I know Becks is.

With some other gunshots, we blow up the door, and here they are, Becks laying down on the cement floor, struggling to push the motherfucker off her, and Paolo forcefully placing himself between her legs.

I run towards them and hit Paolo in the back of his neck and before he falls limp on her I drag him away and pull Becks up.

Her eyes are still closed, fighting with her fists and legs, oblivious to the fact that it's me holding her and not the motherfucker abuser trying to have his way with her.

I look back to Alex and Blade and push her lightly toward them, showing them the way out and ordering to get the fuck out of there.

Alex nods and I see both men taking my Becks out while Paolo starts to come around, still fallen at my feet.

I hit him one more time with the back of my gun and motioned to my men to take him and return to the cars. I've got what I want.

I make my way out, covered by my hitmen and once we are all outside I order them to burn the warehouse to the ground no matter who the fuck is still inside but making sure that my men are all out.

We then got in our cars and headed to my warehouse. Paolo and I are having things to discuss before I blow his brain out. And discussing does not always imply talking.

I feel the need of torturing him. Because of his greed and manipulation, Vivi has been murdered by her family and now he dares try to do the same to Becks.

Bad choice, dreadful day, bad luck, bad karma, motherfucker! I'll not run away this time. It's high time I'm done with him and do the world a favor.

My phone buzzed and I read the message from Alex.

A: We have Becks. We are on the way home. Feli is there already.

Exactly the news I'm waiting for. Becks is safe, which is what I need to relax and continue the play of the night. I smirk in delight, already feeling the taste of revenge.

Once we arrive at my warehouse, Paolo is taken to the back room and I make a stop in my office to fetch a bottle of whiskey. My throat is dry, and I desperately need a drink.

"Prepare everything for me," I order the one standing as my guard, and he leaves to comply.

I fix myself a glass of dry whiskey and throw it down my throat and then a second one, which has the same fate.

It's only now that I notice the blood all over me and the iron smell.

It turns my stomach upside down and the feelings tenfold when I realize Becks has been going through the same shit. Again.

For his own sake, I really hope Paolo hasn't managed to force anything on Becks.

The length of his torture depends on how far he has pushed himself on her. The further he has gone, the longer the torture will be. And I'll make sure he begs for his death before I'm done with him.

I stroll along the corridor taking me to the back room, with the bottle of whiskey in one of my hands and the glass in the other.

In a fearful calmness, I open the door, come in, roll my eyes through the room, and land on Paolo. Fucking Paolo!

He is strapped to an iron chair in the middle of the room, hands at his back, feet on the chair's legs, and his head hanging low, blood dripping from the tip of his nose.

Tilting my head to one side I try to understand whether Paolo is conscious or not. I wouldn't want to waste my energy if he doesn't feel what I'm about to do.

The only sound in the room is the racing beats of my heart and the heavy breath of Paolo. Seems he has been baked nicely by my men before I take over. The only image that flashes in front of my eyes is him between Beck's legs, forcing himself on her, and no, I don't need a bullet in his head. That would be too easy.

"Gino, bring me my tools," I order while approaching Paolo in a slow and wavy walk.

I fist the hair on the top of his head and lift his face. He was conscious alright, his pupils staring at me, sprinkled with blood.

"So, Paolo, finally we meet. How long has it been?" I asked him.

I keep my face impossibly close to his and while on some other occasion with some other ordinary guy, I would have felt disgusted, having Paolo in the aim of my wrath gives me fearsome satisfaction.

"Six years, you, motherfucker!" he hisses back at me, eyes filled with hate. "Six years since you've stuck your tail in my business and fucking ruined it in the process."

"Yeah, well, I could say the same about you. Only that in my case, you caused the loss of her life. You killed Vivi and my baby girl. Now, that should tell you something about why you are here."

"You're a fucking murdered!" he shouts. "She was promised to me!"

"She never wanted you, Paolo. She was my woman of her own free will," I reply, calmly, serenely.

And yet, I feel my eyes burning and I'm sure they are filled with deadly anger. I see flashes of Vivi, dead, on the floor of her apartment, lying in the pool of her own blood, and our baby girl, Samantha, her tiny body crashed next to her mother.

My chest hurts and my blood is boiling its way up to my brain. While the wound of losing Vivi never has healed, seeing Becks in his hand has woken up the beast in me.

"But it's not only Vivi you are here for, Paolo. What the fuck was in that brain of yours to take Becks from my home?" I asked him.

"Ha, that little whore is not even your whore, Enzo. What the fuck do you care?" Paolo says with a smirk and here and now my patience runs out.

I really feel like playing with him some more, but he's pushing my buttons too fucking much, so I've put my iron knuckles and without other words, my fists launch in his face, plunging strokes in the bones of his jaws, one after another until his face is unrecognizable.

Whenever he is fainting I'm ordering a new bucket of freezing water over his head.

I want him to wake up and be aware of what I can do to him.

I don't know for how long I've hit him, having short breaks for a quick shot of whiskey between sessions, until I feel an arm pulling me back strongly.

"Boss, that's enough. He died, a long time ago," he tells me.

"What the fuck?! Dead? When the fuck did he die?" I ask, pissed and still hungry for blood.

My breath is heavy, hardly controlling it, and my knuckles are bleeding, his blood splashed all over my white shirt, Paolo's blood that is, mixed with my own sweat.

"Bring me the car. And get rid of this shit," I say motioning towards Paolo's lifeless body, disappointed that my thirst for inflicting him pain has to stop. I feel I can keep it that way the entire night. Too bad.

I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand and take my leave towards the car waiting for me outside.

I never knew how strong my thirst for revenge was before I took it on Paolo.

I had always wanted to break down Vivi's killers one by one and I never felt my job complete knowing Paolo had escaped the deadly length of my arm, but I was so sick of mafia ways, murders, and blood that I preferred that time to leave everything behind and run off to the States, making myself a life over there.

Until I met Becks.

I was so strongly attracted to her that I knew from the first hours we spent together that I had to close the door of my life with Vivi and my sweet angel, Samantha.

I have to close that chapter so I can start a new one, with Becks.

And today I did it, almost with the cost of Becks' life but Paolo just got what he deserved.

The only inconvenience here and the major factor that will decide my life with Becks and her security is me becoming officially the Don.

I don't know yet how she feels about it. Being Don means more work, tighter security, more danger waiting for us, and less time spent together. But she has to understand. After all, my becoming a Don means also that she can stay with me and not with Papa or Salvatore.

The train of my thoughts is stopped by my phone ringing, and I see Papa's number. Damn, the news does travel fast.

"Si, Papa," I answer in a deep voice. (Yes Dad)

"Vincenzo, come stai? Rebecca sta bene?" he's asking. (Vincenzo, how are you? Is Rebecca fine?)

"Si, Papa. Becks sta molto bene. Lei è a casa in questo momento e io sto arrivando." (Yes dad, Becks is fine. She is at home right now and I am on my way.)

"Giusto. Quello è buono. Vincenzo, sei stato bravissimo. Paolo meritava il peggio." (Right. That's good. Vincenzo, you did very well. Paolo deserved it.)

Papa's voice shakes while talking. He loved Vivi like his own daughter and Samantha was his little princess.

I agreed with a short and cold hum and then hung up the phone. Every single life I take is hanging on my neck like stones for a few days of agony.

Motherfucker Paolo has ripped away from us the ones we have had dearest and even if he dies a thousand deaths he would still not die enough. And still, his death adds to the rest of the other lives I've taken and for which I know I'll be judged the day I reach the gates of heaven. Or rather hell.

I lean back against the backrest of the backseat and close my eyes while the car is speeding along the countryside road, taking me home, hoping I can get some type of closure, locking Vivi in the back of my mind as my lost heaven and start a new life with Becks.

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