Page 66 of Beneath the Shadows

“Take him home. Get him sobered up,” I instruct, my voice level though the fury boiling inside me threatens to spill over. “I’ll make sure Alessia gets home safely.”

Valentino stumbles into their arms, barely managing to stay on his feet, his words slurring together. “You can have her if you want,” he spits, his last attempt at provocation before they begin to drag him away. “She’s useless—barely worth the effort. Maybe I should’ve let you have her all along,” he adds, his tone dripping with malicious satisfaction, a reminder of how he lied to his father to arrange the marriage, making sure my future would never include her.

I don’t take the bait. My expression stays neutral as I hand him over to his guards, watching as they guide him toward the back exit.

“What the hell was that?” Dante asks once Valentino’s out of sight.

“I have no idea,” I mutter, grabbing the back of my neck. “We need to get back out there, do some damage control, and then get everyone the fuck out of my restaurant.”

For the next hour, I work to clean up the disaster Valentino left behind. I smooth things over with our associates, both old and new, assuring them this isn’t typical behavior. My face stays calm, my posture relaxed, while inside, I’m seething.

Valentino had no right to speak my father’s name, to soil his legacy with his drunken lips. The sound of it made my blood turn cold, my pulse slowing to a steady, ominous thud. The rage it stirred was something deeper, darker—a quiet storm building, poised to unleash its fury and consume everything in its path.

His fatal mistake, though, was dragging Alessia into his drunken spectacle. With every vile word, every degrading comment, he signed his own death warrant. The way he spoke about his own wife, humiliating her in front of everyone, stripping away her dignity as if it were a mere trinket to be discarded. It was a cruelty that I cannot and will not overlook.

I can endure the insults, and the cheap shots aimed at me. But what he did to her? That sealed his fate in blood.

Every instinct screamed for me to wrap my hands around his throat, to feel the slow ebb of life slip from him as his breath faltered. But I didn’t. I stood there, absorbing his insults, letting them roll off me as though they meant nothing. Not because they didn’t matter but because something far darker began to stir inside me.

Reacting in anger would’ve been a mistake—a foolish, reckless misstep. Control is what matters. Every move must be exact, like the steady beat of a pendulum marking the slow, inevitable passage of time toward his ruin.

And now, the plan begins to creep into my mind, a quiet, sinister whisper.

The bottle of Macallan, still wrapped in its packaging at my apartment, is waiting. Soon, it will serve a purpose much darker than what it was meant for. When the moment comes, the whiskey will play its part—but what flows through him will be far more insidious.

Something undetectable, working its way through him like a creeping shadow.

The pain will come, slow and excruciating.

His fate was sealed long before he ever saw it coming.

Valentino

Tonight isn’t just important—it’s a bold demonstration of my power and control, leaving no doubt about who commands absolute authority. Antonio may think this night is about his promotion, but it’s really about me. Every deal struck and every move made tonight will show them that nothing happens in this family without my hand guiding it.

I glance at the clock. It’s almost time to head to the restaurant. Turning, I find Alessia at her vanity, carefully applying makeup, trying to hide the bruises. Stepping forward, I grab her wrist. “Leave them,” I say, my voice firm.

She hesitates, lowering the brush as her eyes fall. Heat floods through me, my cock already hardening at the sight. The thought of her going to the party with my marks on her skin, and my cum dripping down her thighs, sends a surge of lust through me. Knowing that everyone will see what belongs to me and what I’ve done to her stirs something darker inside. Those bruises are mine, and so is Alessia.

“Get up,” I snap, my voice edged with impatience.

She stands slowly, her eyes reflecting a mix of defiance and fear. That look annoys me—how she dares to think she has the right to challenge me.

I let my gaze sweep across her body. “Take off your clothes.”

She hesitates, her hands trembling slightly. “Valentino, I’m going to be late for work.”

“Did I stutter?” My tone darkens.

Her shoulders slump as she unbuttons her silk ivory blouse and unzips her black pencil skirt, letting it fall to the floor. She stands there in her lingerie, her eyes burning with humiliation.

“Turn around and bend over.”

When she doesn’t move fast enough, I shove her onto the bed, rough and unkind. She knows better than to resist. “You won’t need these.” I rip off her lace panties. “I want every man in the room to know you’ve been used.”

“I can’t work like that,” Alessia protests.

“Why not?” I ask, already opening my pants. “You think you’re better than any of the other bitches who work there? You’re nothing more than a possession,” I hiss as I thrust into her. Leaning in close to her ear, I whisper, “A body to be used at my whim.”

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