Page 80 of Beneath the Shadows

“Shut the fuck up you piece of shit,” I roar, slamming my fists against the bars. “You have no right to say my father’s name.”

Valentino crumples to the floor, his body folding in on itself. His hands tremble as he reaches out, but I remain out of his grasp. Terror is etched into every line of his face. His skin turns ashen grey, and his body slickens with sweat as the poison continues its merciless attack.

“It was a mistake,” he sputters, his voice faltering. “An awful mistake, Anton. I wasn’t thinking?—”

"You weren’t thinking?” I echo, my voice turning as cold as ice. “You destroyed everything—my family, my life, everything that ever mattered to me. Alessia and I were happy until you went behind my back and used your father to take her away from me. You could've had anyone you wanted, but you took the one person I cared about.”

“My father was your family. He stood by your side all the while you were making ridiculous deals. And how did you repay his loyalty? You put a fucking hit on him. He’s dead because of you.” I close the distance between us, my words laced with a fury that’s long overdue. “You got everything you wanted, but that still wasn’t enough--nothing’s ever enough for you. Now it’s your turn to face the consequences."

His breath comes in short, labored gasps as the poison ravages him. His body begins to shake, uncontrollably now.

He knows time is running out.

“For the love of God, Antonio,” he sobs, his tears mingling with the sweat dripping from his brow. “I’ll change, I swear. I’ll leave the business and give you everything. Just don’t let me die like this.”

I watch the pitiful creature writhing before me knowing he deserves every second of this torture.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a small glass vial. Valentino’s eyes lock onto it, a glimmer of hope flickering in their depths. He lunges forward, but his strength is failing, his body betraying him.

“I have the antidote,” I say, holding it just out of reach. “This will make it all stop.”

His shaking fingers grasp at the air between us, desperation twisting his face. “Please,” he screams, his voice cracking with hysteria. “I’m begging you—please.”

The sound of his groveling, his pitiful begging fills me with a dark satisfaction. Watching this man, my own flesh and blood, reduced to nothing but a sniveling coward pleading for his life.

I dangle the vial closer, then pull it back. “When Lena begged you not to cut her, did you stop?”

“What? I don’t?—”

“When Alessia begged you not to hit her, did you stop?”

His mouth works uselessly, searching for words. There’s nothing he can say to undo the damage he’s caused.

“When Uncle Gio lay dying, struggling for air, did you call for help?”

“Antonio, for God’s sake,” he cries, his voice thin, hoarse, and desperate.

Leaning against the cage, I hold the vial just out of reach. “Do you remember how you laughed as you signed my father’s death warrant?” I ask softly. “How you smirked at his funeral, knowing all along you’d orchestrated it?”

He sobs, collapsing again, his body convulsing as the poison takes full effect. “I didn’t mean it... please...”

“You want forgiveness?” I lean in, my voice low, dripping with venom. “Then beg for it. Like the dog you are.”

He scratches at the floor, his body seizing, his breath barely coming now as the cyanide does its work. He’s so close to death.

“For the love of God, Antonio,” he breathes, his voice barely a whisper now. “You promised you’d always have my back.”

I look into his wide, terrified eyes, and my voice drops to a cold whisper. “I lied.”

And with that, I pour the contents of the vial onto the floor.

Valentino’s scream echoes in the dungeon as I turn away, his desperate pleas fading behind me. He deserves to die in the darkness he created.

“In pace requiescat,” I murmur, leaving him to his fate.

Antonio

I climb the steps back to the main floor of the restaurant, closing the door behind me. The party carries on, laughter and idle chatter echoing through the room. Glasses clink, voices weave together—a hollow, mocking tune over the finality I’ve just wrought. They revel above, oblivious to the death that lingers beneath the shadows, a secret I alone carry.

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