Page 144 of Inside the Sun

"He’s the only brother of Sebastian Lowen’s second husband. You know, the one who co-owns The Omega Red Line Agency."

Still nothing. Total silence. Anzo ignores him, but Eliano doesn’t seem deterred.

"Polls show he has an advantage. He's an omega and Ferguson as an alpha has lower chances among omega and beta voters."

Eliano's tone is slightly provocative, as he peers at Anzo, but at the same time his body curls slightly as if bracing for impact.

Honestly, I’m rooting for anyone who’s not Mark Ferguson. If he gets into office, the Ferros gain another political ally.

And I know he beats Jared. So before I can stop myself, my big mouth blurts it exactly that:

"Ferguson abuses Jared."

The next second, a jolt of electricity rips through my body. I gasp and lurch back, my head slamming into the chair.

Then Eliano’s shaky, anxious voice breaks the tension:

"Can we at least not do this at the table?"

And then—

Eliano’s body seizes, just like mine did! He jerks back, then forward, and his head slams into the table so hard that cups topple and a plate cracks with a loud snap. One of the shattered cups slices his cheek open.

"For fuck’s sake, that’s too much," Luca hisses, clearly hitting his own breaking point with Anzo’s sadism. He reaches for his brother, trying to pull Eliano’s face away from the jagged edge of the broken china—

And that’s when Luca’s body convulses too!

Wow.

His massive frame gets thrown back, thank Fate it wasn’t forward, or he’d have smashed the table and shredded his face like Eliano just did.

Summer and I have temporary collars, at this point I'm pretty sure the rest of them must have something permanent in their bodies. Something just as effective, something that keeps them wired to Anzo, locked under his control.

Rocco lets out a loud, genuine laugh and folds his arms, clearly amused as hell by the macabre scene unfolding as Anzo punishes his brothers.

Ennio keeps eating his spinach ravioli, but his eyes are lowered; he does not watch his twitching cousins. If I were to guess, he does not approve of this, but he just chooses not to say anything.

Mauro and Summer sit still, stiff as hell, staring at their plates.

Holy fuck. What a messed-up family.

I lean forward, wrap my arms around Eliano’s back, and help him sit up. A shard of glass is lodged in his skin. I pull it out and wipe the blood from his face with one of the napkins the servers placed next to each plate.

Then I see he’s also bleeding from his mouth. He must’ve bitten his tongue.

"Don’t touch him," Anzo growls, and I pull my hand back. I’ve had enough shocks for one day.

I spent six days dreaming about sitting down for a meal like a normal person, and now, honestly, I’m wondering if I was better off in that damn cage.

Horror. Morbid show.

***

After dinner, Matteo escorts me back to the black room.

This time I vaped beforehand, so I feel a bit calmer, but Ennio obviously heard what I said pretty clearly. This isn’t the strong calming agent he had in his vape, it’s milder, something that takes the edge off but doesn’t numb me, so the effect is pretty superficial.

I almost wish I hadn’t complained about how strong his stuff was. It could’ve come in handy just now.

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