Page 194 of Inside the Sun

He smiles coldly. "I can’t pass up the chance to share a few interesting facts about your father, the man you remember as some untouchable saint."

Something shifts in his face. Something dark. Almost tragic.

He starts pacing between the cages like he needs to burn off some of the energy buzzing under his skin.

Does he think this whole scene belongs to him now? That he's finally found a voice no one can challenge?

"My father believed in the law of the strongest. Whoever clawed their way to the top over broken skulls and spines would earn the reward. After he forced his brother Alberto to hand over control, he made it his life’s mission to find a worthy successor among his three sons."

Mauro and Eliano watch him with grim expressions. In Mauro’s eyes, I see a whole ocean of hatred.

"He got lucky, two of his sons turned out to be alphas," Anzo goes on. "But I was a beta. That, to him, was a crime he could never forgive." He pauses. "Still, because he believed the strongest should win, he once said he might pass the title to me… if I could meet certain conditions. If I could prove myself."

Anzo passes my cage, barely glancing at me.

"Tito was the cruelest of us, but our father always knew he was too stupid to make a decent capo. He couldn’t think strategically, couldn’t earn real respect, just a brute thug. Paolo was cleverer, but he didn’t have the balls. Couldn’t muster the kind of cruelty Tito had. So, in the end, it turned out I was the one who performed best in all the twisted little tests our father threw at us. And slowly, even he started to see it. That maybe I, the beta, was the best successor he had."

Now Anzo steps up to Summer’s cage, inspecting the IV stand with a far-off look before continuing.

"But Tito and Paolo couldn’t handle that thought. So Tito decided to do something that would wipe me out of the gameforever. Something that would take away my dignity, cripple me, shove me into a corner to rot in shame… He figured that would take me out of the running for capo."

His tone shifts, suddenly quieter, more controlled, like it’s taking effort to keep his voice even. Like he’s playing calm, and it costs him.

"One day, I woke up… tied down, arms and legs. Tito dragged me into this very room, and then he did something—"

He breaks off, taking a deep breath.

"Something you’re not supposed to come back from."

He hesitates, like he’s about to say more, but then he changes his mind.

"For years, I believed I could fix it. I even went to that bastard Blue Lowen, since he was famous for his research on this kind of thing. Thought he could help me. But he sent me away with nothing."

Interesting. So Anzo knew Blue? Maybe there was some history there. Maybe just some shattered hope?

"But whatever Tito did to me didn’t kill my ambition. It poured revenge straight into my bloodstream. Paolo stood by while it all happened and didn’t stop Tito, so I guess he felt guilty. He was eighteen at the time and didn’t have the stomach for working in the family business. Dropped out of the game completely. He’d already found his True Mate and had a kid on the way. Rocco was born not long after."

I do the math in my head. That would mean whatever happened to Anzo… happened when he was just fourteen.

"Starting a family changed Paolo even more. Softened him. He tried to apologize. Over and over. And I nodded and said,‘It’s fine, I understand, it was Tito’s doing.’But… I didn’t understand. He was very wrong if he thought I forgave him. He could’ve stopped Tito. Easily. He was a year younger but bigger and physically stronger."

Anzo walks back to Mauro and Eliano’s cage.

But his eyes lock only on Mauro.

"Years passed, and I kept climbing. But after what happened, my father stopped seeing me as a candidate for succession. To him, I was an abomination. He was ashamed of me. Disgusted. Exactly ten years after… the situation, I was ready. I killed Tito first. I’ll spare you the details, but… it wasn’t pretty. Then I went to Paolo’s house."

Mauro and Eliano are pale and tense. I can tell that listening to this story without reacting is costing them.

"Rocco was at school. Luca was at a friend's house. Only seven-year-old Mauro and toddler Eliano were home with their parents. Paolo begged me for his life, for forgiveness. But… oh well. Years earlier, I’d begged. I’d pleaded. I’d cried. And he didn’t stop Tito."

Anzo leans forward and gently taps the top of Mauro’s head.

"You saw it all, the execution. Funny thing is, I didn’t even touch Paolo. In the end, he didn’t touch me either. I was fair. But when I slit your dad’s throat, the energy that bound him to Paolo ripped free. The coil was torn. It was like someone severed a thick power line: an arc of electricity surged between their bodies and ripped off, and Paolo just dropped, dead. And my arm, my fucking arm, went with him, cut off."

He taps his mechanical limb. Gives a crooked smile.

"A little posthumous revenge from your parents."

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