Chapter 59

LUCA

In under a second, I had Matteo pushed up against the wall with my arm to his throat.

He yelped in surprise, looking up at me with a distant gaze in his eyes, like he wasn’t quite there. I recognized that look. It was the very same look I had when my mind was being controlled.

I sucked in a breath as I looked into those eyes.

My own Destro?

I didn’t want to hurt him but knew I wouldn’t have a choice if it came down to it.

A mind-controlled Destro could only mean one thing.

He belonged to the Rossis.

At least his mind did.

“Get talking,” I snapped, pressing him further into the wall.

Matteo whimpered slightly; he was probably upset over the fact that his Don was showing his distrust. It hurt me, too, but he had to know that I had no other option.

If he was being controlled by a Rossi, possibly even Antonio, then I would have to kill him.

Matteo swallowed.

“I…I…um…” He stumbled over his words in a panic.

I pushed him further into the wall, emphasizing that I didn’t have the patience for hesitancy.

“Don Luca,” King Zefiro interrupted from behind us, “think for a moment, before you do anything you’ll regret.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I retorted, still looking at Matteo. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“P–please Don,” Matteo stuttered.

“Don’t hurt him,” said the girl. “He was there for you when you were being controlled. Don’t you think you owe him the same?”

I paused for a moment.

While what she was saying was true, it would mean endangering the whole family.

And my ~destino~.

Freya.

What would Freya want me to do?

Thinking for a moment I pictured her giving me advice.

She would spare his life. He was there for her when I wasn’t after all.

I owed it to him to try and save his life.

Glaring into his eyes, I tried to see if it was really him.

“For now we lock him up in the dungeons. Till we deal with Antonio and know that he isn’t controlling anyone.”

Everyone nodded their heads, even Zefiro.

“I have a question,” I said, mostly speaking to the girl. “How come I can’t be controlled anymore?”

The girl and Zefiro eye one another, clearly debating whether or not to tell me.

“You must have developed an immunity to the serum,” the girl finally blurted out.

Clearly, Zefiro was not very happy about this.

The mind control serum did give the Rossis an edge over us Contis. Now that I was immune to their powers, I could do anything. And now they knew that. I wouldn’t have to kneel for the Rossis and if I could figure out how, neither would the rest of my family.

The days of their supremacy were coming to an end. I was pleased with this but tried to hide my feelings from them.

“Are we sure about this?” I asked.

“Yes,” the girl replied. “We’ve tried to control you a few times and failed since you’ve woken up.”

“Is this true?” I turned to Zefiro.

“Yes,” he said through pursed lips. “I’m afraid you are immune to it.”

“If I’m immune,” I said. “Does that mean other members of my family can be too?”

The girl paused before answering.

“Yes.”