Chapter 6 6

Isabella POV

The blade of my *stiletto* gleamed inches from Leo Gallo's chest. Enzo Romano stood beside me like a shadow of death, his mere presence paralyzing the Capo. Leo swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the Enforcer, but his wounded pride made him reckless.

"He started it!" Leo snarled, pointing a shaking finger at my six-year-old brother. "The little bastard was spreading lies about Angelica. I was just teaching him respect. He needs to learn his place."

Angelica stepped forward, her face a mask of fake concern. "Isabella, please," she sighed, playing the voice of reason. "Don't escalate a simple misunderstanding into a family war. Have the boy apologize, and we can forget this ever happened."

My blood boiled. I didn't lower my blade. But before I could speak, Luca stepped out from behind my skirt. His lip was bleeding, and his small suit was covered in dirt, but his posture was rigid, echoing the proud stance of our late father.

"I am not a liar!" Luca's high, clear voice rang across the manicured courtyard. He didn't cry. He stood tall, his dark eyes blazing. "I demand to see the Don! Let him decide who is lying!"

The silence that followed was deafening. Leo and Angelica paled instantly. In our world, taking a dispute to Don Luciano meant a death sentence for whoever was proven wrong. They knew they couldn't survive the Don's judgment.

Before Leo could formulate another lie, the heavy crunch of tires on gravel broke the tension. A black Cadillac had pulled up to the wrought-iron gates. Giovanni Valenti, the Moretti family *Consigliere*, stepped out. He leaned heavily on his silver-headed cane, but with his other hand, he was dragging his seven-year-old grandson, Leo Valenti, by the ear.

The air in the courtyard turned to ice. The Elder's presence demanded absolute submission.

Giovanni pushed his weeping grandson forward. "Speak," the old man commanded, his voice a low rumble of absolute authority.

Little Leo sniffled, avoiding Luca's eyes. "I... I said the bad things about Miss Angelica. And when Mr. Gallo came, I got scared and hid. I let Luca take the blame. I'm sorry."

Giovanni turned his piercing, ancient gaze to Leo Gallo. The Capo looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"My grandson spoke the truth, perhaps... a little too loudly," Giovanni said, his tone polite but laced with lethal warning. "If you still feel wronged, by all means, take your complaint to the Don."

Leo Gallo's jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth would shatter. He lowered his head, utterly humiliated. "No, *Consigliere*. It was a misunderstanding."

Giovanni nodded once. He gave me a brief, unreadable look-a silent acknowledgment of my stance-before leading his grandson away.

The immediate threat was neutralized by the Elder's law. But as Leo Gallo and Angelica turned to leave, my eyes caught the torn fabric of Luca's jacket and the scraped, bleeding skin on his small shoulder. The *Consigliere* had delivered justice, but he hadn't delivered Vendetta.

I moved before they could take three steps. I blocked their path, my *stiletto* still gripped tightly in my hand.

"What more do you want, you bitch?" Leo snarled, though he instinctively took a step back.

I didn't answer. I looked at Luca's bleeding shoulder, then locked my eyes on Leo's tailored suit. With a flick of my wrist, the blade flashed.

Leo gasped as the razor-sharp steel sliced through his expensive wool jacket and bit deep into the flesh of his shoulder-the exact same spot, the exact same length as my brother's wound.

"This is for Luca," I whispered, my voice colder than the October wind. "A debt paid in blood."

Leo clutched his bleeding shoulder, his eyes wide with shock and pain. He couldn't comprehend that I had actually drawn his blood in broad daylight.

"You will pay for this, Falcone. I swear it," Leo hissed, stumbling away and leaning heavily on a terrified Angelica.

I stood my ground, wiping the blood from my blade. Let them plot. Let them rage. They had touched my blood, and I would not stop until their entire empire burned to ashes.