Chapter 1 Traitor's End

TRIGGER WARNING:

This scene contains extremely graphic violence, torture, brutal language, and emotional abuse. It is intended for mature readers only. Do not proceed if you are sensitive to explicit content.

"DO NOT FUCKING PLAY WITH ME, DIEGO!"

Dominic Valenzo's roar cracked through the alleyway as even the rats in the gutter froze. He stepped forward, jaw clenched so hard it looked carved from stone. The glint in his eyes wasn't anger. It was obliteration.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY MONEY?!"

Before Diego could even blink, Dominic's fist swung as His knuckles collided with Diego's jaw.

Blood sprayed from Diego's lips in a dark arc, splattering across the alley wall. His body dropped like trash. He didn't groan. Didn't move.

But Dominic wasn't done. Not even close.

"You're gonna fucking listen to me now," he growled, stalking over the crumpled body of the man he once called brother. The man he raised from filth. The man who now lay twitching in blood and betrayal.

Dominic grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the freezing brick. Diego's skull bounced off it with a rough sound. His legs dangled. Blood dribbled from his mouth.

"You thieving little fuck," Dominic spat.

"YOU THINK YOU COULD STEAL FROM ME AND FUCKING LIVE?!"

Diego's mouth moved, trembled with pain, but nothing coherent came out. Just garbled breaths and spit and something like "Dom..."

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" Dominic's hand cracked across Diego's cheek, as Diego's head snapped sideways, leaving a smear of blood on the bricks.

"You don't get to say my name," Dominic hissed. "You don't deserve my fucking name."

"I... I didn't have a choice..." Diego croaked. "They... they came for me. They threatened my daughter..."

Dominic paused. His nostrils flared. For a second..just a second...there was silence. Then..

He laughed.

Not the kind of laugh that carried warmth. It was cold. Unforgiving. A sound that belonged to something inhuman.

"Oh," Dominic whispered, tilting his head like a predator toying with dying prey. "Now you want to play the fucking father? Now you're the victim?"

He leaned in so close Diego could feel the heat of his breath on his bleeding lips.

"Non hai una figlia. Sei solo un bugiardo."

[You don't have a daughter. You're just a fucking liar.]

Diego's eyes widened. His pupils dilated. His soul flickered. No words came. No defense.

Dominic shoved him down like he was nothing but waste.

"You didn't just steal from me," he said, voice sinking into a low growl. "You took a file. My file. The one that could tear everything I built down to the fucking roots. You gave it to the enemy."

Blood pooled underneath Diego's ribs. His breathing rattled like a punctured lung. "They said they'd kill me... I didn't know what to do..."

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE FOR ME!" Dominic roared, chest heaving with rage. "YOU SWORE TO ME! YOU TOOK MY OATH. YOU DRANK MY BLOOD. YOU CALLED ME BROTHER!"

He dropped to a squat, crouching beside Diego's wrecked body with a smirk on his face. Pulled his gun. Let the cold steel barrel rest gently against Diego's cheek.

"I raised you," he whispered. "I fucking built you. I gave you purpose. I erased your past. Buried your sins."

The barrel moved to Diego's mouth.

"And now I'm going to bury you."

He shoved it inside.

"SEI MORTO NEL MOMENTO IN CUI HAI SCELTO DI TRADIRMI."

[You died the moment you chose to betray me.]

Diego whimpered around the gun, tears mixing with blood.

Dominic yanked it out...and smashed it across Diego's face.

"You were NOTHING before me. A twitchy junkie with no name. A fucking mutt. And I made you a man. A soldier. I gave you everything."

Another punch. Another scream. Another spatter of red on cold stone.

"You traded it for what?" Dominic seethed. "Coins? Promises? Did they whisper sweet nothings into your ear while stabbing me in the back?"

"I was scared!" Diego cried, voice strangled in pain. "They had guns! They knew things! I didn't know who to trust!"

"YOU TRUST ME!" Dominic exploded, fist driving into Diego's gut. Diego doubled over, gasping. "YOU TRUST THE MAN WHO TOOK YOU IN WHEN YOU HAD NOTHING. WHEN YOU WERE LESS THAN NOTHING!"

He dragged Diego up by the neck, choking him, lifting him until his feet scraped the concrete.

"YOU SOLD YOUR FUCKING SOUL TO ME!"

Dominic shoved the gun back in his mouth. Diego gagged. Gurgled.

"TI GUARDERÒ NEGLI OCCHI MENTRE TI TOGLIO L'ANIMA."

[I'm going to look you in the eyes while I rip your soul out.]

"You see this face?" Dominic snarled, leaning close. "The last face you'll ever fucking see is the one you betrayed."

He ripped the gun away, blood dripping from the barrel.

"E ADESSO, FIGLIO DI PUTTANA... PREGHIERAI CHE TI AMMAZZI."

[And now, son of a bitch... you're going to beg me to kill you.]

Dominic stood tall, towering like death itself as Diego writhed on the floor, coughing blood, fingers twitching.

Dominic took a breath. Cracked his neck. His shadow stretched long in the moonlight.

"You thought this would be quick?" he whispered with a slow smile. "Oh no, Diego. No, no, no. I want you to feel everything."

He kicked Diego in the stomach. The force lifted him an inch off the ground before slamming him back down. The sound was grotesque..wet as Diego howled.

Dominic crouched again and pulled something from his coat...his silver ring. The one he gave Diego a decade ago.

"I gave you this," Dominic murmured. "You cried when I slid it on your finger. Called me family."

He gripped Diego's hand. Yanked the ring off. Forced it against his lips.

"Swallow it," he whispered.

Diego shook his head, trembling violently.

Dominic punched him in the throat.

"SWALLOW IT, YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

Diego gasped, choking, the ring sliding down with a gulp.

Dominic watched him collapse again, coughing, retching, tears and bile leaking from his mouth. He smiled.

"You're gonna carry my name in your guts to the grave."

He pulled a switchblade from his pocket. Flicked it open. The metallic click echoed like a death toll.

"You're gonna wish I just shot you."

He dragged the blade across Diego's forearm. Not deep enough to kill...just enough to hurt. A lot. Diego screamed. Dominic did it again. And again.

Blood gushed. Diego sobbed.

"Tell me," Dominic whispered, voice eerily soft. "Did you scream like this when you gave them the file? Huh? Did you hesitate? Did you think of me? Or did it feel good?"

He slid the blade under Diego's eye, tip pressing into the thin skin just beneath his eye socket.

Diego sobbed. "I was wrong... please... I'll fix it... I'll get it back..."

Dominic's lip curled.

"No, Diego. You didn't make a mistake. You made a decision."

He yanked the blade back. Slammed the gun against Diego's forehead.

"TU HAI SCAVATO LA TUA FOSSA CON LE TUE MANI. ORA PREGA CHE IO NON CI SPUTI DENTRO PRIMA DI SEPPELLIRTI."

[You dug your grave with your own hands. Now pray I don't spit in it before I bury you.]

CLICK.

Trigger pulled halfway.

Diego stared at Dominic waiting for his death. Eyes swollen, mouth split, ribs caving in with every breath. He couldn't tell if he was breathing blood or air anymore. Everything tasted the same now. Metal. Regret. Ash.

Dominic's finger hovered just a breath away from ending it.

But he didn't pull.

He let it hang there.

Watched Diego flinch with every heartbeat. Let the silence eat him alive.

"You feel that?" Dominic murmured. His voice was low. So calm it made the devil retreat. "That space between life and death? That's where you live now. That's where rats belong."

He stood back up slowly. Clean, composed. His suit still pressed. His shoes barely touched by the blood seeping into the alley. He looked down at Diego like he wasn't human anymore. Like he was something that crawled out of a corpse and begged for scraps.

"I should kill you right now," he said. His voice cracked a little. Just a little. But it wasn't weakness. It was something worse. Disappointment. "I should put a bullet between your eyes and leave your body here for the crows to feast on. But you don't deserve to go that easy."

Diego whimpered. "Dom... please..."

Dominic crouched again and grabbed him by the hair. He yanked his head back until Diego's eyes locked with his. He didn't blink.

"You don't get to beg. You don't get to call me that. You lost that right the second you handed my future to those fucking snakes."

He pulled out the blade again. Dragged it gently down Diego's chest, slicing the fabric of his shirt open. The steel barely kissed the skin at first. Just enough to make the nerves scream. Then he pressed harder.

Blood seeped out in thin lines. Ribbons of red that stained the edges of the blade.

"I remember the day I found you," Dominic said. "Lying in your own piss, a needle in your arm, twitching in the dark like a dying animal. You looked up at me like I was God. Do you remember that?"

Diego nodded weakly, throat rattling.

Dominic carved a short line beneath his collarbone. Diego screamed. Dominic didn't blink.

"You cried when I took you in. Called me your brother. Told me you'd give your life for me. Swore you'd never betray the man who saved you."

His hand tightened on Diego's hair.

"And now look at you. On your knees. A traitor. A fucking disgrace. You handed over something that could destroy every man in this family. You let your fear outweigh your loyalty. That's not weakness, Diego. That's treason."

Dominic stared into his one working eye, that twitching, red-rimmed orb.

And then he did it.

He unzipped his pants.

Pulled himself out.

And pissed.

Right on him.

Diego tried to turn away, but Dominic grabbed his hair and held his head still.

"Take it," Dominic said coldly. "Fucking take it like the traitor you are."

The piss kept coming, flooding down Diego's chest, soaking his lap.

Dominic aimed higher.

He pissed into his face.

Eyes. Nose. Mouth.

Diego gagged, body convulsing.

Dominic's face was expressionless.

When the stream ended, he spit.

Then Dominic dropped him again.

He zipped up slowly, eyes never leaving Diego's. As he leaned down close, pressing his lips near his ear so he could taste every word.

"Adesso vaffanculo..." he whispered.

His tone turned ice.

"E saluta il diavolo da parte mia."

[Now fuck you... and say hi to the devil for me.]