Married To The Devil's Son (The Debt)

PALERMO, SICILY ISLAND

The night air in Palermo was cold, carrying the scent of the sea and something darker beneath it, something that clung to the streets where men like Lucien Moretti ruled without question, and tonight was no different as he stepped out of the black car, his polished shoes hitting the wet pavement while his men followed behind him in silence, knowing better than to speak when he wore that look on his face.

The warehouse stood quiet at the edge of the city, abandoned to the world but not to men like them, and inside, tied to a chair, was a man who had made the worst mistake of his life, betraying Morretti.

Lucien walked in slowly, his coat swaying slightly behind him, his gaze calm but cold, the kind of calm that made grown men lose their minds before he even touched them, and the man tied to the chair began to shake the moment their eyes met.

"Lucien... please," the man stammered, his voice breaking as he struggled against the ropes, sweat dripping down his face, fear already consuming him.

"I made a mistake, I swear, I didn't mean to-"

Lucien didn't answer immediately, he simply stopped in front of him, tilting his head slightly as if studying something boring, something beneath him, and then he crouched down slowly, his eyes locking onto the man's with a faint, almost amused expression.

"You didn't mean to?" he repeated softly, his voice low, dangerous, controlled, the kind of voice that made it worse because it lacked anger.

The man nodded quickly, tears forming in his eyes as panic took over.

"I have a family... a wife, a son, please, you know me, I've been loyal for years, just this once, forgive me-"

Lucien let out a quiet breath, almost like a sigh, then gave a small shake of his head, disappointment flickering across his face.

"You had a family before you decided to betray my father," he said calmly, his tone flat, final, like a sentence already passed.

The man froze.

Lucien straightened up, pulling out a knife from inside his coat with slow, deliberate movement, the blade catching the dim light in the warehouse, and for a brief second, the man's breathing stopped completely.

"Please-"The word barely left his mouth before Lucien moved.It was fast so clean and practiced.

The blade slid across the man's throat in one smooth motion, cutting deep, cutting final, and blood spilled instantly, splashing onto Lucien's hand, his shirt, even his face as the man choked on his own breath, eyes wide, body trembling before going still.Silence filled the room.

Lucien stood there for a moment, watching, his expression unchanged, then slowly wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing the blood across his skin without care, a faint smirk touching his lips as if the sight meant nothing to him anymore.

"Dispose of him," he said simply, turning away like it was nothing.His men moved immediately.

But Lucien stopped near the door, glancing back slightly, his voice calm as ever.

"And his family," he added, his tone almost bored, "the wife and daughter... sell them." He said with no hesitation or mercy.

He stepped out of the warehouse, his men following behind him as they moved toward the cars, the night swallowing them again, but something shifted in the air before they even reached the vehicles.

A sound.Then another. They realize it was gunshots.Everything happened at once.

Bullets tore through the silence, sharp and sudden, glass shattering, metal ringing, men shouting as chaos erupted, and Lucien reacted instantly, pulling out his gun as his body moved on instinct, dropping behind the car as another shot hit the door beside him.

"Ambush!" one of his men shouted before he was cut off, his body hitting the ground.Lucien's eyes darkened. They are unknown people and that was the problem.

He didn't know who they were but they knew him.

He fired back, precise, controlled, each shot calculated, but there were too many of them, shadows moving in the dark, bullets coming from angles his men couldn't cover, and one by one, they fell.

Lucien moved fast, switching position, shooting again, but then he felt sharp pain and saw a blade go deep in his abdomen.

He didn't even see the man come close, only felt it, the cold metal driving into his lower abdomen, forcing the air out of his lungs as his grip tightened on his gun.

His jaw clenched and he shot the man angrily before pulling out the sword from his abdomen. He didn't even make any sound.

He turned, shooting without hesitation, the man dropping instantly.

Blood began to soak through his shirt.His men were gone.All of them.

Lucien stood alone.For a second, everything went quiet again, but he knew better than to stay, so he moved, fast despite the pain, disappearing into the narrow streets, his breathing heavier now, each step harder than the last as blood trailed behind him.He didn't stop.Couldn't stop.

He kept moving until the noise faded, until the streets grew quieter, emptier, until the city lights blurred slightly in his vision and his strength began to slip.Then he saw a small apartment building. Nothing special.

Perfect.

He forced himself forward, climbing up the side, using the last of his strength to reach a window slightly open, and without thinking, he pushed himself through.

Inside, Scarlette had just stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her body, her hair damp, her mind already drifting toward sleep after a long, exhausting day of deliveries, and for once, the world felt quiet.

Then the window burst open.She turned sharply, her heart jumping into her throat as a man stumbled inside, tall, broad, covered in blood, his presence filling the room instantly with danger.

Her scream rose before she could stop it.But he was faster.In a second, he crossed the space between them, his hand slamming against the wall beside her head while the other covered her mouth tightly, trapping her in place, his body pressing against hers as his breathing came out rough, uneven, but still controlled.

"Make a sound and we are both dead," he rasped.

His voice was low and dangerous.

Scarlette froze. She could feel his breath against her neck and the warmth of his body.

She also noticed the blood on his hand and her eyes widened as fear rushed through her.

Slowly, carefully, she nodded.His hand stayed on her mouth for a second longer before he slowly removed it, his eyes never leaving hers, watching, waiting, ready to react if she did anything wrong.

She didn't scream and also didn't move.

"Good," he muttered under his breath, his body swaying slightly as the strength in him began to fade.That's when she noticed his bleeding abdomen. There is so much blood.