Signed To The Mafia King - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

LUCA
I barely managed to catch Victoria’s wrists before her nails scratched across my face.
She was strong, made rougher by whatever emotions were fighting their way out of her, but I was stronger.
I held her firmly, pushing her back just enough to keep her at arm’s length.
“Victoria, stop.” I snapped at her. I could feel the eyes on us, the curious stares from other diners, but Victoria didn’t seem to care.
She twisted in my hold, her chest rising and falling quickly. She looked crazy for a second. “I love you, Luca,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’ve always loved you.”
I clenched my jaw. Was that why she had tried to scratch my eyes out? “Don’t do this.”
Tears ran down her cheeks as she shook her head. “You promised me.”
I felt something cold settle in my stomach. What the fuck was she talking about? “I never promised you anything.”
“Yes, you did!” Her voice rose, drawing even more attention. “You told me I was yours. That we would be together. That you would marry me.”
I felt my patience running thin. “I never said that.”
“You did.” She reached for me, her fingers brushing my jacket as if holding onto me would change anything. “I waited for you. I…” Her voice cracked again, and the trouble of her breaking down in the middle of the restaurant like this only made my frustration worse.
I never thought I’d see her like this. She was normally so cool, but our relationship was over. Anything else would be me leading her on, and I couldn’t do that to her or to Alina.
I pulled away, dragging her hands off me. I pushed her back gently, but she stumbled like I’d struck her.
“Victoria.” I kept my voice firm. “Stay away from me.”
She looked up at me, her eyes wet, her breathing ragged from the tears. “No,” she whispered. “No, you don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
Her hands clenched into fists. Then, her face shifted. The tears were still there, but her face was different now, colder.
“You think you can throw me away?” She hissed the words, her lips bared like she wanted to snarl them at me. “I’ll be back for you, Luca. You don’t get to just walk away from me.”
I didn’t answer. I turned and walked out. I would control myself. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of looking back to argue with her.
The moment I stepped outside, I allowed myself a deep sigh of relief.
This wasn’t how I had wanted to end things with Victoria. I had hoped for a clean break, something that wouldn’t leave a mess behind. But that was impossible now.
She wasn’t going to let go easily.
I reached my car, yanked the door open, and slid inside. My hands held the wheel for a moment before I wiped my face, brushing away the feeling of her touch.
Then, without another thought, I started the engine and drove home.
I pushed open the front door as soon as I arrived, already expecting to find Alina inside.
I had driven faster than I should have, eager to get back and settle things with her.
She had told me not to come to the meeting, but that didn’t mean I was going to obey her.
The house was silent. My brows pulled together as I walked up the stairs, heading straight for our bedroom. I opened the door and frowned.
The room was empty. The bed was laid perfectly. There was no sign of her.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. It rang once. Twice. Straight to voicemail.
I sat on the bed, pressing my fingers against my temple. I called again. Still no answer.
My jaw clenched as I called Pietro again instead. The man picked up on the second ring.
“She’s at the meeting,” Pietro said before I could even speak. “Everything is fine.”
My fist tightened around my phone. “Where?”
Pietro was silent. Then he sighed wearily like I was a difficult child. “She doesn’t want you here.”
“I asked where, Pietro.”
“And I’m telling you that she doesn’t want you there.”
My patience snapped. “If you hang up on me again, Pietro, I swear you’ll never be able to get within an inch of her again.”
Pietro laughed softly. I winced. I shouldn’t have threatened Pietro. He was actually one of the people Alina was comfortable with. “Not unless you plan on killing her.”
The call disconnected before I could say anything.
I dabbed at my face with a finger, trying to keep myself under control. I had a feeling my day was about to go downhill from there.
My cheek still stung from where Victoria had scratched me, and now, I had no idea where the hell Alina was. This day just kept getting worse.
“Do you know where Alina’s meeting with her father’s men is?” I asked the moment Marco answered his phone.
“No,” Marco said. “But I know it’s not at her father’s house.”
I closed my eyes for a brief second, my frustration building. “Where the hell could they be meeting, then?”
Silence. Then, Marco sighed. “You should let her handle this, Luca.”
I ignored that and hung up. I needed answers, and if Marco didn’t have them, there was only one person left to call.
I dialed my father. The phone barely rang before the old man answered.
“What do you want?”
“Do you have any idea where the Costa family meet with their made-men?”
My father scoffed. I knew he definitely knew where the meeting was being held. “Stay away from her, Luca.”
My fingers curled into a fist. “Just tell me where she is.”
“You should never have married that girl,” my father continued, his voice cold. “It was a mistake.”
My teeth clenched. I didn’t have the patience for this. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
“Well, you’re getting it. Walk away, Luca. While you still can.”
“Where is she?”
“You’re not listening.”
“I am listening. I just don’t care.”
A heavy sigh. Then, my father’s voice dropped, quieter this time. “They might kill her.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“What?”
“I said, they might kill her,” my father repeated. “So if you’re smart, you won’t be there when it happens.”
I shot to my feet. My heart was pounding, my mind racing.
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
My father had already hung up.