67 He Got Nothing In Return
Victor couldnât stop pacing up and down his room. He told himself that Ariannaâs well-being was none of his business and she deserved whatever came her way for pissing Marcel off yet he couldnât help but care.
No, he didnât care for Arianna, rather for Marcel who might lose his soul and turn out to be way worse than his father if he continued this way.
Marcel was better than his father but it didnât erase the fact that he shared his bloodline that could easily turn him into a monster. And Arianna might be that final straw.
If Marcel couldnât endure the girlâs tantrums and had her killed, whatâs to say he wouldnât become a tyrant.
Victor loved his cousin so much and that was one of the reasons he worked hard to be his consigliere when he had other careers â that was even crime-free â to choose from.
Not everyone in the Luciano family was in the underworld â more like active. In fact, Marcel ran other legit businesses which were all but a fa?ade to keep the law from looking into the source of their income.
Their great-grandfather Fergus
Luciano in search of greener pastures left his country with a determination to make a life for himself.
But then life doesnât always go the way itâs planned and Fergus was plunged into the life of crime to survive. And in the darkness, he found his place.
.....
Tales had it that Fergus had been so skilled, and clever that he was able to pay off every single debt he owed his master in a few years and thus, was released. He paid for his freedom.
Now free, Fergus took up the same path as his master seeing that ordinary life didnât fit him and there was no other thing he knew. Moreover, what better way to make money than being in a position of power.
So he started the Luciano Clan and the gang grew up to be so powerful that he became on par with his master. Both gangs were quite competitive and it became clear to everyone that a war would break out soon if nothing was done.
And that was when his master came up with an idea to stop the impending bloodbath â an alliance through marriage.
It wasnât quite a difficult idea since his master had just a child and it was a daughter, Grace, that possessed as many deadly skills as her father. So what better man to hand his daughter over than the man he had once taken under his wings.
On the bright side, sparks already began to fly between Grace and Fergus before he had even thought of establishing his own gang.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
So both parties were joined in union and their respective gangs were unified under one umbrella.
The Luciano Clan.
With their strength, they became quite unrivaled in the underworld, at least at that time. Because just like a unique ability that watered down with each generation passed, the strength of the Luciano clan withered as well, however, that doesnât make them less deadly.
Unlike the newly formed gangs, the Luciano clan had history, positions, and influence most of them lacked â it was like a child staring up at the face of their ancestors.
Fergus gave birth to two sons, twins actually, Magnus â the eldest â and Mattia. However, it was quite unfortunate that the eldest son wanted nothing to do with his fatherâs sinful lifestyle and refused to be his heir.
Frustrated and angry â Fergus saw Magnusâ refusal of being his heir as a sign of rebellion. He was his father and deserved to be honored â so he disowned him. Banishing Magnus and his seed from inheriting a thing unless he returned to his senses and took up his place â Fergus was a traditionalist who took the firstborn role seriously.
But Magnus chose to live with his humble wife and their three children, Daniel â Marcelâs father and the eldest child; Carmine â Victorâs mother and only daughter; Albin â the youngest son.
But then, Magusâ children seem to have ideas that were different from their fatherâs when they learned their heritage â they had not been conceived when their father left the clan.
They didnât live a hard life but it was not the best either and being the heirs of a powerful underworld clan seemed much more appealing than the common life they lived.
So amid their fatherâs choice and heartbreak, they returned to their grandfather and were willing to take back the position their father had given up without a fight â The throne he threw away without weighing its worth.
Unfortunately, even though they were welcomed into their grandfatherâs arms, power had changed hands in the Luciano clan and Mattia and his seed were the ruling party.
It wasnât an easy stay because they had to prove themself through battles and bloodshed plus the fact they were stigmatized as the cowardâs seed.
They said a family is a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption, but to them, it was a battlefield. They were polite with each other, but it was clear that there was no love lost between both sides.
Their unexpected return â or perhaps, Mattia knew they would eventually come back for the throne which was why he had always felt insecure and paranoid â changed everything, and now, it was an out battle for the throne. Whether male or female.
Mattia had two sons who were equally threatened by their cousinâs presence. All their lives, they had in mind that one of them would have to take over their fatherâs throne only for these strangers with a right to the throne to appear out of nowhere. They couldnât let that happen.
Fergus lived a long life and was there to supervise the intense competition between his grandchildren. Whatever trick they came up with, he didnât exactly care as long as they proved themself worthy and didnât harm one another. Harming a family member bore a heavy penalty, if not death.
Amid the fact they grew up without the expert training Mattiasâ children experienced, Daniel, Carmine, and Albine were natural at what they did. They picked up skills quite quickly and were adept at using weapons. Their bond was so deep and tight that they depended on one another and were able to endure whatever tricks Mattias and his children threw at them.
But then, Albine, the youngest, was the most promising amongst all three. Daniel might be the oldest and strongest, he lacked finesse and was brutal.
Fergus admired Danielâs ruthlessness but a hot-tempered person always landed himself in trouble, he needed someone with the ability to manipulate a situation. Hence he favored Albine which wasnât quite hard to do since the boy was loveable.
His grandfatherâs partialness was easy to spot and everyone knew at that moment that Albine had won. Even Mattia had to prepare himself to give up his position for the newer generation to takeover.
Everyone accepted defeat, all except one person who saw his shortcomings and decided to make a last-minute alteration.
A week later, Albine was dead. Killed by the hands of his uncle, Mattia who was stripped of his title and banished, never to return to the clan forever. Although his sons were unaffected by the punishment since they played no role, they bore the stigma and as if their role was reversed, felt what it was like when their cousins went through the same ordeal at the beginning.
Fergus died days later, it seems the old man loved his grandson more than he let out. As stated in his will, he was buried right beside Albine, and even his disowned son, Magnus was restored to the family registry â for Albineâs sake.
But even at that, Magnus refused to accept the inheritance left for him, he wanted nothing to do with the dirty money. He and his wife were content with the peaceful life they were living. Magnus had to come to terms with the fact he couldnât stop his children from living the life they wanted. He could only wish them happiness.
Days later, rumors began to spread after Carmine confronted his brother, claiming and accusing him of manipulating Albineâs death. He might not have been the one who pointed the gun at Albine but he might as well have been the one who pulled that trigger.
The news reached their fatherâs ears and upon the fact, there was no evidence to support Carminesâ claim, Magnus knew what his son was capable of. There has always been darkness inside of Daniel and he finally unleashed it. On his brother. His own blood.
Magnus died from a heart attack after that and their mother blamed them for her fatherâs death â Daniel to be precise â and demanded never to set her eyes on him unless he wanted her dead.
In the end, it was just Daniel and Carmine, but the bond between the both of them had snapped already. She only endured him, the intimacy between the both of them gone.
Daniel wanted the whole world and got nothing â not even the woman he loved.