Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Mason’s gaze bored into Enrico. “I should have known your so-called admission of guilt was nothing but a pathetic ruse. You’re just like your mother—spineless, worthless, about as useful as a broken gear in a machine. You’re nothing but dead weight, De Lauro.”

Enrico chuckled. “I feel for Joe and Gabrielle, but I won’t let his twisted vendetta ruin my life. There’s got to be another way to get El out of his grip without sacrificing everything.”

“Tic for tic, Enrico. You destroyed his sister’s life. Don’t you think it’s about time you stop hiding behind your mother’s skirts and take responsibility? You’ve been leeching off her protection for so long, it’s a wonder she has any blood left .”

His eyes flicked to Amelia. Enrico wasn’t the only problem here. Those women who swarmed around him like moths to a flame, blinded by his wealth and good looks, were just as culpable. Mason despised them—the materialistic gold-diggers who craved a slice of luxury, no matter the cost. And it infuriated him that Enrico had lumped Elnora in with that crowd. But Enrico didn’t know the truth, did he?

He was a deliberate target.

Mason turned to Amelia. “There’s nothing keeping you here. Take your snivelling son and disappear. Because when I’m done with this, if I see either of you again, I’ll end it—permanently.”

“Ah, there’s the Leonardo I know. So full of bluster and threats. But unlike you, I won’t hesitate when the time comes to kill you,” Amelia said quietly.

Mason’s jaw tightened as he eyed the soldiers flanking Amelia, their guns trained on him. He knew the odds were stacked against him in this moment. One wrong move, and it wouldn’t just be his life on the line—it would be all of his men as well. But dying at Amelia’s hands? Never. If it came to that, he’d claw his way out of hell just to drag her down with him.

“We’re not killing him,” Enrico snapped at Amelia. “The plan is to get me and Elnora out of here and push Leo out of the way.”

Amelia rounded on him. “Shut up! This mess is because I left you to your own stupidity for too long. And what the hell is this nonsense about Elnora?”

“Yeah, what’s this nonsense about Elnora?” Mason stepped forward, his tone deceptively calm.

Enrico moved closer and Mason saw in those eyes the same weak-willed cowardice that had always plagued him. It was a reminder of the many times he’d spared Enrico, only for it to blow up in his face. Amelia’s real hatred stemmed from this—her son, Enrico, was never the leader she wanted. That role had fallen to Mason, the one who had built the Castelli from nothing and now ruled over the collective with an iron fist.

“I tried to keep El out of this,” Enrico admitted. “But let’s face it, I dragged her into it. I’ll get her out, and I’ll protect her because we’ve both failed her.”

Mason’s fury erupted. In a blink, he had Enrico by the throat, slamming him against the side of the limo. Enrico’s hands scrabbled at Mason’s iron grip and it only fed hi annoyance. He twisted Enrico’s arm until a sickening snap echoed in the air. Enrico’s howl of pain was cut short as Mason continued to squeeze his throat.

“Let him go!” Amelia barked, pressing the barrel of a gun to Mason’s temple. He knew her well enough to understand she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

Mason released Enrico and shoved him aside like the worthless fool he was, watching with cold indifference as his brother crumpled, clutching his broken left arm. Amelia’s eyes were blazing with anger, but there was no fear in them—only hatred.

As Enrico wheezed, barely holding it together, Mason locked eyes with Amelia. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

He tucked his hands into his pockets. “The sooner you get it through your thick skull that there’s nothing between you and Elnora, the better off you’ll be, De Lauro.”

Amelia’s lips curled into that cold, calculated smile he knew all too well—the one that never reached her eyes. Lowering her weapon, she turned to Enrico. “Now can I shoot him?” she asked.

Mason’s eyes flicked to Enrico, who struggled to his feet, cradling his broken arm. There was a moment of silence, a pause where Mason knew Enrico might just agree. He felt no regret. There had always been a part of him that whispered he should have let Amelia fall to her death that day on the Eden helipad. But something—some foolish hesitation—had stayed his hand. Now, looking at her, he regretted that hesitation with every fibre of his being.

Enrico winced, teeth gritted against the pain, and Mason could see the dark amusement in his eyes. “Not yet,” Enrico said with a strained tone. “It appears you’ve finally found something worth protecting after all these years.”

Mason’s lip curled into a half-smile, the kind that never reached his eyes. So this was what it had come to. He’d resisted Elnora’s pull, fought against the idea of letting anyone get close. But screw it. He deserved something more than this endless cycle of violence and betrayal. Elnora had been a glimpse of that something.

“Indeed,” Mason replied smoothly. “Let me guess—you’re planning to leverage this, worm your way back into the family business. How predictable, Enrico.”

But as he thought of Elnora, the reality hit him. The only way to have her and keep her safe was to walk away from all of this—the power, the empire, the bloodshed. Let Amelia and Enrico have the Castelli name. They’d run it into the ground within a year, he was sure of it.

Amelia’s gaze turned sharp, her brow furrowing as she studied him. “Are you really willing to sacrifice everything for that woman? Your empire, your organization, your reputation?”

Mason’s only response was a shrug. The way she referred to Elnora as “that woman” grated on his nerves, but he kept his cool. Amelia would get what was coming to her soon enough.

She shifted her focus to Enrico. “You walked away from it all because of this Elnora, didn’t you?”

That tone—he knew it well. It was the same tone she used when she was piecing together a puzzle that usually ended with someone dead. Mason couldn’t allow her to dig any deeper.

“Let’s be crystal clear, Amelia,” Mason said, his voice as cold as death. “I’m not handing over anything because I’m scared of you or your lapdog here. It’s on my terms, and if you kill me or any of my men before I personally sign things over, everything goes to hell. And trust me, you don’t want what comes next. You’ll get nothing but a nasty surprise, and it will blow you away.”

Amelia’s smile faltered slightly. “Your terms?” Enrico asked.

“All my men walk free unless they choose otherwise. Elnora goes free too. And if any of you or your lackeys come after me or her, this deal is off, and you’re all dead where you stand.”

Amelia opened her mouth to respond, but Mason cut her off with a sharp laugh. “Save it, Amelia. Whatever you’re about to say doesn’t matter. My terms are the only ones in play. You think you’re close to getting what you’ve always wanted, but you’re treading on thin ice. One wrong move, and you lose everything. So tread carefully, step-mother.”

Mason could see the calculation in Amelia’s eyes, the wheels turning as she weighed her options. But he’d already made up his mind. He would burn it all down before he let them take another piece of him.

Amelia’s eyes gleamed with a sinister intent as she waved more of her men over, their boots thudding against the pavement like the drumbeat of impending doom. “I have a better idea,” she said. “I’ll bring your pretty little girlfriend here, and I’m sure a gun to her head will change your tune.”

“Mother—” Enrico began, but his words were cut short as she swung her gun toward him. Mason couldn’t help but smile at the fear flashing in Enrico’s eyes.

“Don’t push me, Ric!” Amelia snarled, her finger twitching on the trigger. “It’s time to make this Elnora disappear after she gets me exactly what I want! Bring that filth who’s holding her out here now!” she barked at her men.

Mason’s smirk faded into a cold, calculated glare. “I can assure you,” he hissed, stepping forward, “that pointing that gun at Elnora will be the last thing you ever do.”

But Amelia was faster, whipping her gun back on him with a deadly precision that stopped him in his tracks. Her grip was steady, her eyes filled with a madness that Mason knew too well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mason caught sight of movement and looked to find Joe, Marcy and Elnora into the reception area, flanked by a few of his thugs. His heart clenched as he saw Elnora covered in blood, her focused some place else. He started to move, but the De Lauro soldiers cocked their guns, the metallic clicks echoing behind him. The sound of whirring filled the lot, and both Amelia and Enrico looked up in alarm, same time he did.

The parker drones.

“Shoot them down!” Enrico screamed as he gestured frantically to his soldiers. “Get them down before–”

But it was too late. The drones were already locked onto their targets, small barrels trained on Amelia’s men. Mason’s eyes flicked to Elnora, noting the tablet clutched in her hands, her brow furrowed in concentration. She wouldn’t pull the trigger—he knew that—but it was enough of a distraction to give them the upper hand.

His gaze shifted to Mateo and Benny, who had control over the drones: Mateo’s tablet was right beside him. They needed an opening for him to grab it.

Without warning, Antonio lunged first, a blur of raw power as he tackled one of the De Lauro soldiers to the ground. Fists collided with flesh in a brutal symphony, the sickening thud of bone on bone echoing in the chaos. The others moved quickly, Mateo reaching for his tablet, and within seconds, the air erupted into a violent cacophony of fists, gunfire, and the deadly drone strike that ripped through Amelia’s men like paper.

Mason’s gaze stayed locked on Elnora, his heart slamming against his ribs as the realization hit him—she had activated the trigger on the drones. It rattled him in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Seeing her with blood on her hands, quite literally, twisted something deep inside him. It was both terrifying and strangely intoxicating—sexy even, that she would go to such lengths to protect him. But it was also bitter, a reminder of the darkness he had dragged her into. He should never have put her in that position.

As the bodies of the De Lauro soldiers crumpled around him, Mason turned to Amelia. Her eyes were wild with fury as she now moved to squeeze her trigger, but before she could, the drones unloaded a hail of bullets, tearing through her. Mason swallowed hard. He’d come face to face with certain date and El had saved him. He owed Elnora his life now.

Enrico’s horrified gaze locked onto what was left of his mother’s face. The grief and shock paralysed him, leaving him exposed. Mason didn’t hesitate; he pulled out his gun and pressed the barrel against Enrico’s temple.

“Right, what was that you were saying?” Mason sneered, watching Enrico’s face twist in disbelief and horror. He almost wished he’d had the pleasure of ending Amelia himself.

“No!”

Elnora’s voice, muffled by the thick glass, pierced through the chaos as she pounded on the door, trying to get his attention. Mason glanced at her, then back at Enrico, before lowering the gun slightly and ramming the grip hard against his brother’s cheek.

Enrico staggered back, clutching his broken arm, but Mason wasn’t finished. He kicked Enrico square in the head, sending him crashing to the ground. His breath was ragged, seething with the anger that pulsed through his veins. As Enrico groaned in pain, Mason bent down, grabbed Amelia’s gun from her remains, and straightened up just as a few of his soldiers rushed over.

“Secure that moron and get him out of my sight!” Mason barked, barely holding back his rage. He couldn’t fathom why Elnora had objected to killing Enrico. But she’d saved him and his men once again, and that loyalty meant more than anything.

The doors to Spirestand slid open, and Elnora sprinted toward him. Mason retracted his gun into its holster, meeting her halfway and pulling her into a fierce hug.

“Are you hurt?” He cradled her face, searching her eyes for any sign of injury. She was drenched in blood, her hands and face smeared with it. His heart pounded with an unbearable mix of fear and rage.

“No, it’s not my blood. It’s Donni, he’s hurt bad,” she said, her voice trembling.

“Luca, get Donni now!” Mason roared. He turned back to her, his hands trembling as he wiped at the blood on her face.

“El—”

“You can’t hurt Joe,” she interrupted, her voice was shaky but firm. “He helped me get the drones to assist you.”

“El, he’s not important right now. I’m so sorry about all this.” His voice softened.

She swallowed hard, trying to hide the pain in her eyes as he continued to wipe the blood from her skin. Her eyes were red, tears barely held back, and Mason’s heart broke at the sight.

“I would like to point out that you have nothing to do with what has happened. Everything that led up to this was Enrico’s fault. There is no need for an apology from you.”

“Joe grabbed you out from under my nose. I failed you,” Mason said and he felt the guilt in his soul. He had promised to protect her, and yet here she was, drenched in blood and surrounded by death. He had failed her, but he wouldn’t fail her again.

She smiled, a wry, knowing curve to her lips. “You didn’t fail me, Mason. It was Marcy. She’s the reason he managed to get to me.”

So, she knew. That confirmed that Joe and er. If Marcy had been the leak, then Joe was in league with Elias.

“Hi,” Elnora said softly, pulling him from his dark thoughts. She cupped his face, her touch warm and grounding as her eyes locked onto his. “Stop plotting Marcy’s demise, okay? I’ll deal with her.”

He exhaled, letting her voice pull him back from the brink. Wrapping her in a tight hug, he breathed her in. For the first time since he’d found out Joe had her, his muscles began to unclench. The warmth of her body—it finally allowed him to breathe, to unclench from the fear that had been strangling him.

“Why didn’t you want me to kill Enrico?”

She tried to glance over at the scene behind him, but he quickly moved to block her view. He didn’t want her to see the aftermath of the carnage, especially not Amelia’s brains splattered against the limo like some grotesque painting.

“It’s not something you need to see,” he said.

Elnora tucked her hair behind her ears. “Just so you know, I don’t have any feelings for Enrico. I promised Joe he could have him in exchange for his help. I know I’m not supposed to make deals like that, but I couldn’t think of another way.”

Mason half-laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Did she not realize how deeply she had him wrapped around her finger? She could do whatever she wanted, and he’d follow, no questions asked.

“God, El. All I am, everything I have, it’s yours.” He took her hand and pressed it to his chest, letting her feel the steady, heavy beat of his heart. He watched as her hazel eyes widened, realization dawning in them.

For better or worse, she owned him completely.