CHAPTER 60: WHERE LOYALTY END

Vincent kept running through the dark alleyway. Every lamp along the path had died years ago, leaving the whole stretch swallowed by shadows, a forgotten piece of the city that barely breathed.

Yet when he looked up, the sky opened like a quiet gift. The milky way stretched above him, a slow river of starlight that softened the darkness and pulled at old memories.

He had stared at this same sky with his mother before the world broke apart.

He had stared at it with Lucien too, sharing one tiny telescope between them as children, pointing at constellations they could never pronounce right.

Both figures were gone from his life now. His mother was buried, and while Lucien still walked the earth, Vincent had carved their bond apart with his own hands.

He was alone, and the weight of it pressed on him, yet somehow he could breathe more freely.

Maybe this was what it felt like to run away from home and know you would never return.

Nostalgia tightened his throat, but relief loosened his lungs.

He refused to look back. He was terrified that Lucien might still be there, standing in the dark with a raised gun or worse, mourning him.

But the silence behind him stayed empty, and Vincent knew the truth. Their tie was gone, severed clean.

The next time they met, they would be strangers wearing familiar faces.

"It’s fine," he muttered to himself, trying to steady the tremor in his voice. "I can do this. I will not regret this."

Light appeared at the end of the alleyway, a soft glow cutting through the gloom. In that glow he imagined two small silhouettes racing ahead.

"Stop following me, Vincent!"

"Why not? You are my brother. Ti seguirò ovunque."

"You are so annoying."

The memory warmed him enough to pull a smile to his lips as he stepped into the light. It made him squint, expecting freedom on the other side.

Instead, hands seized him the moment he crossed the threshold.

Fingers like iron locked around his arms, another hand covered his face with a dark cloth, and he was dragged forward before he could even shout.

He struggled, twisting and biting down every instinct to survive, but they were stronger and moved with rehearsed precision.

A heavy blow struck the side of his neck, sharp and unforgiving, snapping the world into darkness.

The last thing he heard before consciousness slipped away was the distant, cheerful tune of Sabbia Bianca echoing like a cruel joke.

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"How was it, Vincent? Was my speech too much? Did I scare them enough to make them think twice before coming after me?"

Lucien chuckled as he sank back into the quieter space behind the muted celebration.

The traditional address to the capos had finally ended. Normally this ceremony set the tone for a new Don with promises of stability, unity, and loyalty.

Lucien had taken that expectation and crushed it without hesitation. Half the capos had already left because they could not endure the way he openly disregarded them.

It was nothing like the speeches of past leaders. Instead of hope, Lucien gave them a warning.

That was how he earned the name Silver Serpent, not through bloodshed but through words sharp enough to sting.

Vincent sighed. "I still can’t believe you insulted and threatened everyone like that. You’re going to bring trouble on yourself. And I’m genuinely worried."

"They only dislike me because of my status," Lucien replied with a careless wave.

"If they have any sense, they’ll follow once they see what I can accomplish."

"And if they don’t? What will you do then?" Vincent’s tone shifted, firm and serious.

Lucien answered with a calm smile. "Then we remove them."

Vincent rolled his eyes and prepared to argue, but Lucien suddenly stepped closer and examined him with a worried expression.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really belong in this world, Vincent."

He brushed dust from Vincent’s suit and straightened his tie with gentleness.

"I should be the one worrying about you."

"I’m fine," Vincent said quietly.

"It’s just that if problems can be resolved through negotiation, we don’t have to start shooting. There are other ways."

Lucien laughed under his breath. "There it is. My brother, the businessman. You should have followed Aunt’s path."

"And you can still be ruthless, you know. Look at the Lioness. Everyone trembles when she walks into a room."

"Isn’t it too late for that? I’m your right-hand man now," Vincent replied, folding his arms.

"It’s never too late to start something new. If you ever want to leave the Famiglia, I’ll support you."

"And leave you alone? Not a chance," Vincent said. "You’d destroy yourself within a week and take the whole Lucero line with you."

He sighed and looked at their joined reflections in a nearby window. "Besides, I already made a promise."

Vincent took Lucien’s hand and kissed the signet ring engraved with the black star of Lucero.

"Ti seguirò ovunque, brother. I will follow you anywhere."

"I will never break my promise to you."

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Lucien stood at the shoreline, barefoot, letting the wet sand swallow the edges of his feet. The water washed over him again and again, cool and rhythmic, but nothing in it eased the heaviness in his chest.

The night sky hung above him without a moon, and even the scattered stars failed to give him the comfort they once did.

He didn’t want clarity. He didn’t want comfort. He only wanted to walk until the tide erased the noise in his head.

"Lucien, so this is where you disappeared to."

He didn’t need to turn around to recognize the voice. Edmund always carried a particular steadiness when he spoke, a steadiness Lucien found infuriating tonight.

The irritation rose instantly. In his mind, Edmund and Vincent shared the same silhouette: people who walked away from him, people who left without giving him the courtesy of a clean wound.

"Shut up. I’m not talking to you."

Lucien picked up his pace, cutting through the gentle surf. He heard boots crunch against the sand behind him, matching his steps with stubborn patience.

The sound grated on him until he finally spun around, anger flaring in his eyes.

"I told you to stop following me!"

Edmund came to a halt, unfazed by the outburst.

"It’s about Vincent, isn’t it?"