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The rumours that were spread ruined almost everything.
Tax evasion.
Non-repayment of loans.
Had they been rumours about murder or assault, Paolo might have survived this.
But not paying money where money was owed and getting involved with the Agenzia delle Entrate… well, those were unforgivable.
So, he lashed out.
……………………………………………………
A trail of blood was left behind as the man was forcibly dragged in front of Vincenzo and Maria Cassano. The armed guards on either side of the prisoner barely acknowledged his pleas for mercy, throwing him onto the floor and forcing him to his knees.
Slowly, the man looked up at the two figures.
“Speak.” Vincenzo’s voice was cold as he demanded answers.
“I-I- “
“No stuttering. No stalling. Tell me the truth.”
The man looked around anxiously, before the fearful look disappeared and he smirked. “They’re too far away by now.” He hissed, “You’ll never catch up to them.”
Silence.
“I wonder how much fun Paolo will have with your pretty younger brother.”
A muscle in Vincenzo’s jaw clenched, “Where are they going?”
The man spat at his feet, as Maria stepped forwards.
“Take him to the lower levels.” She ordered, “All men talk eventually, with a little bit of… persuasion.”
“I’ll never talk!”
“You will.”
The certainty in her tone finally seemed to clue him into how much trouble he was in, struggling as he was dragged out of the room. Once he was gone, she turned to her adoptive grandson.
“We will find him.” She reassured him, “We will.”
“Will we find him in time though?”
She had no answer for that.
………………………………………………………………
The forests of Italy were fairly quiet. Sounds were absorbed by the foliage, with only the loudest screams piercing through the leaves.
Like the one Vincenzo had just heard.
It came from somewhere to the right, off the main path.
A male voice crying out in agony.
Luca was the first to head in that direction, his gun already drawn. Ever since the poisoning incident, Luca had been overly protective over Michel and honestly, this was the probably going to be the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Michel would be lucky if he ever got to leave the private apartments again.
A man who Vincenzo vaguely recognised as one of Paolo’s raced towards them, only narrowly avoiding running right into that.
“I-I don’t get paid enough!” He stammered, limping away.
He didn’t make it far before Luca was shooting him in the back of the head.
“That was… odd.” Vincenzo muttered. Confused, they all pressed on. They found several more of Paolo’s men lying still on the ground, scattered around the small clearing. In the middle of the clearing, several more men were trying to wrestle someone to the ground.
A leg kicked out, sending one of the men back with a grunt.
“Michel.” Luca whispered, eyes wide in shock, “What- “
Vincenzo had to agree with the sentiment.
He’d never seen a look of pure anger like that on Michel’s face, not even when he was Chairman Jang Han Seo, the feared leader of Babel.
Michel was kicking, biting, and clawing at the attackers, but Paolo’s men were relentless.
Luca was the first to snap out of the daze, running up to the group and knocking one of the attackers to the ground, seeming to completely forget that he had a gun.
Then again, maybe firing at the group wasn’t a good idea with how close they all were together.
The other men all followed suit, with the fight being short-lived as Vincenzo’s men greatly outnumbered the already injured, opposing men.
When the fight was over, Vincenzo looked over at his younger brother, scanning him for any concerning injuries. He winced when he saw all the scars that were past evidence of abuse from Jang Han Seok, clearly visible even beneath the blood.
He knew that the other men would probably have questions, but he couldn’t let them say anything, not when Michel was clearly in a delicate frame of mind. He held up his hand, silencing any budding questions, before moving a little closer to Michel, “Michel… are you alright?” He asked softly in Italian, only to repeat the question in Korean when there was no response the first time.
Nothing.
He moved a little closer, hesitantly laying a comforting hand on his arm, only to flinch back when Michel… fucking…. GROWLED… at him.
“Shit!” Vincenzo cursed, “What the- “
And then he looked around.
There were at least twenty bodies lying around the small clearing…. all built to be enforcers, and therefore shouldn’t have fallen to Michel.
But they did.
The days events finally seemed to catch up with Michel, his eyes rolling back in his head as he collapsed to the ground, leaving them all stood there in a stunned silence.
“Come on.” Vincenzo sighed, “Let’s get him home.”
……………………………………………..
When Michel woke up, he seemed completely normal once again, acting like nothing bad had ever taken place.
Luca had to admit that he was tiptoeing around his lover, unsure as to how to act.
……………………………………………………………………………….
“We really don’t understand how trauma works.” A mental health specialist gently explained, “It’s different in every person.”
“But… to go from that shy personality into what we saw?”
The other man shrugged, “From what you’ve told me, your brother’s been so used to hiding and taking the submissive role in the past. He was safe for so long with your family, and now that that safety has been threatened, his brain has reacted in a more aggressive way, so as not to lose it.”
Vincenzo could understand the reasoning in that, burying his face in his hands. “What can we do then?”
“My best advice?”
“Well, I certainly don’t want your second-best advice!”
“Be there for him.” The other man sighed, “Something I reckon you can manage. He’ll want to talk in the future, so be prepared to listen.”
“… Just listen?”
“That’s all. You’ll find, that helps more than you think it would.”
“Listen… I can do that.”
……………………………………………………………………………….
“How are you feeling?”
Michel looked up from his work, seeing Vincenzo standing in the doorway.
“Huh?”
“You know… how are you feeling? I’ll listen to anything you want to talk about?”
Michel looked confused for a moment, before slowly shaking his head and giving Vincenzo a small, shy smile. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
“You’ll come to me if you do want to talk though? If that changes?”
“Ummm, yes?”
“Good, that’s-that’s good.” Vincenzo beat a hasty retreat.
He’d laid the foundations.
Now all he had to do was wait.