Paint Me Red

25. Revelations

Ignazio's POV

Flashback

Three Years Ago

"Ignazio, dad's asking for you." Mateo, my elder brother, announced, coming inside my room.

I groaned and gave him a tired look, "NO!"

He smiled his infamous charming smile and shook his head, "Come on, you know you shouldn't have been speeding on a highway."

"The car literally came out of nowhere." I said in my defense.

"It could have been worse had you not pulled the brakes in time. Thank God, you did not get into an accident." He sighed out and came to sit beside me on the couch.

"See? I did something good back there." I replied in a smug tone.

"You also damaged the car you got not even five days ago and not to mention the fact that you beat the driver pretty bad. Now, run along. I gotta go out to check the warehouses today." He pointed out.

I scoffed in disbelief, "You're literally the worst brother ever."

He chuckled and ruffled my hair, "That's a lie and even you know it."

"Right." I muttered and stood up to go and see dad.

"I won't always be here to save your ass, better grow up." He remarked.

I rolled my eyes, "You're not going anywhere. You have a mafia to lead and a fiancé to cherish, remember?"

"Hence the uncertainty." He commented making me halt in my tracks.

I turned around to face him as he stood tall with his hands stuffed in his pockets, "Mateo, you're not leaving any of us any time soon so please don't say all those things. You're my brother, my family." I said in all seriousness.

He brushed it off and I saw a distant look in his eyes for a second before he quickly masked it, "I know, I love you." He said with a small genuine smile which also made me smile.

Mateo was a charmer. He was the elder son, the more responsible one as well and he was also a big brother to Acacia and me. The best big brother I could have ever asked for.

My anchor and my guardian angel.

"I love you, too, brother." I said and made my way to dad's office to hear an hour long lecture about how irresponsible I am and that I need to grow up and take the position of an underboss soon.

But there was one thing that I surely couldn't have guessed, in fact no one could have, that I was seeing my brother for the very last time that day.

Dad was in the middle of scolding me when my phone suddenly rang and I gave him a sheepish look before seeing Damien's number flashing on the screen.

"Are you seriously going to take that call, right now?" Dad asked in exasperation as he eyed the caller ID.

"It could be important." I told him truthfully.

I swiped to answer once dad nodded his head only to hear the frantic breathing of Damien from the other side of the line with incoherent mumbling.

"I can't hear you, Damien. Learn to speak properly.

"Mateo...dead...warehouse...attack."

Those four darned words were all it took to shake our world. I sat frozen in my seat as the line went dead. My blood rushed to my ears and I could feel my palms beginning to get sweaty as I could hear dad saying something in the background but I was too engrossed in my own jumbled thoughts to make out his words.