TRACKS

wedding day 2

Venice.

The sight of him tore through the hall like lightning. His hair was darker now, his stance unyielding, his eyes no longer soft with the innocence Pete once knew. At his side walked Kundar, sharp and merciless, the Italian’s presence thick with vengeance.

But Pete didn’t see the mafia general. He didn’t even see the dozens of guns. All he saw was his son.

“Venice…” Pete whispered, his voice breaking. He stepped forward before anyone could stop him. “My son.”

Venice halted, his soldiers tensing, but he raised a hand—stopping them. His face softened, just barely, as his gaze landed on Pete.

“Mother,” he said, the word falling heavy and warm, almost tender.

Pete’s lips quivered, his heart shattering and mending in the same breath. Tears welled in his eyes.
“You came back… after all this time… you came back to me.”

Venice’s features wavered, the walls around his heart threatening to crack. For one fragile moment, he looked like the boy Pete once cradled in his arms, the boy who used to call for him in the dark.

He reached out, his gloved fingers brushing against Pete’s hand before pulling away.
“I never forgot you,” Venice said softly. “Even in the darkness, you were the only light I carried.”

Pete choked on a sob, reaching for him. “Then stay. Stay here. With me.”

Venice’s jaw clenched, the softness flickering in his gaze. But then like shutters closing his face hardened. He pulled back, retreating into the shell of cold indifference that the years had carved into him.

Before Pete could reach again, another voice cracked through the silence.

“Venice.”

Rain. His voice trembled with emotion, his steps unsteady yet determined as he moved closer. “It’s me… It’s Rain. Please don’t shut me out. Don’t shut us out. I never gave up on you, not really. I.....just

“Stop.”

Venice’s voice cut like glass, sharp and unforgiving. He turned, his eyes narrowing on Rain with unhidden loathing.

Rain staggered, the weight of that single word nearly buckling his knees. Still, he pressed on. “I know you’re angry. I know you feel betrayed. But I Venice, I’m sor...

“Enough!”

Venice’s voice rose, fury spilling over. His soldiers stiffened, but stayed still under his signal. He stepped closer to Rain, eyes blazing. “Do not speak to me as if you matter.”

Rain’s chest constricted, his hand reaching out in desperation. “phi, please ”

Venice shoved him.

The hall gasped as Rain stumbled backward, clutching his stomach instinctively. Tharn and Type leapt to their feet, rushing to steady him, their faces pale with fury.

Vegas cried out. “Venice!”

But Venice’s face was stone. He looked at Rain as if he were nothing, as if the years of love, of closeness, had been erased completely.

“You should have been the one to fall,” Venice spat. “Not me.”

The words landed heavier than the shove, piercing through Rain’s heart. His knees buckled, Type’s arms the only thing keeping him from collapsing fully.

Vegas: How can you........how can you treat him this way? For Christ's sake his carrying your child

“I don’t need his love and surely don't need that thing he's carrying