Vespera
The year my daughter was born, I retired from the underworld and raised her myself.
My daughter was innocent by nature, so I carefully chose four adopted sons and used the finest connections and resources at my disposal to train each of them into ruthless men who could stand on their own.
I made them her most loyal protectors.
For years, her four brothers kept her safe from every danger, and my daughter truly lived a peaceful and sheltered life.
Until one day, I received a desperate call from my daughter, her voice trembling with tears.
“Mom, please help me… They’ve cornered me in the company reseroom and they’re beating me…”
When I arrived at the family corporation, my daughter was curled up in a corner, her business suit torn and disheveled, her arms covered in bloody scratches left from struggling.
And the four adopted sons I had personally raised were standing outside, surrounding a woman and watching the scene unfold as if it were entertainment.
That was when I learned that this woman was the one they all secretly admired.
And the entire mess had started simply because my daughter had contradicted her a few times during a meeting.
When they saw me arrive, not only did they show no remorse, they looked completely justified.
The eldest, Matteo, stepped in front of the woman.
“Mom, she forgot the boundaries a daughter of the family should have. Since she refuses to learn respect, I’ll teach her the family rules in your place.”
The third, Enzo, spoke coldly.
“Mom, what are you doing here? We were only teaching our sister a lesson. Did she really need to run to you and complain?”
Looking at their self-righteous faces, rage burned through me.
They had eaten their fill of bread and forgotten whose hand had fed them.
So from today onward, I would take away the entire table along with the bread.