Chapter 3

　　Antonio's POV

　　The Bianchi villa smelled of blood and betrayal, I sat at the center of the lavish sitting room, not touched by the chaos that had just erupted moments ago.

　　The polish marble floors were stained with the blood of fallen men, their bodies slumping over the grand table where a meal had once been served.

　　Pietro Bianchi sat before me, the once proud and ruthless man now reduced to a trembling coward, I despised cowards.

　　My men secured the remaining household staff and guards, forcing them to their knees, no one dared to speak, no one dared to move.

　　The message had been clear, Antonio Romano had come for blood, and blood had been spilled, but now, my attention was on one person.

　　The woman standing at the doorway, her chest rising and falling in rapid breaths, her dark eyes flickering with anger, calculation, and something I couldn't quite name.

　　She moved with a lethal grace that had caught my attention, even in the chaos that had transpired at the restaurant. Most assassins were clumsy, driven by desperation or a paycheck.

　　But this one right here, there was a fire in her eyes, a raw intensity that spoke of something more. Fearlessness was a rare commodity in my line of work. Even when the bullets started flying, she hadn't panicked, she'd adapted, fought, and disappeared like smoke in the wind.

　　Elisa Bianchi. She wasn't expecting this, I could see it in the way her fingers twitched at her sides, her body coiled for a fight that she knew she wasn't going to win.

　　She was still wearing her disguise, black pants, a fitted white blouse, remnants of her failed attempt on my life, but now, she wasn't the predator, she was my prey.

　　"Antonio," Pietro's voice shook as he spoke, a desperate attempt to regain control of the ongoing situation. "This... this doesn't have to end in more bloodshed."

　　I look at him, amused by his pathetic display, "Oh? And what do you propose, old man?"

　　Pietro's gaze darted to Elisa, then back to me, and then he said the words that sealed his fate. "My daughter… I offer my daughter, take her instead, she's worth more to you alive than dead."

　　A wave of revulsion washed over me, offering his own daughter as a sacrifice to save his own skin.

　　It wasn't surprising, not in this world anyway, but hearing it spoken aloud still left a sour taste in my mouth. Loyalty was a dying virtue, and Bianchi had just proven himself utterly devoid of it.

　　Elisa's sharp intake of breath cut through the silence, she hadn't moved, but I saw the way her fists clenched at her sides, the betrayal sinking its claws into her.

　　I watched her, fascinated, the woman who had tried to kill me hours ago, standing frozen as the man she called 'father' threw her to the wolves without hesitation.

　　I let the moment stretch, savoring the way realization dawned on Elisa's eyes, the way something in her shattered.

　　Then, I laughed, a slow deliberate chuckle that echoed through the hollow silence of the villa.

　　"The girl for your life and the rest of your family?" I mused, my voice low and dangerous as I circled Bianchi. "An interesting proposition, wouldn't you say, my little assassin?" I directed the last word at Elisa, watching her flinch.

　　Bianchi nodded eagerly, his eyes pleading. "Yes, please, she's… she's expendable and erratic, I wasn't even the one who sent her to kill you."

　　"Of course," I said, shaking my head, "Of course you'd sell her to save yourself, why should I be surprised."

　　Pietro flinched, but I didn't care, my focus remained on Elisa, she wasn't groveling the way her father was doing, she didn't beg.

　　She simply stood there, silent and rigid, as if willing herself to disappear, but her eyes burned with rage and despair. Interesting.

　　I took a step closer to Pietro, crouching to the older man's level. "Tell me, Pietro," I say in an almost gentle voice, "Was she ever really yours?"

　　Pietro's face paled with fear, I smiled. "No? I didn't think so, because if she was, you wouldn't offer her up like this."

　　The air thickened, Elisa's gaze snapped to him, a flicker of confusion passing through her features, but I stopped talking, I had my suspicions but now wasn't the time and place.

　　I straightened, and stepped back as I pulled my gun from the holster, Pietro tenses. "Wait," the old man said. "We have a deal."

　　I arched my brow. "A deal?" I glanced at Elisa, "You mean the one where you trade her life for your own?"

　　Pietro swallowed hard. "She's... she's an asset, a trained killer, she can be useful to you."

　　I turned to Elisa, pretending to consider it, her lips parted slightly, her breathing slow and controlled, but her eyes, those eyes betrayed her.

　　My fingers tightened around the trigger, "You're right," I said, my voice calm, "She is valuable." Then I fired.

　　The gunshot rang through the villa, Pietro's body jerked, blood blooming across his chest before he collapsed to the floor in a lifeless heap.

　　Silence follows, Elisa didn't move, she didn't scream, she only stared at the body, her expression unreadable.

　　I study her reaction, no tears, no hysterics, Just a cold, quiet rage simmering beneath the surface.

　　Fascinating. I step closer to her, voice low. "Don't mourn him, he never really cared about you, my little assassin."

　　Her head snapped up, her breathing sharp. "What..." But I had already turned away. "Take her," I ordered my men, "She belongs to me now."

　　They move swiftly, securing Elisa, their movements rough but efficient.

　　She didn't resist, her eyes were still fixated on her father's lifeless form, as they led her away. Her gaze flickered back to me, a silent question hanging in the air.

　　"Why?" Her voice was barely a whisper, lost in the aftermath of the violence.

　　I offer no answers, tonight, a debt had been paid, tomorrow, a new game would begin.