<h4>Chapter 496: Chapter 496 : It’s Never Over</h4>


    *Giovani*


    ‘Do you ever think about retiring?’


    I drummed my fingers on my desk, the wood steady and dull as I did the motion over and over. I nced at my phone, still waiting for a call on our next move while I reached out for my drink. The bourbon in the ss was smooth, just the way I liked it, and though I had been cutting back on my drinking, I think I deserved a ss tonight.


    Olivia’s soft pleading eyes haunted me, the words she’d spoken following me around like a ghost over my shoulder.


    The simple question she had posed to me was easy to answer, but I hadn’t. I could’ve said anything, but the way she was looking at me, sad and tired and run down, had made me pause.


    It wasn’t until then that I truly took in the differences from when I’d first met Olivia when she was hopeful, bright, and with a youthful glow that I thought would never disappear. Some might’ve called her naive or even sheltered.


    But when I first saw her, all I could see was the potential within her, the beautiful woman she had yet to blossom into, the one who reached out in kindness to even her enemy, whose love andpassion were as deep as the sea and as never-ending. She was like the only star on a cloudy night, forever shining brightly above us to guide me home.


    And I hadtched onto her, her taken her fragile light in my hands and now, I could see it dimming.


    She wasn’t that young, hopeful girl anymore. She had been hurt and beaten down, broken, and forced to repair herself too many times. But god, she was still just as beautiful as the first day I saw her.


    But little by little, that hope and naive kindness had begun to fade away. Why hadn’t I noticed it? Why hadn’t I seen how much being with me had affected her? She’d had her best friend kidnapped and shot, her childhood friend ckmailed her, she’d had constant threats on her life and those of her friends and family, not to mention seen someone killed in front of her and now... her son, our baby.


    Even if it was just a single day, we’d lost Elio.


    This was something we dealt with every day, something I had signed up for when I took the leadership role of the Don. I knew what I had been getting into, and what I had to do to keep me and my people safe.


    It was a world filled with blood, destruction, and cruelty beyond that which most people could imagine. I was not a good person. I knew that from the start.


    But Olivia was just a normal woman, one with bright eyes and a sweet smile, but now she was just....


    ‘Do you ever think about retiring?’


    Her voice rang in my head, and I clenched my fist around the ss.


    Twenty years–I’d been the Don for almost twenty years of my life. It had felt like an eternity if I was being honest, but I was good at it. I had never even considered not being the Don because it was all I had ever done. Before this, I was just a stupid kid doing whatever I wanted, but this life, as fucked up as it was, had given me a purpose. a reason to move forward.


    Who would I be if I wasn’t the Don? What would be of me if that purpose was taken away? The family would survive. They would get a new Don, new leadership to follow, but....


    What about me? How would I move forward when the reason I’d clung to for so long would be gone?


    I sighed, taking a swig of my alcohol. I nced at the screen on myptop, one showing the security feed of the room where we’d ced Salvatore. He still hadn’t woken up after first arriving.


    Gabriele had gotten some minor details from him before he’d passed out, half in shock and pain from his wounds. Considering how bad of a shape he was in, I was surprised he’d made it here conscious at all.


    The old bastard was stubborn and tough, the only good thing Olivia had inherited from him... well, that and his eyes.


    But even with Salvatore now safe and recovering, things weren’t solved. Lorenz was still out there and as long as he was, he would stop at nothing to get to me. He was getting reckless, losing his mind over his obsession with killing me, but that only made things more dangerous.


    I knew what a sane man would do, but one who had lost his mind?


    He was incapable of being tracked. He could be anywhere by now.


    I was broken from my introspection by a harsh knock on the study door. I shook my head off the existential train of thought, letting it halt in ce as I focused my attention on the present.


    “Come–” The door burst open before I could even finish the words, and I stared at my right-hand man with a re as I finished with ame, “In.”


    “Found him,” Gabriele dered, looking incredibly proud of himself like a dog that had just performed a trick, it’d been trying to do for weeks and now expected praise.


    “Found who?” I rolled my eyes, wishing that if he at least burst into my room, he’d have the decency to start it with a full sentence and not just derative words at me like I knew what he was talking about.


    “Lorenz.” He gave me a look like he thought I was stupid. “Your bastard-inw in the basement gave me just the clue I needed.”


    I didn’t even bother to correct him. It wasn’tpletely undeserved. Besides, just because I saved his life didn’t mean I was going to forgive him for kidnapping my son and trying to kill me off. He’d have to die a martyr if he wanted that. Luckily, he was too much of a coward to do so.


    “I thought he went underground?” I asked with a frown.


    “They did,’ Gabriele smirked. “But they made quite a few mistakes. Lorenz was not careful enough. Makes sense that he was Dmitri’s third choice for a right hand. He’s sloppy. Seems his men have a newfound appreciation for delivery.”


    “You’re kidding me,” I stared at him in disbelief. I couldn’t believe my fucking ears. He got caught because of the delivery guy?


    “Not even the good stuff. The guys he hired must be cheap,” Gabriele snorted. “But the man who delivered spilled the beans once we found him. He split real quick once we gave him a check.”


    I shook my head at the sheer stupidity. Was it a case of overlooking the obvious, or was it just that he didn’t consider the delivery guy an actual human being who could be paid off? Considering his former boss who now rested in ashes, I guessed thetter.


    “We need to find out everything Salvatore knows about them, no matter how small or insignificant,” I told Gabriele firmly. “We can’t let this continue any longer. Lorenz is too much of a liability to let him run out there free. We have to drive him out of hiding and take them all out... no survivors this time.”


    “‘Cause that worked greatst time,” Gabriele retorted sarcastically. “How’s this time any different from what, the past three times?”


    “Gabriele,” I snapped.


    “Just saying.” He raised his hands in defense. “Not disagreeing with you, Boss.”


    I ignored him, ncing at the screen where Salvatore stilly unconscious. “Wait for Salvatore to wake up and then find out everything he knows. Once we know all their escape routes, we can end this.”


    “Yeah, yeah,” Gabriele huffed, then nced at the screen with a dark look. “And if he doesn’t talk willingly?”


    “Then make him.”


    Gabriele nodded, turning to leave with his mission in tow. Meanwhile, I grabbed my drink and downed thest of it, sighing as I stared at my warped image inside the crystal ss. I looked... tired.


    ‘Do you ever think about retiring?’


    I got to my feet, shutting myptop as I made my way out of my study and down the endless maze of halls. Twenty years of aimless drifting in these halls had made me more familiar with them than myself. I knew every chip in the paint, every crack in the walls like they were a part of my own body.


    Walking slowly down the halls, I suddenly felt old, like I never had before.


    I paused in front of our suite, wondering what I should say, how I should answer Olivia and her too-important question. Could I even give her an answer when I didn’t know myself?


    But despite my hesitation, I opened the door anyway. Whatever happened would happen. Whatever I chose, it would be something that we choose together. Because there was no greater gift in my life than Olivia and my son.


    The sound of Elio’s delightedugh hit my ears as soon as I stepped inside. I followed it with a smile as I spotted my wife sitting on the floor with Elio, the two building a huge castle out of stic blocks.


    “Your majesty!” Olivia cried dramatically. “I’m afraid we are all out of strawberries! The harvest has all turned rotten!”


    I grinned as I spotted a te of strawberries hidden behind her back.


    “No!” Elio cried, a paper crown on his head. He kicked his little feet, giving her a huge pout.


    “Oh, what’s this?” Olivia gasped, feigning surprise as she pulled the te out from behind her, “There actually was a good strawberry harvest!”


    Elio cheered, reaching out for the strawberry pieces and shoving them into his mouth without care.


    “We’d better thank those strawberry farmers,” Olivia said.


    She tried to coach him to say, “Thank you,” but it didn’t quitee out as words. Elio looked serious as he tried to say it, and I couldn’t help butugh.


    The two of them jumped in surprise, turning to me.


    “Dada!” Elio cried, holding his arms out as he waddled to his feet.


    I chuckled, heading forward and stepping over the y gate. Some random cartoon was ying, though it might’ve been a movie.


    “Gio,” Olivia beamed as I swung Elio into my arms, holding him with a grin.


    She got to her feet, stretching to the tip of her toes to kiss me. I dly epted, wrapping my free arm around her waist to pull her to me.


    “Is... did–” She hesitated, a conflicted look in her eyes.


    I knew immediately what she was asking about.


    “Someone will tell us when Salvatore wakes up,” I said softly, “He’s in a guest room downstairs.”


    She sighed in relief, leaning her head against my shoulder. “When is this all going to be over, Gio?”


    Her voice was so quiet, I might’ve missed it if I wasn’t in tune with everything about her. I sighed,ying my chin on top of her head as I held her close.


    “I don’t know,” I told her, but I couldn’t bear to tell her the truth.


    For the Don, it was never really over.