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A just reward

Logan snorted. "You always knew where she was."

"Of course. She is my daughter. I know everything that happens to her." Luciano's eyes pinned Nicholas to his seat. "Even though she tries to hide it from me,"

"You knew where we were; why didn't you save her before she got worse?!"

"That was the first time I lost track of her." Luciano said through clenched teeth.

"If you've known that he was Francesco's father, why did you invite us here?" Raul demanded.

"The cooperation between our families."

Raul shook his head angrily. "Our cooperation was contingent on the union of our children."

"A week ago, I sent you a report detailing some of your son's crimes."

Nicholas moved to get up, but a guard's heavy hands forced him to remain seated. Two other guards bound him to the chair. "Papa!" He cried.

"Luciano!" Raul shouted almost out of his seat when security also held him back.

"And you did nothing but scold him."

When guards bound both Frieda and Raul as they had done Nicholas, the Oliveria family panicked. Not because they were restrained, but rather because their own guards did not move to protect them. "What is the meaning of this?!" Frieda shouted hysterically at their guards.

"I recently acquired the firm you use to furnish your security," Luciano said nonchalantly as he put on a pair of gloves.

Everyone in the room remained fixated on Luciano as his hand hovered over the box he took the gloves from. The air felt dry and heavy. He exhaled loudly and closed the box carefully, then walked over to Nicholas and laid his hands on the younger man's shoulders.

As he spoke, Luciano's grip on Nicholas tightened. "She was my daughter. She was confident, fearless, energetic, and trusting; she loved life and always filled our hearts with joy." He said, looking at his wife.

"And... I trusted you... with that daughter." Luciano lightly wrapped a hand around Nicholas' neck. "You took...her confidence...her fearlessness...her trust...her love of life..." His movement was so fast, no one saw it as it happened. But Nicholas' head slamming against the table caused everyone to jump in their seats. Luciano pinned Nicholas to the table as he continued.

"You...killed my child...You...destroyed her... robbed her of her trust in me." Luciano slammed Nicholas' head again and again as he spoke. "You...drugged her...abused her...humiliated her...threatened her...isolated her...terrorised her..."

Luciano straightened himself and looked down at Nicholas, crying and pleading against the table. "Please." Nicholas whispered.

Luciano opened his hand, and a guard handed him a device. Leaning down, he looked Nicholas in the eyes. "You ruined her."

Luciano put the device on the table, and a recording played. It was a recording from Nicholas and Aurora's youth. They heard Aurora reject Nicholas, and then he confessed he had drugged her drink. What ensued was jeering and cheering by the other children as Nicholas forced himself onto her. One person was heard saying they were getting everything on tape. Aurora's cries went unanswered and gradually faded. At the end, there was excessive cheering and congratulations for Nicholas. He boasted that Aurora was going to be his wife and that he was now a true man among their colleagues.

Francesco didn't fight his tears; they flowed freely as he looked around the room. Claudia pulled at her hair, screaming and crying. Two maids stepped to her side, trying to calm her. Logan cried. He held his head in his hands and wept without restraint. Nicholas' parents sat still, their mouths agape, as they looked at their son, horrified. Luciano remained expressionless with his eyes fixed on Nicholas., who shook his head, denying the recordings.

Another recording played, and Nicholas was heard saying he had Aurora under control. He confessed that her friends helped him drug her. Several more recordings played, and in each, Nicholas was more brazen than the last. The last recording was recent. Between Logan's shouts and pleading, Nicholas could be heard telling Aurora not to fight him. Every time he struck her, Logan shouted louder and pulled at his chains. Nicholas ignored Logan when he told him that drugging Aurora would kill her.

Claudia pushed the maids away from her as she jumped out of her seat. She violently pushed back the guard who intercepted her, taking the gun from his jacket. Claudia pointed the gun at Nicholas and pulled the trigger.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

Claudia threw the gun on the ground. "You planned this!" She shouted at Luciano.

"Shooting him would be too easy, Claudia." Luciano said as he wrapped his hands around Nicholas' neck again. This time, Aurora's father squeezed his hands, gradually increasing the strength of his hold. Nicholas shook, trying to break free of the elder man's grasp.

"Luciano please! I beg you, don't! He's my only child!" Raul shouted.

Luciano ignored the pleas and cries of Nicholas' parents. He continued tightening and easing his hold, leaving the younger man wheezing and coughing as he fought to breathe. "Twice, you almost killed my grandson like this. And both times you hurt his mother in front of him."

"Please!" Nicholas coughed..

"When my daughter begged you, did you stop? When her husband begged you, did you stop? When she lay beaten and unconscious under you, fighting for her life, did you stop?"

Nicholas gasped and choked. He stopped fighting back as his eyes rolled back and spittle hung from his mouth.

"Clean up this mess." He ordered as he stepped away.