---

Ava's loud, heartbreaking cries shattered the peaceful silence of the mansion, ripping through the night like a blade.

Luca's eyes flew open, his heart lurching in panic. Beside him, Damien shot up, his entire body tense.

"Ava?" Luca whispered, fear gripping his chest.

Then another sound followed-a harsh, stinging slap.

Ava screamed.

Damien was out of bed before Luca could react, storming out of the room, his steps thundering down the hall. Luca scrambled after him, his pulse pounding in his ears.

As they reached the grand staircase, the sight before them made Luca's blood run cold.

Natalya stood in the middle of the hallway, her chest heaving in rage, her hand still raised. And Ava-sweet, innocent Ava-was clutching her bright red cheek, sobbing uncontrollably.

"You ungrateful little brat!" Natalya spat, her voice venomous. "How dare you say you love him more than your own mother?"

Ava hiccupped between cries, trembling from head to toe. "B-But Luca is nicer! I w-want to go to him!"

Another slap was about to land.

But Damien got there first.

A deafening crack echoed through the hall as Damien's palm struck Natalya's face with brutal force, sending her stumbling back.

Luca gasped.

Ava's cries turned into terrified hiccups.

Natalya clutched her cheek, eyes wide in shock. "Y-You hit me?"

Damien's entire body radiated pure, lethal rage. His dark eyes burned with an unholy fire as he stepped toward her, his towering presence suffocating.

"That was a warning," he hissed, his voice ice-cold. "Lay a finger on my daughter again, and I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable life."

Natalya's lip trembled, but she didn't dare move.

Luca didn't waste another second. He rushed forward and scooped Ava into his arms, pressing her small, shaking body against his chest. "Shh, sweetheart, I've got you," he whispered, stroking her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm here."

Ava's tiny fingers fisted into Luca's shirt, her cries muffled against him.

Damien turned to them, his fury not yet subsided. His gaze softened only slightly as he looked at Ava clinging to Luca like a lifeline.

"Take her to bed," he ordered, his voice tight. "I'll handle this."

Luca didn't argue. Holding Ava securely, he carried her away, whispering soft reassurances. As he walked down the hall, he heard Damien's voice behind him-low, lethal, and full of promise.

"I warned you, Natalya."

******

The moment Luca and Ava disappeared down the hall, the fragile thread of Damien's control snapped.

Natalya was still holding her cheek, glaring at him with fury and humiliation.

"How dare you hit me in front of him?" she seethed. "I'm your wife, Damien!"

Damien's expression twisted into something monstrous. "And you think that gives you the right to lay your hands on my daughter?"

"She's my daughter too-"

Damien lunged, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the nearest wall with a sickening thud. She gasped, nails clawing at his wrist as he squeezed just enough to make her struggle.

"You lost that right the moment you hurt her," Damien growled, his voice dark with lethal rage. "The moment you raised a hand against my child, you became nothing to me."

Natalya gasped for air, but even as she choked, she smirked through her swollen lip.

"Oh? All this over your precious Luca?" Her voice was hoarse but filled with venom. "You're so obsessed with that little slut, you'd throw away everything for him, wouldn't you?" Natalya barely had time to register the pain before Damien lunged.

His fist slammed into her face with a sickening crack, snapping her head back so hard she stumbled into the wall. Blood spattered against the white marble, a stark contrast to her pale skin.

Damien's grip tightened, and for a second, it looked like he might snap her neck.

"Say that again," he dared, his voice chillingly quiet.

Natalya let out a weak laugh, her lips curling into something vile. "He's just a whore-a desperate little thing spreading his legs for you so he can have a comfortable life-"

The crack of Damien's fist slamming into her face echoed through the hall.

Natalya's head snapped to the side as blood sprayed from her mouth, splattering against the pristine white walls. She crumpled to the ground, coughing and wheezing.

Natalya coughed, spitting blood onto the floor, her lip split wide open. But instead of cowering, she laughed.

"You're such a fool," she sneered. "Luca has ruined you."

Damien's eyes went black with rage.

He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall so hard the drywall cracked. She gasped, struggling against his grip, nails digging into his skin as her feet dangled off the ground.

"Say his name again," Damien growled, tightening his hold. "Go on. Say it."

Natalya choked, but she still smirked through bloody teeth. "He's a whore-"

Damien's fist crashed into her face before she could finish.

A sickening crunch.

Natalya screamed as her nose shattered under his knuckles, blood pouring down her face in thick rivulets. But Damien didn't stop.

He punched her again.

And again.

And again.

By the fourth hit, her face was nearly unrecognizable-swollen, bruised, and slick with crimson. Her body slumped against the wall, too weak to hold itself up.

Damien let her drop, but only to stomp on her ribs.

A loud crack echoed through the room.

Natalya let out a strangled cry, curling in on herself as pain wracked her body. Damien crouched over her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her head up so she was forced to look at him through swollen eyes.

"You will never touch my daughter again," he snarled, voice dripping with venom. "You will never speak Luca's name again."

Natalya's breath came in ragged gasps, Damien crouched down, gripping her hair and yanking her face up so she had to look at him.

"You want to keep talking?" he hissed, his tone ice-cold. "Go on. Say another word about him-"

"Y-You're pathetic," she spat, blood trickling from her lips. "A powerful mafia boss brought to his knees by some fragile little-"

Damien slammed her head into the marble floor.

A sickening thud. Then another. And another.

Natalya screamed.

But Damien didn't stop. His eyes were wild, unhinged. He wanted her to feel pain. To suffer. To understand.

By the time he let go, Natalya was sobbing, her face a ruined mess of bruises and blood.

Damien stood over her, breathing hard, his hands trembling from rage.

"Let me make one thing very clear." His voice was deadly calm. "Luca is mine. My lover. My future. You? You're nothing but a regret I will erase the second this divorce is finalized."

Natalya let out a broken, wheezing laugh. "You think this is over?" she croaked.

Damien sneered. "Oh, it is. For you."

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving her crumpled and broken on the floor.

**** ---

Damien walked into the bedroom, his body still vibrating with the remnants of his rage. Blood-thick and dark-streaked his hands, his shirt, his face. He barely noticed. His mind was still replaying the moment his fists met Natalya's skin, the sound of bones cracking beneath his strength.

But all of it faded the second his eyes landed on them.

Luca was sitting on the bed, cradling Ava against his chest, his fingers running through her golden curls. She was half-asleep, her tiny body curled into his warmth, her breathing slow and even. Luca, however, was awake-his sharp eyes flickering up to Damien the moment he stepped in.

The relief in his gaze was instant.

"You're hurt," Luca whispered, standing up carefully so he didn't wake Ava. His eyes roamed over Damien's bruised knuckles, the bloodstains on his face.

Damien let out a dark chuckle. "Not mine."

Luca swallowed, stepping closer. He was used to this by now-the violence, the blood, the destruction that came with Damien's rage. But tonight, something in his expression softened. He reached out, his fingertips grazing Damien's jaw before he wordlessly grabbed a warm cloth from the bedside table.

Damien sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Luca knelt in front of him and began wiping away the blood. His touch was gentle, slow, so different from the violence Damien had just unleashed.

"Did she say anything to you?" Luca finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Damien's jaw tensed. "Nothing that matters."

Luca didn't press. He knew when Damien was still on edge, when pushing would only make things worse. So instead, he kept cleaning, his fingers grazing Damien's throat, his collarbone, the edge of his lips.

Damien's hands twitched at his sides. Mine.

When Luca was done, he stood up and pulled Damien's shirt over his head, revealing his bare chest. The sight of Luca-so focused, so tender-made something tighten in Damien's chest. He had hurt, destroyed, and killed. But Luca was still here, taking care of him like he was something worthy of care.

He didn't deserve it.

But he wouldn't let go of it, either.

Luca climbed into bed first, adjusting the blankets around Ava's tiny form. Damien slid in beside them, wrapping an arm around both of them, pulling them close. Ava stirred slightly, her sleepy body instinctively seeking out Luca's warmth.

And then, in a voice thick with exhaustion, she mumbled:

"I love you, Luca... and Papa."

Damien went still.

Luca did too.

His heart clenched so painfully it felt like something inside him was breaking. He turned, looking at Damien, only to find the same raw, unguarded emotion in his dark eyes.

Luca swallowed hard, fingers tightening on the blankets. "Did you hear that?"

Damien let out a breathless chuckle, his arms pulling them closer. He pressed a slow, lingering kiss to the top of Ava's head, then to Luca's temple.

"I heard it."

Neither of them spoke after that. They didn't need to.

For the first time in a long, long time... Damien fell asleep at peace.