Chapter 1000:

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But reality poured cold water over his thoughts. At that time, he was nothing more than a low-ranking enforcer crawling through the shadows of the mafia world. Meanwhile, Mike had already devoured the Davis Group and risen to become the richest man in Zhatwell. If he returned now, he wouldn’t save Carole. He would only drag her into even deeper trouble.

“Carole… I’m sorry. Just wait for me a little longer…” That apology echoed endlessly in his heart.

And from that day forward, the quiet and ordinary Kole disappeared completely. In his place stood Luca, a man who turned himself into a monster for the sake of power. He volunteered for the deadliest assignments without hesitation. Whenever blood had to be spilled, he moved faster and more decisively than anyone else. Step by step, his name began to spread through Valerino.

People started noticing him. Including Leone. Leone gradually entrusted Luca with increasingly important work, raising his standing within the organization little by little.

But even then, Luca knew it was far from enough. He didn’t just want power. He wanted absolute control. He wanted to stand high enough to crush the entire Knight family beneath his feet.

Then came a major mafia negotiation that changed everything. A traitor inside the organization had secretly sold information to Leone’s enemies. After learning Leone’s movements, the enemy seized an opportunity and attempted to splash him with an unknown chemical.

The moment danger struck, everyone around Leone instinctively backed away. Only Luca moved forward. Without the slightest hesitation, he shielded Leone with his own body.

A horrifying sizzling sound tore through the air as thick white smoke rose violently. The strong acid burned across Luca’s face and throat with brutal cruelty.

I𝗇𝘵𝘦𝗇s𝘦 𝘳om𝖺nce 𝗼𝘯 𝗀𝖺𝗅ոo𝘷𝖾𝗹ѕ.𝘤𝘰𝘮

From that day onward, his appearance became terrifyingly disfigured. Anyone who looked at him for too long felt uneasy. Eventually, he began wearing a cold silver mask at all times. His vocal cords were badly damaged as well. The once normal voice he had was gone forever, replaced only by a rough, hoarse sound that scraped painfully from his throat.

But what he lost earned him something even greater: Leone’s absolute trust. After that incident, Leone officially pulled him into the organization’s inner circle and treated him as a true confidant. More authority was placed in his hands. Missions that had once been beyond his reach were now freely entrusted to him. And Luca grabbed that opportunity tightly. He reshaped himself even further, becoming colder, sharper, and far more dangerous than before.

While serving Leone with unwavering dedication, he also carefully made sure Leone believed one thing completely: that he had devoted his entire life to Valerino and would never betray it.

One evening, after drinking quite a bit, Leone leaned back against the sofa and suddenly asked, “Luca, have you never thought about finding a woman?”

Luca simply shook his head.

Leone looked at him again. “What about family?”

In his rough, damaged voice, Luca answered calmly, “I’m an orphan. No parents. No wife. No children.” After a brief pause, he added, “And there never will be.”

A trace of calculation flickered briefly through Leone’s eyes. Luca understood exactly why he was asking those questions.

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