Chapter 998:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

She was a mother now. That child had become a part of her world, another chain tying her to the life she lived. The tenderness in her eyes as she held her son was something Kole had never seen before. It was soft, warm, and filled with a love no one else could replace. At that moment, he finally understood something cruel: his dream of “saving” her had always been nothing more than wishful thinking, a fantasy he refused to let go of.

If he went back now, he wouldn’t be rescuing her at all. He would only tear apart her peaceful life and drag trouble to her doorstep.

That very night, Kole quietly slipped the ticket back to Zhatwell beneath his pillow. His plan to return was postponed indefinitely.

And so he remained in that unfamiliar country, a place where even communicating with the locals felt like climbing a mountain barefoot. As if trying to destroy himself little by little, he deliberately sought out the quickest ways to earn money and the most dangerous jobs possible. Somewhere deep down, he thought perhaps dying miserably in some forgotten alley one day might finally bring him peace.

The place he visited most often was the city’s underground fighting arena. It was chaos disguised as entertainment. The rules were savage. Violence ruled everything. Rich elites, gamblers, and criminals gathered there every night, intoxicated by the thrill of watching men beat each other to the brink of death. Before entering the ring, every fighter had to sign an agreement accepting the possibility of dying during the match. Deaths happened often, and the club took no responsibility for any of them.

Kole quickly became well-known there. His fighting skills were ruthless, precise, and terrifyingly efficient. Combined with the fearlessness in his eyes, he soon climbed to the top and became the arena’s undefeated champion.

Naturally, someone important began paying attention to him.

One evening, after another brutal victory, Kole stepped down from the ring with blood still dripping from the corner of his face when the owner summoned him to the office upstairs. That was when he learned the underground arena belonged to a mafia organization known as Valerino. And the man who had taken interest in him was the organization’s leader himself, Leone Capozzi.

Leone leaned back against the leather sofa, a cigar resting between his fingers. Smoke curled through the dimly lit room as his sharp eyes studied Kole carefully. “What is your name?” he asked.

Kole lowered his gaze and slowly shook his head. “I don’t have one anymore.” His voice was empty, almost lifeless. “I already died once. Back home, they probably all believe I’m dead.”

Leone took another drag from his cigar before exhaling calmly. Then he said, “From today onward, you belong to Valerino.” He paused briefly. “Your name is Luca.”

𝗗i𝘴𝗰𝗈𝗏𝗲𝗋 ոе𝘄 𝘴to𝘳𝗶𝖾𝘴 𝗈𝗻 𝗴аlո𝘰v𝘦𝗅ѕ.с𝗼m

During his early years in the organization, Luca was assigned the lowest and most exhausting jobs imaginable. Standing guard outside doors through freezing nights. Following behind senior members while carrying their cases. Cleaning up small scenes no one else wanted to deal with.

Valerino was one of the most feared mafia families in the world back then. It had countless members. Whether one person existed or disappeared hardly mattered.

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