CHAPTER 54: THE LINE I CROSSED

Chapter 54

JACE MARINO

When we reached the mansion, the place was already awake. Lights everywhere. Guards moving around like someone died. It was still early, the kind of early where the sky is gray and dead. Marco parked right in front because none of us cared about rules right now. We got out without speaking. The air felt heavy, like something was waiting inside to punch us in the face.

Our father waited in the study. The door was already open when we got there. He was standing behind his desk, papers spread out like a crime scene. He didn’t sit. He didn’t greet us. He just stared at us the way he does when he wants blood.

Marco walked in first. "We came the second you called."

Father lifted a stack of papers and slammed them on the desk. "Did you think the fire was the problem? Did you think that was the end? Because this is worse."

Mateo stepped closer. "What is that?"

"Read," Father said.

My stomach tightened as I walked to the desk. The top paper had Takeda’s seal on it. The moment I saw that, I felt everything inside me start to shift.

I picked it up. The first lines were simple and direct.

Takeda saying that if I couldn’t even "bend one woman," then I was useless to him. That he should never have trusted the Marino family to handle something as basic as controlling a bride. The words were clean, not dressed up. They didn’t need to be. The disrespect was right there in the open.

Behind me, Marco cursed under his breath. Mateo moved to look over my shoulder.

I kept reading.

Takeda said he was planning to cut the deal our father was building with the Russians. The same deal that took months to negotiate, the same deal that would push our influence into new ground. He said he wouldn’t move forward unless his daughter was properly married into the family. And now that she had run away, he saw it as disrespect. A slap in his face.

He also said he stood to gain from the Russian deal. Which was why he sent Aiko in the first place. A marriage like a trade. A woman like a business object. Nothing new in our world, but seeing it written down made it feel even uglier.

Then the next page. A USB drive taped to the top corner. Father ripped it off, shoved it into the TV setup in the room, and the video popped up.

Me and Julian.

The inside footage from the party. The bathroom. The kiss. The way I held him. The way he held onto me like I meant something to him. My own private moment turned into a weapon.

Marco swore again. Mateo just froze.

Takeda’s note continued on the screen. He said if I could not be reached, then Julian could. That the Marino family should remember how many people the Yakuza had in this country. That the boy was "soft" and "easy to break."

My chest tightened in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. Not fear but something worse.

Father turned the TV off and looked at me. His face was calm, but not the good kind of calm. The kind where a storm waits right behind the eyes.

"He is threatening our name," Father said. "Threatening me. Threatening my business. Threatening everything I built."

"He’s threatening Julian," I said.

Father didn’t react to that.

"And," he continued, "he claims Enzo is planning something. That he has been moving in silence, and this marriage was also meant to strengthen our influence because of Enzo’s games."

Marco stepped forward. "So Takeda knew what was going on this whole time."

"He knew everything," Father said. "And now he’s blaming us."

Mateo looked at me. "This is because Aiko ran away."

"No," I said. "This is because Takeda thinks he owns her."

Father picked up another paper. It was another message from Takeda. This one said he’d burn our businesses to the ground if he didn’t get what he wanted.

"So far," Father said, "he is keeping his word."

He didn’t have to say the club fire was connected. We all knew.

I didn’t say anything. My hands were in fists without me realizing.

Father stepped around the desk and stood in front of me. "I told you already. This is your mess. You were supposed to keep her under control. You were supposed to play the role. You couldn’t even do that."

I looked up at him. "I’m not your puppet."

"You are what I made you," he said.

Not anymore.

"Takeda crossed a line," Father continued. "We need to fix this before the Russians back out. Before our men start losing faith. Before this turns into a war we cannot afford."

"So," Marco said, "what’s the plan?"

Father looked at me again. "He wants you. The husband. The groom. The dutiful son. The one who keeps our alliances strong. I need you to step into that role without mistakes."

I shook my head slowly. "No."

Father straightened a little. "What did you say?"

"I said no."

I could feel my brothers holding their breath. No one ever said no to him. Not to his face. Not like that.

Father walked closer. "You do not get to refuse me."

"I do," I said. "I’m done."

His jaw tightened. "Do not push me, Ettore."

Oh he thinks I’m going to bend because of that name.

"You pushed me first," I said. "Every day you tried to turn me into you. You want the beast you created. Fine. You can have him. But not like this."

Father’s eyes narrowed. "You think you can talk to me this way because you fell for some boy?"

I stepped forward until we were face to face. "That boy is mine. And Takeda threatened him. So no, I’m not doing things your way anymore."

"Jace," Mateo said behind me, "calm down."

"I am calm," I said, even though I wasn’t. "This is the calmest version of me he’s getting."

Father didn’t move back. "You forget yourself."

"No," I said. "I finally remember."

I leaned in closer. "You want me here? Then stay out of my way. Stop trying to control everything I do. Stop messing with Julian. Stop telling me how to play my life. You want the son who can destroy people? You want the one who can protect your business? Then let me do it my way."

Father didn’t blink. Not once.

"And if you try to do anything that doesn’t favor me," I said, "you better be ready, because I will not hesitate. I will kill you."

The room went dead silent.

Marco grabbed the back of a chair like he needed something to hold onto. Father’s eyes stayed locked on mine.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his hand. He didn’t throw anything.

He just breathed out once.

"So that’s the man you choose to be."

"That’s the man you built," I said.

Father stepped back and sat down, slow and controlled. "Fine. Handle Takeda. And if you fail—"

"I won’t," I said.

"You think you can force the Russians to stay at the table?"

"I know how to talk to them better than you," I said. "I know what they want. I know what they fear. I’ll make sure the deal goes through."

"And Aiko?"

"I’ll bring her back," I said. "On my terms."

Father didn’t argue.

Marco looked between us like he wasn’t sure if he was witnessing the start of a war or the end of one.

Father leaned back in his chair. "Then go. Since you think you can do better than me."

"I don’t think," I said. "I know."

I turned to leave. Marco followed. Mateo took a second but then rushed after us.

We stepped out of the study and started down the hallway. My heartbeat was loud in my ears. Not from fear. From clarity. Something inside me had snapped into place.

Marco finally spoke. "You just told Father you’d kill him."

"I meant it," I said.

Mateo walked beside me, trying to catch his breath. "You’re not thinking straight. You can’t go to war with Takeda alone. You can’t pull the Russians in your direction alone. You can’t fight Father on top of that."

"Watch me," I said.

We reached the entrance hall. The guards stared at us. Not because we looked dangerous, but because they felt the shift. Everyone in that house felt it.

Marco grabbed my arm before I walked out. "What are you planning?"

"I’m done being the good son," I said. "Takeda threatened Julian. He shouldn’t have done that."

Marco’s eyes widened. "Jace. Be smart."

"I am smart."

"But this isn’t you," he said.

"It is now."

I stepped outside and took a breath of cold morning air.

The world felt different. Bigger and sharper. Like every choice from this point would matter in a way nothing ever did before.

I took out my phone.

Julian’s name on my screen felt like a pulse. A reason.

I finally bought a normal mobile phone.

Takeda thinks he can scare me. He thinks Julian is an easy target. He thinks using my heart against me will break me.

But he doesn’t understand. I don’t break.

I destroy.