Undressed By The Mafia God-Chapter 176: I Am A Petty Man

Did he repulse her that much?

His gaze drifted back to Luca.

Kneeling like this, about to be torn apart by their father—

Luciano Genovese still looked like the man everyone chose.

Julian’s eyes flicked back to Don. He watched the older man.

Tried to understand what he had spent years pretending not to notice.

That quiet, unwavering approval.

It didn’t make sense.

How could punishment—how could pain—earn pride?

Unless...

Unless it wasn’t the suffering that mattered.

It was how Luca wore it.

Luca was owning this and it wasn’t even fun for Julian to watch.

Julian shifted in his chair, irritation gnawing through the fog of medication. "What are we waiting for?" he asked impatiently.

Don simply stood, hands still clasped behind his back, gaze fixed on Luca’s exposed back. "A guest," Don answered calmly. "Don’t worry. You’ll get your pound of flesh."

Luca looked... composed. His head was slightly bowed, dark hair falling just enough to shadow his expression, but there was no tension in his shoulders. No visible fear.

Just that quiet, infuriating stillness.

The sound of wheels approaching reached them.

Veronica was being wheeled into the yard, confusion written plainly across her face, her eyes darting around as she tried to make sense of the scene unfolding before her.

She looked out of place.

Don stepped forward. "Welcome, Zuccherino!" he said warmly.

"That’s not for you to call me," Veronica spat. "What am I doing here?"

Don smiled. "Your boyfriend is about to be punished for shooting his brother and hurting his wife," he said. "And you... are going to watch."

Veronica blinked, the meaning catching up with her all at once. "What? What? Is this because of what I said to you?"

Don tilted his head slightly, amused. "I am a petty man." Don turned then, his attention shifting to the man holding the whip. "You may begin."

Vee’s jaw clenched. Her fingers dug into the arms of the wheelchair as the first lash struck Luca’s back, the whip’s coarse leather biting into his skin, leaving a fresh, angry red mark that spread across his taut muscles. Watching Luca—her Luca—take such punishment, kneeling in the dirt made her blood run cold.

The second lash fell, slashing across the other side of his back, and then the third, faster, harder. Each strike made her flinch. She tried to rise from the chair, tried to move closer, to do something, anything to stop the punishment, but her body betrayed her. The bandages on her thigh tightened, a reminder that she was helpless here, pinned by her own weakness, by circumstances outside her control.

"How many?!" Vee shouted.

"Fifty!" Don answered.

Vee’s chest heaved violently. "God fucking dammit!" she yelled, swinging her legs weakly. The wheelchair wobbled beneath her as she fell to the ground. Her hands scraped against the cold stone beneath her as she attempted to crawl forward, trying to reach him.

"Marco, please stop this!" she cried.

Marco was about to move to help her up but Don held a hand, rooting him to the spot.

Another lash came down, deeper this time, tearing a stripe of blood across Luca’s skin. He collapsed forward slightly under the intensity of the blows.

"Luca!" Vee screamed, her hands clawing at the ground as she tried to propel herself forward. Pain radiated from her legs, but she ignored it, crawling toward him with every ounce of energy she could muster. She had to reach him.

"Please...please...please...stop this!" Vee sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Luca’s panic flared as he heard her voice grow closer. He twisted his head, trying to catch sight of her. "Stay there!" he snapped.

Veronica’s tears streamed freely as she reached Luca, her trembling hands cupping his face, feeling the heat radiating from the welts across his back. Each breath she took was ragged. She shook her head violently, whispering his name: "Luca... Luca..."

The whipping paused as she shielded him with her body. Her hands pressed against his cheeks, as if she could erase the pain.

"I’m fine," Luca said through clenched teeth. "I’ve done this a hundred times." He tried to speak lightly, to diffuse her panic. He felt her shaking against him, felt the desperation in her hands and the trembling of her body as it pressed to his own.

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry..." She pressed her forehead against his. "I shouldn’t have walked into your office that day. I shouldn’t have... I should have just dropped the pizza and—"

"Hey, hey, love," Luca murmured, trying to soothe her.

"No! No! Look what I’m doing to you..." Her fingers trembled against the wet, darkening skin, and tears fell freely onto his shoulders, sizzling with the heat of his injuries.

"It’s not you... It’s never you," Luca insisted. "Vee... it’s never your fault." He reached with his bound hands, trying to capture her wrist in a gentle grip.

"Just... just apologize!" she begged, shaking her head.

"Not happening."

Tears blurred her vision as she faced Julian, her body trembling from exertion and panic. "Please! Please! You win! I’m sorry! He’s sorry! I’ll do anything you want, just... just make it stop, please..."

Julian’s eyes glinted with cold satisfaction.

And Luca, despite the burning agony across his back, the ropes biting into his wrists, the sting of each lash, could feel her heart beating against his own. He leaned into her, and in that moment, he realised there was no love greater than what he felt for her. Each sob, each apology, each quivering plea reinforced the inescapable truth of what they were: two souls bound together, in love and in darkness, standing on the precipice of pain and obsession, watching and surviving it together.

Julian’s face remained an impassive mask.

Don gave a small nod to Marco. "Take her away," he ordered. The flogging must continue.

Then Don turned, eyes narrowing as he regarded Julian. "I wonder...would you have asked me to stop if it were Bianca kneeling there, begging?"

Julian held his father’s gaze. "Do you...want to stop?"

(Brought to you by Janelle Fox)

(Apologies that everything took too long today. Had a meeting with Pocketfm. They are considering signing me on as one of their authors for audio and visual stories It took a while cause I had to understand a lot of things. I haven’t made a decision yet. I still have to speak with other authors who have worked with them.

And guess which book caught their attention? Just guess)