Page 68 of King of Violence

His eyes narrow at the mention of Felix, but he doesn’t comment on it directly. “And what exactly is your plan now? Let me guess—you want to finish what you started?”

“I do,” I say, sitting up straighter despite the ache in my side. “But there’s a condition.”

His eyebrows lift, the challenge clear in his gaze. “A condition?”

“If Felix and I take the Vitales down, I want out,” I say. “No ties, no strings. You let me leave the family business. Unscathed.”

The room goes silent as the weight of my words hangs in the air.

“And why,” he says slowly, dangerously, “would I agree to that?”

“Because it’s cleaner this way,” I reply. “You’ll still have Elijah. The Vitales will be eliminated, and the Grecos will come out on top. You don’t need me, Dad.”

His lips press into a thin line, but he doesn’t argue. “And how exactly do you plan to make this happen?”

“We use Felix’s research,” I say. “We frame the Vitales for every crime we can. Their smuggling, our money laundering—all of it. We turn the heat on them until they implode.”

His gaze sharpens. “And Felix? What about him? You expect me to let him walk away, too?”

Felix steps forward, his expression calm but unyielding. “I don’t need your permission to walk away,” he says evenly, his voice like steel.

Stefano’s eyes narrow, but before he can respond, I interject. “We’ll make it cleaner. We’ll label Cole as the snitch. He’s already betrayed us, and the Vitales will make sure he’s punished for it.”

“Clever,” my father admits begrudgingly. “But if anything goes wrong?—”

“It won’t,” I say quickly.

“If it does,” he continues, his voice dropping to a growl, “it’s on your head, Julian. And you won’t just answer to me—you’ll answer to every man loyal to this family.”

“Enough!” Felix snaps, stepping in front of me. He towers over my father, his usually soft features hard and unyielding. “If you so much as lay a finger on him, I’ll make you regret it.”

Stefano’s eyes widen slightly—not in fear, but in something close to shock. For a moment, he’s silent, taking in the man standing between us.

“Careful,” he says finally. “You’re not family, boy.”

“No,” Felix replies. “But I’m his. And that’s more than enough.”

The tension in the room is suffocating, but Stefano steps back, his gaze flicking between the two of us. Finally, he turns to Elijah.

“Keep this under control,” he orders. Then, without another word, he walks out.

After Stefano leaves, the weight of the encounter lingers in the room. Felix turns to me, his hands shaking slightly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say softly.

“Yes, I did,” he replies firmly. “You’re worth it, Julian.”

And for the first time, I believe him.

???

I step inside my loft apartment, and the tension from the weeks at the Greco estate melts away.

“God, I missed my house.” I drop my backpack onto the floor and flop onto the couch, ignoring the slight twinge of pain in my ribs.

Felix sets my duffle bag on the kitchen table and grabs a water bottle from the fridge. “Rich boy didn’t like staying at the summer home?” he jokes.

I wiggle deeper into the large couch. “Rich boy likes staying in his own home, with his own security cameras.”

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