Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 177

Finally, Luca paused. Dana and I pulled him off, though I knew it was only because he let us.

As soon as Luca was off him, Dana rushed to Alan’s side. Her hands trembled as she helped lift him. “Oh my God…”

Alan looked awful. Blood streaked his face, though I couldn’t even tell where it was coming from....his nose, his mouth, his forehead. It was too much.

I couldn’t look at him. I turned to Luca. He didn’t walk away clean either. His lip was split. His eye was already starting to swell. But compared to Alan… he looked like he’d barely been touched.

Dana screamed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she shouted at Luca. “What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” she added, spinning around to glare at me, at Maria, at the whole room.

Alan tried to calm her. “Dana, stop. I’m fine.”

But Dana wasn’t having it. “What the hell is going on here?! Why did you hit my brother? What the fuck happened?!”

“Okay, everyone just calm down,” Maria tried.

“I’m not calming down!” Dana roared. Her eyes locked on me. “What happened?! Alan heard you screaming, he ran into this house, and now I find him like this. What the hell happened?! Ariana, tell me!”

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. “Look, Dana, let’s just all...”

“Do not tell me to fucking calm down!” she shouted in my face.

“That’s enough,” Maria said sharply, stepping between us before Dana could get closer.

Dana’s face twisted in rage. “Who are you?” she snapped at Luca.

Luca, now calm, now smiling like nothing happened, just stood there. Watching her. Like she was a bug he could crush between his fingers.

For a moment, everything went still again, the room weighed down with tension, thick enough to choke on. Until Dana’s voice cut through the silence.

"I'm talking to you," she snapped.

Luca’s posture shifted almost imperceptibly. The violent fury that had been burning in his body minutes ago began to fade, replaced by something quieter, more familiar. That version of him, the calm, charming man who wore smirks like armour, who concealed everything behind a cool exterior—started slipping back into place.

"And who the fuck are you?" he replied, his voice low and mocking.

Dana stepped forward, squaring her shoulders as her fury zeroed in on him. “You think you're a big guy? You think you're a big, tough guy?” she sneered, eyes flashing with challenge. “Alright, fine. I’m calling the police. Let’s see how tough you are when they get here.”

Her hand moved to her pocket, and I swear the air shifted.

“No!” Alan, Maria, and I all shouted at once.

Dana spun toward us, eyes blazing. “Why not?! Have you seen him? Have you seen your face, Alan?! I am calling the cops right now. This man needs to be in prison. He is going to pay for what he’s done to you. There’s no way he’s walking away from this!”

“Don’t do that,” Maria said urgently, her tone almost pleading.

“Oh yeah?” Dana snapped. “Then watch me.”

She turned back to Luca, lifting her chin like she was challenging him.

“Yeah, why don’t you call them?” Luca said, too calm, too steady, like a volcano smiling before it erupts. “I’d love to tell them how you trespassed into my house, attacked me, and I had to defend myself.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Dana screamed, whirling toward him, betrayed.

“Don’t call the cops,” Alan said calmly, firmly.

Dana gave him a wide-eyed look, like he’d completely lost his mind.

“What? What are you even saying?”

Alan turned his gaze still bleeding, still furious, towards Luca. “Who the fuck are you?” he growled.

I didn’t understand it either. Why was he still against Dana calling the cops? After the state Luca had left him in?

"Who are you?" Alan asked Luca.

Luca didn’t miss a beat. “And who the fuck are you?”

“I’m Ariana’s neighbour,” Alan said. “I live next door. I heard her screaming and I came to help her. I need to know who you are.”

Luca leaned back further in the chair, totally unfazed. “As you can see,” he said with exaggerated patience, “nobody in this room is hurt. Maria’s fine. Ariana’s fine. And the little guy, Leon? Perfectly fine.”

He shrugged casually. “The only people here who got hurt are the trespassers. That’s you. You broke into my house.”

He let that sink in before continuing, voice laced with venomous amusement. “So no, I’m not scared. I’m not disturbed. If you want to call the cops, go ahead. But just know, you kicked the front door down. And I’m pretty sure someone outside saw you do it.”

Then he smiled, slow and smug. “I’d love to see you explain that to the police.”