Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 181

“I don’t know, buddy,” Luca said, his voice soft but firm. “I just came to see you and take you, your mommy, and Aunt Maria on a little road trip, but I can’t stay. I've got work.”

Leon immediately pouted, his little lips trembling.

"But why?"

“When you grow up, when you’re gonna be a big boy like me, a man, you’ll understand. You’re gonna take care of your mom, and to take care of her, you’re going to have to work. You’re gonna have to work hard. Okay, my little man?”

But Leon didn’t take that well.

He just broke. He straight-up started crying.

“Come on, you’re a man,” Luca told him, like that would help, but that only seemed to make Leon angrier.

Leon started screaming right in Luca’s arms, thrashing so much that Luca had to let him go. He dropped to his feet, and I thought, maybe he was going to run away.

But no. He suddenly threw himself on the floor, kicking his legs, his fists pounding, wiggling in the most dramatic tantrum I had ever seen.

“I don’t want to leave!” he shouted over and over.

This was new. This was not my sweet little Leon.

But here he was, wild with heartbreak.

“I’m not leaving! I have my project tomorrow! I’m going to do it with my friends, and I’m not leaving!”

Then his teary, desperate eyes locked on me.

“Mommy, I don’t want to go!” His tiny fists pounded the ground.

“Mommy, I don’t want to go! I want to stay here! I like it here!”

And then… he cried. Big, loud, hopeless cries.

Full on, all by himself, just lying there and crying. I stood there. Frozen. Watching him. My heart broke with every scream, every tear, every pound of his little fists on the floor.

I wanted him to stay. God, how I wanted him to stay. He was building a life here. A good one. A happy one. And he didn’t want to leave that behind.

But I didn’t have the power. I didn’t have a choice. This was the life I was living. This was the cost. And I hated seeing my son like this. I hated all of it.

Luca stood frozen, staring down at Leon’s crumpled form. For a second, his hand twitched, like he might reach for him. But it fell back to his side. Knuckles white.

"Get up, Leon," he said, voice low. "Men don’t cry on the floor."

Leon only cried harder, his face pressed into the wood, shoulders shaking with each ragged sob. "N-not a m-man... D-don’t w-wanna be..."

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. The sound of his pain was a physical thing, scraping against my skin. I took a step forward, instinct screaming to gather him in my arms, to shield him...

"Don’t." Luca’s voice cut through the air, sharp. His eyes locked onto mine. A warning. Absolute. "He needs to learn. Now."

“Learn what, exactly?” My voice shook as I moved toward Leon. “What are you trying to teach him?”

But before I could reach him, Leon scrambled to his feet and ran..not to me, but to Luca. He clung to his leg, face pressed against his jeans.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify