Giuseppe's eyes snapped open but he was greeted by darkness. He immediately realized that some sort of fabric covered his face. He tested his legs and arms and found them secured by metal shackles. The older man also noticed that he had been divested of his shirt and pants. Fortunately, he was still wearing boxers. His mind was cloudy from whatever drug his assailants had used to knock him out. Giuseppe had no way of knowing how long he had been unconscious. However, his current location was the more pressing matter. He had made hundreds of enemies over the years. Any one of those men could have chosen to make a move since he was on the outs with his family. Damon had been trying to keep the rift quiet but there was chatter in the underworld. Criminals had a tendency to gossip like women if the news was juicy enough.
He would never admit this to another living soul, but Giuseppe knew this fiasco was his fault. Somehow, he had followed his father's example without even trying. The natural order of things was for the son to succeed his father. Giuseppe had known that Damon was ready to lead their family. However, the notion of retiring made him feel empty inside. He had thought about walking away from the business in the past. Giuseppe figured he and Sheila would get on a yacht and travel around the world in their golden years. Unfortunately, cancer had other plans. Once she died, he didn't know what to do with himself. A better man would have leaned on his family and lived for them. Only Giuseppe had been an abusive son of a bitch and he knew it. His brothers and sons hated him. He could see that loathing in their eyes in unguarded moments. Sometimes Giuseppe wondered if his father had seen the same look in his eyes years ago.
Giuseppe knew that his family despised him. They saw him as a demon. The boys all blamed him for the flaws in their character and their shitty lives. He wouldn't deny playing a part but they held some responsibility, too. Giuseppe didn't go around blaming Domenico for all his bad decisions. Alaric and Zacharias had placed a halo atop their deceased father's head. However, they were merely babes when he killed Domenico. They only knew him via hazy childhood memories and grandiose stories told by their biased uncles. On the other hand, Giuseppe had thirty-two arduous years to familiarize himself with the man. If they believed Giuseppe was a demon then surely Domenico was Lucifer himself.
He sat up straight in the chair when he heard a metal door open. Giuseppe listened carefully and counted at least three people enter the room—maybe more. He knew five men had descended on him at Mai's place. His assailants had hit the massage parlor with the precision of an elite military team. Giuseppe barely had a spare moment to reach for his gun before a couple hundred thousand volts of electricity had incapacitated him. He was lucky that he hadn't gone into cardiac arrest. Giuseppe's cardiologist had diagnosed him with coronary heart disease back in May. He had rejected his doctor's recommendation of a double bypass. Giuseppe would have been practically helpless during the six-week recovery period. He couldn't afford to appear weak to his enemies-those outside and inside his family.
Giuseppe realized immediately that something about all this was suspicious. His brain was finally firing on all cylinders again. Someone that didn't know about his heart condition probably would have killed him accidentally by using a stun gun with a higher voltage. The team that had descended on him had accounted for his heart condition. They used the stun gun to incapacitate him temporarily. Then they used a powerful sedative of some kind to render him unconscious. That new information narrowed down his suspect pool greatly. His medical condition was a closely guarded secret but HIPAA was no match for money and threats of violence.
He was also curious as to why these people had chosen to keep him alive. Surely, his enemies would see the benefit of killing him swiftly and disposing of the body. Rumors of the rift with Damon were circulating but he was still the boy's father. Moreover, he was still a member of the Salvatore organization. A rival group murdering him would be cause for reprisals—if only for appearance sake. No rival organization would want their fingerprints on his death. Damon would have to make an example of them. If Giuseppe was alive, it meant that his death wasn't on the agenda or this was the work of amateurs. However, the execution of his kidnapping disproved the idea of amateurism. No, he was alive because someone wanted something from him. He could work with that. Sheila always called Giuseppe a 'silver tongued devil' because he could convince people to do things not in their interest.
The older man braced himself when he heard someone stop in front of him. He could smell bourbon and cigar smoke through the fabric of the hood. One moment darkness surrounded him and the next he was blinded by a harsh fluorescent light. Giuseppe blinked rapidly in an attempt to make his eyes adjust to the swift change in brightness. He was curious about who was brazen enough to kidnap Giuseppe Salvatore. The man was a legend because of the 1980's mob war. He made the streets run red with the blood of his enemies, with Mikael's help, and confiscated their territory. However, the most impressive feat had been maintaining control of that far-reaching territory for thirty years.
Damon stepped in front of his father wearing a truly terrifying smirk. He saw a flash of fear in the older man's eyes. The look of fear was quickly replaced with something resembling cockiness. However, Damon wasn't fooled by his father's bravado. The old man had to know that he wasn't going to leave this room alive. Damon's horrific childhood was seared onto his brain like a cattle brand. No matter how happy he was, the darkness was never far behind him. He intended to pay Giuseppe back for every second of pain he had ever caused anyone in the family. Fortunately, his father had taught him how to torture a prisoner for days without killing him. There was a power that came from holding a man at the brink until he begged for death. Damon planned to make Giuseppe grovel at his feet.
The mob boss' threats died on his tongue as he realized that his own family was responsible for his abduction. He had hoped to strike against Damon first. It was the whole reason that he enlisted Jacob's crew to smuggle him back into the country. However, finding a hole in Damon's security had proved impossible. Giuseppe had decided to hide out in San Diego while he waited for his son to let down his guard. However, he should have known better. Damon was his carbon copy even if the boy refused to admit it. Neither of them would ever make the mistake of becoming complacent, because it was the easiest way to wind up dead. Damon had only apprehended him tonight because he had decided to stay somewhere suitable for Victor. Mai had been looking after the toddler for him. Giuseppe wasn't delusional enough to believe himself capable of caring for a child. He had raised four boys but he had the help of nannies and tutors.
Giuseppe looked around the room and his expression dimmed even further when he recognized his location. The bastard had brought him to his own killing room. This was the place where he had taught his brothers and Damon what it meant to be soldiers for the family. Giuseppe had never been more proud of his eldest son than the moment he slit Frankie's throat at 14-years-old. Damon hadn't vomited like Zach did during his first kill. He certainly didn't shed a tear as Alaric had done a decade earlier. His son…his heir had only asked who would get rid of the body. Giuseppe knew in that moment that he could shape his son into a cutthroat leader.
His eyes moved around the room until they fell onto Alaric, Zacharias, and Stefan. The men stood against the back wall watching their prisoner with obvious satisfaction. Even squeamish Stefan looked as if he was eager to collect his pound of flesh. Giuseppe was surprised to see his middle son in the room. Damon had fought his father on numerous occasions to protect Stefan from this life. He had never wanted his younger brother dragged into the dark depths of their business. Alaric and Zacharias had backed him all the way. They all looked at Stefan as their salvation but it was only because they ignored what was so obvious to Giuseppe. His son was a cauldron of bubbling rage. One day Stefan would prove that none of them was capable of escaping their fate. Salvatore men were born to be butchers.
He asked, "What now? Are the four of you going to kill me? You don't have the balls! None of you have the balls to kill me! You all owe everything to me. You owe me your very lives!"
Damon sat down in front of Giuseppe and stared at the older man for a moment in silence. He wanted to absorb the uneasiness in his eyes and the tense way he held his body. This wasn't the man that had terrorized his family for over 30 years. He wasn't the man that had attacked Bonnie just a month ago to provoke his son. For once in Giuseppe's miserable life, he no longer had the upper hand. It was thrilling.
Finally, he smiled and shook his head. "A quick death is not a mercy that you have earned. No, I think that you should die slowly, painfully, and with much screaming. Only when we have all had our fill of your suffering will I allow you the courtesy of begging for death."
Giuseppe hadn't expected anything less from his eldest son. However, the silent agreement from everyone else shocked him. He said, "I understand Damon's desire to kill me. I harmed his wife and it is a husband's duty to exact revenge. Although, I think he is more interested in taking my place as the head of the family. Don't think I didn't find out about your little trip to Milazzo, son. My traitorous uncles sided with you over me. What I don't understand is what do the rest of you have to gain from my death? Are you truly ready to follow Damon?"
Ric smiled at his older brother and said, "It is simple, we hate you, Gio. We have always hated you. We would have done this sooner if getting rid of you wasn't so damn complicated. You are a psychopath but people have respected you as a trustworthy leader. We have all eaten well with you at the head of our table."
Zach shook his head. "They respected you as a leader until you cut down their sons and grandsons to avoid your just desserts. Your own cousin brought you to us."
He tensed. "Who are you talking about?"
"Senior tracked you down. He probably would have steered clear of this entire mess if you hadn't nearly killed his grandson. Lucky was part of the team that you slaughtered in France."
Stefan added, "He is recovering nicely from smoke inhalation…if you care at all."
Giuseppe's jaw might have dropped if he wasn't trying to save face. He couldn't believe that Robbie had turned on him. They might have been third cousins but they had always been close. It wasn't as if he had targeted Lucky. The boy was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He swallowed the hurtful betrayal and pressed forward. "And killing me now is less complicated somehow? I still have allies in this family. They will rise up and rebel if you kill me now."
"You overestimate your importance and likability, Gio. That has always been your problem," Zach said in a scathing tone.
Alaric replied, "Besides, Damon is finally old enough to take his rightful place as your heir. He has the respect and the loyalty of our people on both sides of the Atlantic. Damon has also secured the support of our two greatest allies John Benedetto and Elijah Mikaelson. However, the pièce de résistance is the fact that you murdered our father and Zacharias' mother. The highest-ranking members of our organization know the truth now and they support Damon wholeheartedly. There will be no backlash. You will be forgotten as soon as your funeral ends."
"Memorial," Stefan quipped. "We're having you cremated. Damon thought it was only proper to dump your ashes in the same place where you killed our grandfather."
Giuseppe's blood ran cold as he looked at their faces. They knew the truth but he couldn't understand how that was even possible. "You would listen to these lies about the man who raised you all? Who has put this nonsense into your heads?"
Zach chuckled coldly. "Come on, Gio. You are a better liar than that, brother. Take it from the top, this time...with more feeling."
"It is no secret that I hated him. He tortured my mother until she took her own life. But I would have never struck down the man that gave me life…only a faithless animal would do such a thing," he replied with a blatant jab at Damon.
Damon chuckled at his father's pathetic attempt to shame him. He had killed men for far less and he slept like a baby.
Stefan blinked in confusion. "I thought that our grandmother died of an aneurysm."
"She did. He's just trying to garner sympathy," Zach replied.
"I don't want your sympathy. I am only interested in educating you all."
Ric growled, "You will not sit here and spew lies about our father. You murdered him because you are a greedy soulless psychopath. Do not try to paint yourself as the victim, brother."
He laughed deeply. "You all prostrate yourselves in the memory of a man you did not know. My mother tried to commit suicide three times to escape her hellacious marriage. The third time was the charm. She slit her wrists in the bathtub. I found her there, clinging to life and she begged me to let her die. She couldn't bear to live another day under his iron fist. It pained me more than you all will ever know but I left her there for the maids to find. He wanted to save face. Domenico Salvatore couldn't have the public knowing that his wife committed suicide. He had our family physician lie on the paperwork."
Stefan swallowed thickly. His thoughts went to Lilly, Sheila, Abby, Jo, and Bonnie. The women involved with their family suffered in so many ways.
Giuseppe saw the expression on his son's face. "He tortured my mother simply because she loved another."
Damon didn't know if his father was telling the truth. He didn't really care. Damon was only a year old when Domenico was murdered. He didn't have any emotional attachment to the man. Frankly, his grandfather's death was merely a means to an end. However, he had to take control of the situation because he could see the wheels turning in his uncles' heads. They could sort out their daddy issues on their own time.
He pulled out his phone and said, "That was a compelling story. However, I have a better one. It's about a man that hated his father so much that he killed him, his mistress, a pilot, a copilot, a flight attendant, and three loyal soldiers. He blew them all to smithereens with a bomb he had planted in the cargo hold."
Sheila: Come to be bed, Gio. You aren't going to figure out anything else tonight.
Giuseppe: I am tired of him dangling what is rightfully mine over my head! Hasn't he cost me enough? My mother died from his neglect. He forced me to give up the only woman I have ever loved. You lost our child because of him, Sheila. He made me marry Lilly, a simple-minded woman without a single interesting thing to say. Now he wants to send me to Milazzo for the next five years. He's only doing it to keep us apart.
Sheila: He is set in his ways, Gio. But he's right. Too many would lose respect for you if I ever became more than your mistress. This world is still too intolerant for you to marry a Black woman. And you can't prove that he arranged for the mugging that caused my miscarriage.
Giuseppe: You see a harmless old man with antiquated views but he is a monster. I don't need proof of his crimes. I need him dead.
Sheila: Bite your tongue. To kill your father is to condemn yourself to hell.
Giuseppe: My sweet innocent, Uccellino. Always trying to save my soul. Don't you know I am already condemned? I have more blood on my hands than you can imagine.
Sheila: You can be forgiven if you repent for the others. But there can be no forgiveness for killing the one that gave you life. Don't do this, Gio. If you kill your father, it will make you as dark hearted as he is. Don't let him stain your soul. Do you not want to reunite with our baby one day?
Giuseppe: Will you still love me even if I have already been condemned?
Sheila: What have you done, Giuseppe?
Giuseppe: I only did what needed to be done. The wheels have already been set in motion. A bomb has been planted on board his plane. It will explode over the Atlantic. I hope that the coast guard never finds his body. May the stronzo burn in hell. Do you still love me, Uccellino?
Sheila: Always, Gio. I will always love you. And I will pray for your soul.
Giuseppe: Do not pray for me. It is Domenico that requires your prayers because he is about to meet his maker.
Sheila: Then I will pray for you both.
Giuseppe stared in disbelief as his last lifeline seemingly slipped away from him. Damon didn't need to fear retribution because no one would stand for him. His actions sparked a war that cost many men their freedom or their lives. He couldn't even pretend that the ensuing mob war had been an unintended consequence. We wanted the war so that he could grab more territory from their enemies. However, he was perhaps most heartbroken that the love of his life had betrayed him from the grave.
He remained silent for a beat. Then he sneered and asked, "Let me guess, that little bitch gave you the recording."
Damon stood up and backhanded Giuseppe with all of his strength. "That's right. Show us your true colors. You can no longer pretend that Bonnie is the goddaughter that you love so much. She is just as expendable as the rest of us are to you. Sheila knew exactly what sort of man you were and she gave Bonnie the means to protect herself. I think there is something poetic about you being the architect of your own undoing. Bonnie might have continued to sit on this recording if you hadn't attacked her like a deranged deviant."
Giuseppe flashed his blood stained teeth as he laughed at his eldest son. He said, "Take a good look at me, because this is going to be you one day, son. One day your little wife is going to decide that you have outlived your usefulness. Maybe she will just tire of you fucking every slut that smiles at you. I can't imagine that she enjoys you making her look like an idiot. She has moved out of the house already. Either way one day it will be you cuffed to a chair waiting for your son to end your life at her behest."
His father's words hit a little too close to home. He sneered, "That will never happen because I am not an abusive freak like you! Do you know how afraid the women in this family are of you? Jo is so terrified that she won't even leave the girls alone while they're in the manor. She worries that one day you will turn your sick attention onto them. Bonnie and Caroline have the same fears for Sarah and Bella. What kind of fucking degenerate is so soulless that even his flesh and blood isn't safe from him?"
The smile fell from his face as Damon's words sunk into his psyche. They couldn't truly believe that he would rape his own nieces or God forbid his granddaughters. He looked at the faces of the boys he had raised and saw the condemnation. "I would never…"
Damon screamed, "You tried to rape Bonnie and you helped raise her! She is your goddaughter. You used to sing her to sleep when she had nightmares. Tell me how she is different from Josie, Lizzie, Bella, or Sarah! It wasn't enough that you beat Bonnie black and blue. No, you wanted to take something else from her. You wanted her to know her place. You wanted to make it so I would never touch her again."
Giuseppe swallowed thickly because he didn't think that Bonnie would tell Damon everything that happened. Sheila had raised her in the old ways. It was shameful to speak of such things. However, it seemed that the girl was set on orchestrating his death. "I was drunk and I lost control. It would have never happened if I was sober, Damon. Besides, she provoked me. If Bonnie would have just kept her fucking mouth shut..."
"That's always your go to excuse, isn't it? You do horrendous fucking things to the people that you are supposed to love and then you blame alcohol. I am a fucking alcoholic, too. I even had a fairly serious coke problem for a time and I have never hurt a woman the way that you have. It is not in my character. I am an asshole but I am not an abuser. You just rip people apart and you don't give a damn about the wreckage that you leave behind. Katherine is so afraid of you that I missed six years of my daughter's life. I can never get that back!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked in genuine confusion.
"Come off it, Giuseppe. I know that you raped Katherine. Bonnie actually got her to come clean about what you did. I have a daughter with Katherine. Her name is Nadia. I only met her last week because of you. Do you see what you have done to this family? You have ruined us all but I will not let you do the same to our children," he bellowed.
He laughed bitterly and stared at his son. He said, "Everything you have is because of me, even the little bitch that is goading you to kill me! You have no idea who that girl actually is. She's not the sweet little girl that you watched grow up, Damon. She is as dangerous as they come. It is not a coincidence that my consigliere died the same night that Bonnie just happened to be at the same club. Freddy went missing right after you brought Bonnie home from Shadow Hills. No one has heard from him. Tripp died in a freak car accident."
Damon rolled his eyes dramatically. "Don't be this pathetic. Take your death with some sort of honor. You have earned everything that is about to happen to you. Bonnie didn't goad me to kill you. She thought that I could just make you retire. She only wanted you to go away so that she and Sarah would be safe."
"How did I raise you to be such a fucking idiot? She is playing you. I can guarantee that she never wanted me to retire. She gave you that recording because she wanted me dead. She gave you the last piece of the puzzle so that no one could challenge you! What kind of girl do you think a woman like Sheila raised? She is dangerous and you are only safe while she still loves you. Listen to me now and believe me later, Damon. She is not who you think she is. Just ask Alaric about her sweet little mother."
Damon glanced at his uncle and saw an uneasy expression on his face. "What is he talking about, Zio? What does any of this have to do with Abby?"
Alaric's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't like where this conversation was headed. Damon and Bonnie's relationship had enough problems without Giuseppe stirring the pot. He said, "He's talking bullshit to get into your head, Damon. Don't let him manipulate you this way."
He could tell that his uncle was holding something back. He said, "Maybe but you look as if he might have struck a chord."
The older man heaved a sigh because Damon wasn't going to move forward without an explanation. "Sheila planned for Abby to be her successor one day. She raised her in many of the same ways that Giuseppe raised us."
"What the fuck does that mean?" he asked warily.
Zach sighed and shook his head. Nothing good would come from exploring this line of questioning. However, he understood Damon's curiosity. Since they returned from Milazzo, his nephew had learned that he knew only segments of Bonnie's life and personality. She was a mystery to him and Giuseppe was offering answers even if he was a dubious source.
Ric frowned because he didn't like the way that Giuseppe was playing Damon. The boy already had problems with his wife. This would only make those problems worse. He would see shadows where there were none.
He said, "Abby learned how to kill, interrogate, and torture just like we did. Abby has done the occasional job for Big John over the years. Her life on the road made her a good assassin. Drop a body in Munich and move on to Warsaw with the tour the next night. She and I were supposed to be married. I made some mistakes and she refused. Sheila relented on the issue mostly because she didn't think that Abby possessed the desire to sacrifice for the good of the family. She pinned her hopes on future grandchildren and then along came Bonnie. I don't know much about how she was raised. You know that Abby wasn't very involved in her upbringing."
All he heard was white noise for a few minutes as he processed that. He was taken back to the moment where Bonnie told him that she planned to take over the smuggling operation. Hell, she had been intercepting all the reports on the business that he sent to Big John. He slowly sat down in the chair as his mind worked out pieces to a puzzle that hadn't really fit before now. He had watched Bonnie grow into the woman he married four years ago. Yet she was a stranger to him.
Giuseppe grinned. "Now you're thinking! Do you really think that everyone is loyal to you? The smuggling operation is still filled with people that have been loyal to the Benedetto family for decades. Sheila, her mother, and her grandmother believed in recruiting within families. Think about all the time Sheila spent with me. Do you really think she didn't establish a foothold in our organization? I mean I never cared because Sheila was the love of my life. I would have given her anything. I would have done anything for her. I did do anything for her. Do you know how many people I slaughtered in the 80's and 90's so that she could expand her business to the East Coast? I killed my own father so that he wouldn't separate us by sending me to Milazzo."
Damon's mind flitted from one idea to the next. Could his bunny be as devious and calculating as Sheila had been? A month ago, he would have dismissed all of this but he had seen too many cracks in his wife's facade. He couldn't begin to imagine all the things she hid from him.
Stefan said, "You can't believe anything coming out of his mouth. He knows that he's dead no matter what so he is just trying to get into your head now. We have known Bonnie her whole life. She is no killer, Damon. She is one of the sweetest people that I know and she loves you."
Zach said, "Stefan is right, Damon. If Bonnie wanted Giuseppe dead all along, she could have told Big John what happened. John would have killed Giuseppe without a second thought. They would have gone to war with us if we objected. She is a good kid. She stayed married to you after Gio attacked her. Most women would have run for the hills. She only left because you kept seeing Katherine."
"I know that Giuseppe is trying to manipulate me but it doesn't mean that he's wrong. Bonnie knows things about me that she shouldn't know. She knows about all of the women I have been seeing. She knows them by name. She knew that we stopped in Tenerife before going to Milazzo. Even if family connections let her know when we didn't arrive…she had no way of knowing where we stopped first. I don't believe Abby's story about finding out where the plane landed. For weeks now, I have wondered what other information Sheila gave Bonnie. Is it all on Giuseppe or does she have files on the rest of us, too? I have been kicking this can down the road until we killed the bastard but I have questions-a lot of them."
Ric pushed himself off the wall and walked over to his nephew. "Then you sit down and talk to your wife. I love you, kid, but you haven't actually tried to get to know her. You only know surface facts about her and that's on you. I have seen Bonnie change since she has been married to you. It reminds me of Abby. The sweet loving girl that I fell for disappeared because of my misbehavior and because of Rudy. She ran away from me for years, Damon. It took her years to forgive me and it still isn't the same as it once was. I don't know if it will ever be. Look at where Giuseppe is right now. Sheila served him up to us on a platter. We are talking about a woman he loved but she turned on him because of how he treated her. The stories Abby could you tell about the two of them would make you sick. Decide if you want to be married to Bonnie or if you want to call it quits. You need to decide before she decides for you. Either way don't let his asshole push you into doing something reckless."
Damon stared at his uncle for a long moment before he nodded. He said, "You are right. I said that I would ask Bonnie to have a joint session with Dr. Correa. I am going to stick with that. She's my wife and the mother of my children no matter what comes of this."
Zach nodded in approval. "Attaboy, nipote."
He looked at Zach and said, "I think you should get the first crack at him, Zio. He killed both of your parents. You can take as much time as you want with him."
Giuseppe deflated when he realized that he hadn't bought himself any more time. He had helped grow the seeds of doubt already planted in Damon's mind but it wouldn't benefit him.
Damon's argument with Bonnie was still fresh in his mind and Giuseppe was his number one suspect. However, his earlier reaction suggested that he would be reluctant to admit he raped Bonnie. Apparently, he did possess a modicum of shame. Damon planned to keep his father alive for a few days. He would pose his questions when Giuseppe's spirit was broken. It was the only way he would ever get the truth out of him. He had a few hours to think after Senior dropped off Victor and his father. They had to wait for the ketamine to wear off. Damon kept focusing on Bonnie's words. He was convinced that she wasn't accusing him of rape. Damon believed that she meant he sometimes reminded her of the person that hurt her. He found very little relief in that theory.
Zach walked over to a metal table and considered what implement he wanted to use. He picked up a cloth roll containing a variety of scalpels. Then he walked over to his older brother while wearing a serene expression. "I was always so grateful that you didn't let me go into foster care. I forgave the abuse because you raised me as one of your own. You never treated me different than you did Damon and Stefan. I felt like I was one of your boys. Now I know that you were the one that made me an orphan. Our old man was a son of a bitch but he never hit us. He never even raised his voice at us. I will never know how he raised you to be such a monster."
"Do you want me to apologize for killing your whore of a mother?" he spat angrily.
He shook his head as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. Then he donned a heavy plastic apron. Zach said, "No, I know guilt and remorse are foreign concepts for you. I just wanted to say my peace. Now I am going to enjoy myself. I focus on Velocita so much that I rarely have an opportunity to get my hands dirty. I miss doing wet work for the family on occasion. This should keep me satisfied for awhile."
Ric watched his younger brother with a cautious eye. He was concerned that Zach would snap and kill Giuseppe too soon. Learning the truth about Cecilia's death had taken a toll on him.
Zach spread the cloth roll out on a nearby table and studied the array of scalpels. After a few minutes, he chose a titanium scalpel. Zach took a deep breath and said, "I'm really going to enjoy this. Hit the music, Stef."
Stefan started the playlist and the Wu-Tang Clan's song C.R.E.A.M. started playing.
Zach rolled his shoulders and began methodically cutting Giuseppe's arm. Each cut was perhaps two inches in length but they were deep. He repeated the process until literally a hundred or so cuts covered both of Giuseppe's arms and his chest. Blood dripped from the wounds and flowed into a nearby drain.
Periodically, Damon glanced over at his younger brother. He didn't know what to expect. However, Stefan seemed to be viewing the proceedings clinically.
After nearly an hour, Giuseppe was shaking from the pain. A fine sheet of sweat covered his body. Lacerations covered nearly every inch of his exposed skin.
Zach set the scalpel aside and smiled at his brother. "Do you remember when you taught me how to do this, Gio?"
"You were always a good student," he bit out.
"True. I always wanted to make you proud. You also told me that it was important to improve on the techniques that you taught me," he said.
Zach walked over to the table and returned wearing a pair of rubber gloves and goggles. He also had a spray bottle in his hands. He began spraying the liquid onto the lacerations covering Giuseppe.
Ric lifted an eyebrow. "What is that?"
He smiled darkly and replied, "Distilled capsaicin…."
The older man started to scream as the burning sensation overwhelmed him. He bucked in the chair trying to get free but it was useless. He was handcuffed and shackled to the metal chair that was bolted to the floor.
Damon lit a cigar and sat down across the room. He murmured, "Like music to my ears…."