American variety show: Sniper Elite

Chapter 85 Homeland
Rome, Italy.

Beta rarely sets foot in Rome, which is Gianna's sphere of influence and the territory that the Antonio family has managed for generations.

As the head of her family and a member of the High Table, Jaina must never allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

To outsiders, she must be an invincible figure, her family her only concern, with no weaknesses to exploit. She must always present herself as ruthless, cold, powerful, and unshakeable family leader, a formidable ruler of the High Table Council.

Because once she reveals a weakness, those hyenas who covet the throne will swarm her, drawn by the scent of blood, and tear her to pieces.

Beta is her only weakness, like the most vulnerable reverse scale of a dragon, hidden deep beside her heart, untouchable, yet she cares about her deeply and is willing to protect her at all costs.

Therefore, Beta always deliberately stayed away from Rome, so that no one with ulterior motives would notice his connection with Jaina.
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Beta's feelings upon returning to his homeland were indescribable, while John's awkwardness was almost palpable on his face.

"So, what exactly happened between you and Jaina?" Beta asked, looking at John's tense face.

John glanced at Beta and remained silent.

Beta began to speculate: "Let me think. You must have had a compelling reason to give the blood pact to someone like Santino. Could it be that your relationship with Jaina has been exposed, and the entire Antonio family is hunting you down? You're desperate and have no choice but to use the blood pact for protection?"

John put down his coffee cup, leaned back in his chair, and looked out at the street: "This is not worth my blood and soul to sign a blood pact."

Beta stared at the coffee cup in thought for a moment, then hesitantly looked up: "Is it because of me?"

John turned his gaze back: "You were born a living, breathing being, how could you possibly hide it?"

"The heiress of the Antonio family secretly pledged her life to an unknown assassin and became pregnant. To make matters worse, the princess of the Italian underground royal family secretly gave birth to the child abroad."

"One is a high-ranking princess, the other a lowly assassin. How do you think a criminal family that controls the entire Italian underworld and has considerable influence in politics would deal with the child of a commoner and a princess?"

John looked down and swirled his coffee cup: "Back then, I wasn't the famous John Wick yet. The title 'Baba Yaga' was still a long way off for me. I was just a rookie who had just finished training."

“The Antonio family has decided to bring you back to train you as their assassin, while they intend to sink me into the Mediterranean and imprison Jaina in the manor forever.”

“If things really develop this way, you’ll be nothing more than an orphan family henchman, I’ll be dead long ago, and Jaina will be trapped in the manor forever, never to see her child again.”

"Imagine: you are licking your wounds alone in a corner, missing your parents whom you have never met, and you may die on a mission at any moment; Jaina looks out the window all day long, worrying about the child who was taken away at birth."

"What do you think of this ending?" John asked in return.

Beta added, "You forgot to mention yourself; you've definitely been swallowed by some shark and ended up in the Pacific Ocean."

John gave him a "Are you serious?" look.

Beta raised his hands in surrender: "Sorry, that was an inappropriate joke. Please continue."

John, whose emotions had been interrupted, took a sip of coffee and regrouped: "It was then that Santino's father, who was also Gianna's father, made a condition that I could not refuse."

"I pledge my blood oath to the Antonio family and take you, my newborn child, away from Italy forever."

Beta suddenly realized: "The Antonio family keeping the blood pact means they have the power of life and death over you, and taking me away forever means keeping me away from the underworld?" John nodded: "That's right."

Beta scoffed, "What a man of your word, a dutiful father. Look at your son, all those muscles honed from killing, he doesn't even blink when he strikes. Aside from my apparent identity as a businessman, what about me doesn't resemble a killer from the underworld?"

He spread his arms wide: "If I were Santino, I would definitely reveal my identity when I was driven to a dead end, so that the whole world would know that the current head of the Antonio family has a son whose father is John Wick."

"What will happen then? Everyone who has a grudge against you, who has a grudge against the Antonio family, and who wants to overthrow the Antonio family will flock here. What do you plan to do? Are we, father and son, going to kill everyone until they dare not come again?"

John looked at him calmly.

Beta was taken aback: "You're not really planning to do that, are you?"

John said calmly, "An unavoidable war has only two outcomes: victory or defeat. If it really comes to that, the only option is to fight to the end, Salong."

Beta leaned back in his chair, looking at John with a serious expression, and remained silent.

John continued, “When Santino appears with the inherited blood pact, your peaceful life will be over. We must be prepared.”

Beta looked out the window, then turned back: "I'm thinking about something else."

"what?"

"I was thinking, this espresso is fucking bitter."

John chuckled softly.

Beta smiled too.

The two fell silent, quietly savoring the fleeting moment of peace.

Outside the window are Italian streets, surrounded by people speaking Italian. Typical Italians always have their hands busy when they talk, making exaggerated gestures that draw various arcs in the air.

Beta turned her gaze from the window to John: "Do you love Helen or Gianna more?"

John stroked the rim of his coffee cup: "That's a really sharp question."

“Yeah,” Beta shrugged. “You’re about to see Jaina. If you don’t understand this, how are you going to face her?”

John fell into thought, his gaze falling on the cold pizza on the table. It was clearly not baked properly; the charred edges looked like they were covered in coal ash, making the once golden and crispy crust look unpleasant.

“I love Jaina, but I owe Helen,” John finally spoke, his voice firm.

“I did a lot of things, especially after Helen died. I killed Vigo and his son for a dog, I was determined to find the love letters in that car, and I watched the videos Helen left behind every day.”

He paused for a moment: "I just want to make it up to her. Although I'm not exactly a good person and my moral standards are obviously questionable, at least I still have normal human emotions and haven't completely turned into a cold-blooded machine."

(End of this chapter)