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Chapter 24
Huling Na-update:
2025-02-06 04:09:30
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Bound To The Mafia Chapter 25
ISADORAI felt like I was underwater. Sounds were muffled, my own heartbeat too loud in my ears.Luca’s words kept replaying in my head. Over and over.Your father sold you.I handled it.Alicia betrayed me. She didn’t get far.I had spent months believing Luca had killed his ex-wife, that he was some cold-blooded murderer I had to be careful around. And now? Now he tells me he didn’t do it—he just let it happen.And I believed him.That realization sat heavy in my stomach, twisting into something I didn’t want to name.But my father—my father—that was something else entirely.I always knew he didn’t love me. He barely acknowledged me unless it benefited him. But selling me?That was a different level of sick.I wanted to scream. Break something. Find him and demand to know why. Why I wasn’t even worth basic human decency to him. Why he saw me as something he could trade away.But instead, I had sat there and told Luca I needed to study.It wasn’t a lie. My finals were coming up, and
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-06Bound To The Mafia Chapter 26
LUCAI stood there for a moment, watching her disappear into the building, a part of me wanting to follow her, to keep her close, to shield her from the things she couldn't control. But I knew I couldn't always be the one to carry her weight.Not anymore.I exhaled sharply and ran a hand through my hair. Everything was a mess, and the truth only made it worse. The more I tried to protect her, the more she slipped away from me.I wanted to take control, but she was too smart for that. Too determined. And now she was shutting herself in with her books, pretending that nothing had changed.I could’ve tried to stop her, pulled her back in, but I knew better than that. Let her breathe. Let her have her space.Still, the idea of her confronting her father... It’s a bad idea.I turned back to my car, hands clenched into fists. The Scorpions weren’t just after her because of me—she was a target all on her own now. The moment I saved her from that trafficking ring, I had thrown her into someth
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-07Bound To The Mafia Chapter 27
LUCAI stood there in the doorway, watching her, feeling the weight of every unspoken word between us. She was shutting me out again. I saw it in the way she refused to meet my eyes, the way her hands clutched the notebook like it was some kind of lifeline.But it wasn’t going to fix anything.Her words cut through me, though I knew they weren’t meant to. "You can’t fix everything with a kiss, Luca."The truth was, I never expected to fix everything. But I did think I could make her see that I wasn’t the monster she imagined me to be. I had hoped she would believe me about Alicia. I had hoped that after everything, she would see me.But it wasn’t that simple. It never was.“I’m not trying to fix everything, Isadora,” I said softly, stepping into the room, letting the door close behind me. There was a quiet resignation in my voice, but beneath it, there was something else—something stronger. Something raw. “I’m just trying to be here. For you.”She didn’t answer, and for a long moment,
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-07Bound To The Mafia Chapter 28
LUCAIt had been days since our last conversation, and I could still feel the distance between us. Isadora was closed off, distant, almost unreachable. The more I tried to be there for her, the more she pushed me away. I couldn't blame her for it-not really. But it hurt.Today had been different. She hadn't shut me out. In fact, she had asked for my help.And somehow, that small shift was enough to crack the walls she'd built around herself. Slowly, tentatively, she let me in.We were sitting on the couch in her room, textbooks spread out in front of us, but neither of us was really looking at them. She was fidgeting with the corner of her paper, and I could feel the tension in the air between us.I'd been patient, waiting for her to come to me. But I couldn't ignore it anymore-something had shifted between us, and I didn't want to let it slip away."I'm sorry," she said, her voice soft but sincere. She finally looked up at me, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. "I've just been... so mes
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-07Bound To The Mafia Chapter 29
LUCARafael led me down the hallway, and the urgency in his step matched the tension that had been building since he called out to me. I could feel the weight of something heavy in the air, and as I followed him, the pit in my stomach grew. What the hell was so urgent that it couldn’t wait?We reached the door to one of the secured rooms in the building, and Rafael paused before opening it. The moment he swung the door open, a shock ran through me. There, sitting on a chair in the dimly lit room, was Alicia. Alive. The last person I ever expected to see again.She looked broken—fragile, worn down, and thinner than I remembered. Her hair hung in messy waves around her face, and her once-impeccable appearance was now nothing more than a shadow of what it had been. Her eyes met mine, but there was no warmth there. Just pain and regret.“Alicia,” I muttered, barely able to process it. My chest tightened, and for a moment, I was frozen in place.Rafael stepped forward, his voice low but fi
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-07Bound To The Mafia Chapter 30
LUCAAlicia’s voice was quiet, but the words hit like a gunshot."I don’t remember betraying you, Luca. I don’t… remember any of it."My jaw tightened. “Convenient.”She flinched, but I didn’t give a damn. I wasn’t about to fall for this. Not after everything.Rafael exhaled sharply. “Luca, she’s not lying. She barely remembers anything from the last few years. Just… you.”My stomach twisted. “You expect me to believe that?”“I don’t expect anything,” Alicia cut in, voice hoarse but steady. “I just know that the last thing I remember is loving you. And now I wake up to find out that I betrayed you? That I—” She swallowed hard. “That I died?”I didn’t respond. What the fuck was I supposed to say to that?Rafael folded his arms. “She came here looking for you, not knowing you’d moved out. She thought you were still living at the old house. That says something.”It didn’t. It didn’t mean shit. I’d spent years dragging myself out of the wreckage Alicia left behind. I wasn’t about to let h
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-07Bound To The Mafia Chapter 31
LUCAI should’ve walked out. I should’ve left her sitting there with her ghosts and her excuses. But instead, I stood there, staring at the woman I once called my wife, feeling nothing but the weight of a past I never wanted.Did I love her?No.Not the way a man should love his wife. Not the way I—I clenched my jaw, cutting that thought off before it could finish.Alicia was a duty, an expectation, a business move wrapped in the illusion of something real. She was never mine, not in the ways that mattered. And now, she was just another loose end.Her lip trembled, her gaze searching my face. “Luca, I swear—I don’t remember. But I know I wouldn’t have done that to you.”I let out a humorless laugh. “Wouldn’t you?”She flinched.Rafael shifted beside me, his face unreadable. “The doctor’s almost here. You want me to stay?”I shook my head. “No.” My eyes stayed on Alicia, my voice turning sharp. “You wanted to see me. You got what you wanted. Now you’ll stay here, under my watch, until
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-09Bound To The Mafia Chapter 32
LUCARafael was waiting in my office when I got there, arms crossed, face unreadable.“She asleep?” I asked, grabbing the whiskey from my desk and pouring a glass.He nodded. “Doctor sedated her. Said she’s weak, malnourished. Looks like she’s been through hell.”I took a slow sip, letting the burn settle before answering. “She’s lucky I give a damn.”Rafael let out a low breath, leaning against the desk. “You don’t, though. Not really.”I met his gaze, waiting.“She was dead, Luca. You let yourself believe it because you wanted to.” His voice was calm, measured. “So why does this bother you so much?”I tilted my glass, watching the amber liquid catch the light. “Because someone played me.”That was the real issue. Not Alicia. Not her damn memory loss. But the fact that someone had orchestrated an entire fucking death, left me a body, faked the DNA results, and let me believe the lie.And now, after all these years, she was back.The question wasn’t just how.It was why now?Rafael st
Huling Na-update : 2025-02-10
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Bound To The Mafia Chapter 113
ISADORAThe Next Morning“Peonies or white roses?” Laura asked, holding up the two mood boards like this decision could alter the course of history.I eyed both, pretending to care even though my head wasn’t really in it. My heart was, though—because this wedding? It meant freedom. A promise. A future. Even if the groom walked around with a loaded gun and nightmares carved into his bones.“Peonies,” I said, eventually. “They’re softer.”Laura nodded, scribbling a note. “And the dress fitting is still set for Friday. Your shoes came in yesterday, and we need to finalize the seating chart.”“Luca’s not going to care who sits where,” I muttered.She smirked. “He cares more than he lets on. He told Rafael to make sure your uncle doesn’t sit next to that one cousin you hate.”I blinked. “He knows about that?”“Girl, he knows everything.”I bit back a smile.Maybe he did.Maybe he was listening.Luca and Rafael popped in and out—checking on securi
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 112
ISADORALater That DayI didn’t go back to my room. Couldn’t. I needed clarity, not the suffocating silence of silk sheets and locked doors. So I went to the only place that ever made sense when everything else didn’t—the garden. Luca’s mother’s garden, to be exact. It was a piece of serenity tucked between the chaos, the only place in this mansion that hadn’t been touched by blood or secrets.I walked along the stone path, brushing my fingers against the petals of the roses she used to care for. It was ironic, how something so delicate could survive here, in a place built on violence and power plays. Maybe that’s why I liked it—because it reminded me of what I wanted to be. Soft when I chose to be. Sharp when I needed to be.I sat on the stone bench at the edge of the garden, pulling my knees to my chest, letting the wind carry my thoughts. I didn’t hear him approach—not at first—but I felt it. That same tension in the air. That same storm.Luca.He didn’t say anyt
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 111
ISADORAThe Next MorningI woke to the faint scent of sandalwood and fire.Luca.Even before my eyes opened, I could feel him—his presence thick in the air, like a storm had passed through and left its electricity behind. The sheets beside me were cool, but the echo of him lingered. A ghost of warmth. A shadow of protection. And danger.I sat up slowly, the silk of my nightgown whispering against my skin as I ran a hand through my hair. The mansion was too still. Like it was holding its breath.Or maybe… like he was.The last few days had been a blur of lace, tastings, flower samples, and dress fittings. Smiles that didn’t quite reach my eyes. Laughter that felt like someone else’s. I’d played the part—I always did—but I wasn’t blind.Luca had changed.There was an edge to him now, sharper than usual. Not the possessive, controlling type that gripped my waist too tightly or growled when someone looked at me too long—no, this was colder. Strategic. Distant.
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 110
EMILIO Unknown Location The ice clinked against the side of the glass as I stirred lazily, the amber liquid inside catching the light of the chandelier above. “Status?” I asked, mirroring the same word Morretti was probably spitting into his phone right now. Viktor stood across the room, arms folded, expression sharp. “She was shaken. He’s rattled. Mission accomplished.” A smile tugged at my mouth. “Good.” I rose from the armchair and crossed to the wall of screens, all still frames from different angles—streets, clubs, surveillance feeds. And right in the center, a blurry image of Isadora, caught mid-turn in that little bridal boutique. Fear in her eyes. Vulnerability in her shoulders. It was art. “She didn’t see the blade,” Viktor said. “Just the man. It was enough.” “That was the point,” I murmured. “It was never about hurting her. Not yet. It was about jarring him.” I tapped the screen slowly, the rhythm like a
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 109
LUCAAn Hour LaterI watched her disappear down the hall with a flicker of a smile on her lips. A rare one. One I hadn’t seen in too long.God, I missed that smile.The moment she turned the corner, I was already pulling my phone from my pocket.“Status?” I asked, voice low.Rafael answered on the first ring. “We tracked the van. No plates. Abandoned in Queens. Torched.”Of course it was. “Surveillance?”“Nothing clean. Either they knew the angles or they’ve got someone on the inside feeding them locations.”I let out a breath, slow and steady. My fingers clenched around the glass in my hand, tension humming just beneath my skin.“Pull every camera within a ten-block radius. I want facial recognition run on anyone near that vehicle in the past twenty-four hours.”Rafael was silent for a beat. “Luca, you should tell her what we know. She’s not stupid—”“No,” I cut him off. “She doesn’t need more reasons to lose sleep. Let her plan the damn wedding.”
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 108
LUCAThe Next MorningThe storm inside me hadn’t passed. It had simply settled into a quiet rage, one that hummed beneath my skin like a loaded gun. I stood by the window in my office, watching the sun claw its way up through the skyline, wondering how the hell it had come to this.Emilio. That name was starting to rot in my brain. I should’ve seen him coming. I should’ve anticipated the move, the breach. The moment I saw the fear in Isadora’s eyes, I knew I’d failed. And failure? That’s not something I wear lightly.She was right. She always is when it comes to the things I don’t want to admit. I’d been so obsessed with shielding her, watching her every move, preparing for every threat—except the one that slipped right past us. And she’d seen it clearer than I had: maybe she wasn’t the real target. Maybe I was.But fuck, if I’m the target, then fine. Let them come. I can take it. I’ve taken worse. What I can’t take? Watching her unravel, feeling that grief eating her
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 107
ISADORA “I mean,” I continued, my voice tightening with each word, “what if it’s not me they want? What if they’re after you? What if Emilio’s plan is bigger than just hurting me? Maybe I’m just the distraction.” I saw the shift in him, but it wasn’t shock. It was something else—an understanding. A knowing. “I thought I’d made that clear,” he said, his voice softer now, almost like he was speaking to himself. “You’re always the first to be in danger because they know what you mean to me. But I’ve never thought you were the ultimate target.” My chest tightened at the realization. I wanted to argue, but the truth was, he already knew. He’d already thought of it. He always thought of everything. “You always think about me,” I murmured, my voice cracking slightly, “but you never think about yourself. About what could happen to you.” He stepped closer, but this time there was no anger in his movement. Just an unsettling calm. “You don’t get it, Isador
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 106
ISADORAThe tension in the house was suffocating. Luca hadn’t spoken much since last night, but I could feel his presence—watchful, calculating. He was always in control, but now? Now he was something else entirely. A storm waiting to break.I sat in the library, pretending to read while my mind ran in circles. Emilio. The name had latched onto my thoughts, sinking its claws in, refusing to let go. He had sent someone to me. He had found me. I was supposed to be safe under Luca’s protection, yet a stranger had slipped past his security like it was nothing.A sharp knock at the door made me jump.Laura stepped in, eyes scanning me carefully before shutting the door behind her. “You okay?”I sighed, closing the book I wasn’t actually reading. “I don’t know.”She sat on the armrest of my chair, crossing her arms. “Luca is losing his mind over this.”I snorted. “Yeah, I gathered that much.”“Have you spoken to him?”I shook my head. “Not since last night. He ju
Bound To The Mafia Chapter 105
LUCAThe moment Marco left, I poured myself a drink, but it did nothing to settle the fire burning in my chest. My mind was already running through every possibility, every name that could be responsible for this betrayal.A fucking mole.Someone close. Someone who had access. Someone who knew too much.I needed to be careful. If I made the wrong move, they’d spook, and we’d lose our one chance to track this bastard back to Emilio.My fingers flexed around the glass before I tossed back the whiskey, the burn doing nothing to temper my rage.I pulled out my phone again and dialed Bianca.She answered on the first ring.“Luca.”“Where are you?” I asked, skipping the pleasantries.There was a pause, then, “My office.”“Stay there. I’m coming.”I didn’t wait for her response before I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.---BIANCA’S OFFICEBianca looked up as I stormed in, her eyes narrowing at my expression. “This isn’t a social visit
