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CHAPTER FORTY FIVE (MATTEO'S POV)
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2025-04-09 08:00:28That evening, we took Eli to a quiet, upscale seafood restaurant.
He didn’t protest. He never did. He moved like a puppet, letting us lead him through the doors, letting us pull out his chair, letting us control everything because he didn’t seem to care. I could tell that Luca didn't like the fact that he was outside. The restaurant was warm, filled with the scent of butter, garlic, and freshly grilled seafood. The low hum of conversation surrounded us, but it felt distant, like white noise, overshadowed by the tension that had been lingering between us for days. Eli sat across from me, staring at his plate with that same blank expression he’d worn since he woke up. It was driving me insane—this silence, this emptiness in his eyes. It was like looking at a ghost. A version of him existed, but Eli—the real Eli—was somewher
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The restaurant is in chaos. Luca is tearing through tables, chairs scraping against the floor as he shoves them aside in his blind desperation to find Eli. A waiter backed up against the wall, his eyes wide with fear as Luca grabbed him by the collar. "Where is he? Where the fuck is he?" The poor man stammered, his face draining of color. "I—I don't know, sir! He went to the restroom and—" Luca throws him aside before he can finish, raking his hands through his already disheveled hair. His breathing was ragged, and his entire body was rigid, he was like a volcano ready to erupt at any second. I can practically feel the heat of his fury radiating off him. My own stomach was twisted in knots, but I couldn’t let my emotions take over. One of us had to think rationally. I turned to the manager next to me who was trembling as he clutched a tablet in his hands. "Security cameras. Now."
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The world felt like it was slipping from my grasp, and I was powerless to stop it. I hated that, I haven't felt this feeling for a long time. It was a nightmare during the day that I couldn't wake up from. Eli was gone. Every muscle in my body was locked, my jaw aching from how hard I was clenching my teeth. I had been in life-or-death situations before. I had stared down a rival who pointed a gun between my eyes, unflinching, I buried men alive, walked away from explosions without flinching. But nothing, nothing had ever made me feel this level of pure, unhinged terror. Eli had vanished. And I had no fucking clue how or why. Matteo and I tore the restaurant apart, questioning every employee, reviewing every second of security footage, demanding answers that no one seemed to have. The cameras were useless—Eli had somehow slipped through the cracks like a goddamn ghost.
Last Updated : 2025-04-10Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT (ELI'S POV)
When I run, I don't run blindly. From the moment I woke up in that suffocating mansion being pressed down by the memories of that dungeon, the weight of their regret and the torment of everything, I knew that I had to run. I was silent, waiting, watching and calculating. Luca and Matteo thought I was broken, and maybe I was, but not in the way they had imagined. I wasn’t a broken doll waiting to be put back together. I was a man who had been trapped too long, who had spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how to break free without ending up dead. So, when Matteo suggested we go out, I saw my chance. The restaurant was perfect—crowded, noisy, full of distractions. It gave me just the opening I needed. I had made out exits from the moment we arrived, but my stomach sank when I checked the bathroom. The moment I stepped into the bathroom, I knew this w
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The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. He opened my door and leaned against the body of the car. I looked between him and the black, tinted car blocking our path. I felt trapped and suffocated. My heart thundered in my eyes as I looked at Don Ricci who had such a calm aura that only a man who was in complete control could possess. He was watching me, his green eyes steady, assessing. There was no urgency in his movements, no aggression—just an unsettling, casual calm, as if kidnapping me off the street was no different than discussing the weather. “Now,” he finally said, voice as smooth as silk. “You have two options.” I forced myself to breathe, my muscles were pulled so tightly I thought I might snap. Ricci continued, his expression unreadable. “You come willingly, and no one gets hurt.”
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The city was drowning the noise of people going about their daily lives but all I could hear was the pounding in my skull. My temples throbbed in sync with my racing heart, a steady rhythm of rage and desperation. We had turned over every rock, checked every corner, tracked down every informant we had, and yet—nothing. It was like Eli had been taken by something we couldn't see. Matteo was doing his best to keep it together, but I saw the cracks forming. He barely spoke, his jaw locked so tight it could snap at any moment. The dark circles under his eyes mirrored my own, evidence of the sleepless nights we’d spent tearing this city apart. We weren’t just looking for Eli. We were hunting. And every second that passed without a lead, the animal in me grew wilder, more uncontrollable. “Anything?” I snapped, pacing in front of Matteo as he got off the phone with one of our guys. My voice was ra
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The room was too quiet. Too luxurious. Too suffocating. I sat on the edge of the silk-covered bed, my fingers curling into a fist on the sheets, trying to ground myself. The chandelier above me cast golden light over the space, but it all felt artificial, like I was in a dollhouse—one where Don Ricci controlled every little piece. The door opened with a soft click. I didn’t look up. I didn’t have to. His presence was unmistakable, a slow-moving deadly force that filled the room, even when he hadn’t said a word. He looks too refined to be a monster. But I knew better. “You haven’t touched your dinner,” Ricci’s voice was soft but it sounded like he was still amused. “What a shame. My chef is world-class.” “I’m not hungry.” “Mm.” He walked closer, and I stiffened when he stopped just in front of me. “That’s a problem. I need you strong, Eli.” The way he said my name—low and seductive—sent an involuntary shi
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It had been a few days since Ricci called, sending me into a rampage. Now, here I was in my office, drowning myself in alcohol as I was on the verge of going mad and this was the only thing keeping me sane. The Sharon sound of a phone ringing pierced through my thoughts making me sigh and run a hand through my hair before picking it up and answering. The moment Ricci’s voice came through the speaker, something inside me snapped. “Eli looks good here, you know. Maybe I should keep him.” My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. Matteo was watching me carefully, his jaw tense, but he didn’t say anything. He knew. He could see the rage pouring out of me in waves. The kind of rage that burned everything in its path. “You’re a dead man, Ricci” I growled into the phone. My voice was low, steady, but filled with a lot of venom that I wished I could flood into his veins,
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The air inside Don Ricci’s estate was suffocating, thick smoke, perfume, wealth and power. The party was a twisted version of the last one I attended, darker, more unhinged.I stood at the edge of the grand hall, watching as people moved around like predators in silk and velvet. Shadows stretched across the room, candlelight flickering over faces filled with secrets. It was a masquerade of pleasure, a place where power wasn’t just spoken of but tasted, felt,l and owned.Masked men and women were involved in a lot of activities around the ballroom that I was both intrigued and disgusted by.The scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey curled in the air, mingling with something more sinister—lust and seduction.And I was standing in the lion’s den, right beside the devil himself.Ricci stood beside me, always close but never touching. Not yet. He let me feel his presence, let it sink under my skin like a slow poison. Every once in a whil
Last Updated : 2025-04-13
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Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY NINE (ELI'S POV)
I never thought I'd be sitting in a living room with Ricci, watching a movie, and actually enjoying it. The atmosphere between us had shifted somehow since the carnival. Gone was the tension, the need for a mask. For once, there was no power play, no constant games. It was just Ricci and me, in the quiet of his grand living room, the glow of the TV lighting up his sharp features.I tried not to think too much about the circumstances that had led me here. If I allowed myself to focus on that, I might find the guilt creeping in, but at this point, I didn’t care. Ricci had been nothing but… well, decent to me in his own strange way. And for a moment, I let myself believe that maybe he wasn’t the monster I had thought he was.“Okay, I have to admit,” I said, my voice light, “this movie is kind of... fun.”Ricci chuckled, his gaze flickering toward me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I told you. I have excellent taste.”I rolled my eyes, but the
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT (MATTEO'S POV)
I reached into the box and pulled out more photos. A dozen. Maybe more, each one more damning than the last. They were all from the same night—Ricci and Eli together at the carnival. Laughing. Holding hands. The way they looked at each other… It was sickening. It was as if Ricci was claiming him in front of the world.Ricci and Eli eating cotton candy. Ricci winning Eli a stupid teddy bear.Each image is more damning than the last.My chest felt tight, a storm building inside me.Then my fingers brushed against something hard, and I grabbed it. It was a small, folded piece of paper with a QR code on it. No hesitation now—I grabbed my phone from the table and scanned it. A video popped up, playing instantlyIt was them.Eli laughing, head thrown back. Ricci beside him, smiling like a schoolboy. They were holding hands, spinning on a ride, sharing a soda, Ricci leaning in to kiss Eli’s cheek like he was something to be cherished. T
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN (MATTEO'S POV)
It had been a long, tense week. The kind that settles like a shadow in the halls of the estate and refuses to lift. Everyone felt it. The guards moved quieter, the servants looked down more, and even Luca—usually too quiet, too reserved—had gone stiller.I was in my study, watching the second hand of the grandfather clock tick painfully slow when there was a knock.The knock on the door was sharp, insistent. My body tensed instinctively, the way it always did when things were about to go south. "Enter," I said coldly, not looking away from the clock.I wasn't in the mood to deal with anything, but when the door creaked open. One of the outer perimeter guards stepped in, clutching something rectangular, wrapped in brown paper with no visible address. I spared him a quick glance and he looked uneasy.From the look on his face I knew it was something that couldn’t wait."Sir... we found this outside the gate.” He stammered.I raised an eyebrow, annoyed but
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY SIX (ELI'S POV)
I wore jeans and a shirt. Nothing fancy. Faded denim and a loose white tee I found folded neatly at the end in a corner of my closet.The idea was simple: disappoint him. Underdress. Ruin whatever plans he had in his polished, twisted mind. Maybe he wanted to parade me around like a trophy or dress me up like a doll.Well, not tonight.I stood in front of the mirror, arms crossed, daring myself to argue. I still looked good, sure. But not Ricci’s type of good. No jewelry. No suit. Just plain, unremarkable Eli.Good.The door creaked open, and I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.I caught his reflection in the mirror instead—Ricci in all black again, slacks that fit too perfectly, a charcoal shirt rolled at the sleeves, and that glint in his eyes like he always knew something I didn’t.He looked me over.A slow, deliberate sweep from head to toe.And then… he smiled.“Perfect,” he murmured, the word thicker than usual. “Come on.”I bli
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE (ELI'S POV)
The feeling of kiss lingered.His soft, warm lips on mine, the taste of whiskey on his tongue, his hot breath on my cheek and his intoxicating cologne.I had come to terms with my sexuality and I knew that Ricci was a dangerously attractive man who seemed to be attracted to me.No matter how hard I tried to shake it off, it kept replaying in my mind like a broken record. Ricci’s lips on mine—firm, slow, unyielding—and the worst part? I kissed him back.My body betrayed me at that moment. The same body that flinched at the sound of Luca’s voice. The same hands that trembled when Matteo tried to touch me. The same heart that once used beat way too loud at the sound of Luca’s footsteps and the sound of Matteo's voice.Now? Now it was quiet. Confused. Still.I leaned against the window, eyes fixed on the large estate grounds outside. It was beautiful, in that eerie, silent way. Perfectly manicured gardens. Endless marble paths. Statues that looked like they had s
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR (DON RICCI'S POV)
The amber liquid in my glass swirled as I tilted it absentmindedly, my gaze fixed on the monitor before me. Eli sat on the edge of his bed, his body tense, his fingers digging into the plush fabric of the sheets. He hadn't moved much since returned there hours ago, after I left him on the balcony. I could see the big storm in his eyes.He was thinking—scheming, perhaps—but there was no escape from me. Not anymore.I took a slow sip of my whiskey, letting the burn settle in my chest as I leaned back in my chair. The dim glow of his bedside lamp in his room could be seen through the monitor as it highlighted the sharp angles of his face, the stubborn tightness of his jaw. Even in captivity, even after everything, he still held onto that defiant fire in his eyes.And fuck, I wanted to break him.Not in the way I broke my enemies. Not with pain or cruelty. No, the need I had for Eli ran far deeper than that, and I hated it almost as much as I swam in
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY THREE (ELI'S POV)
The air inside Don Ricci’s estate was suffocating, thick smoke, perfume, wealth and power. The party was a twisted version of the last one I attended, darker, more unhinged.I stood at the edge of the grand hall, watching as people moved around like predators in silk and velvet. Shadows stretched across the room, candlelight flickering over faces filled with secrets. It was a masquerade of pleasure, a place where power wasn’t just spoken of but tasted, felt,l and owned.Masked men and women were involved in a lot of activities around the ballroom that I was both intrigued and disgusted by.The scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey curled in the air, mingling with something more sinister—lust and seduction.And I was standing in the lion’s den, right beside the devil himself.Ricci stood beside me, always close but never touching. Not yet. He let me feel his presence, let it sink under my skin like a slow poison. Every once in a whil
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY TWO (LUCA'S POV)
It had been a few days since Ricci called, sending me into a rampage. Now, here I was in my office, drowning myself in alcohol as I was on the verge of going mad and this was the only thing keeping me sane. The Sharon sound of a phone ringing pierced through my thoughts making me sigh and run a hand through my hair before picking it up and answering. The moment Ricci’s voice came through the speaker, something inside me snapped. “Eli looks good here, you know. Maybe I should keep him.” My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. Matteo was watching me carefully, his jaw tense, but he didn’t say anything. He knew. He could see the rage pouring out of me in waves. The kind of rage that burned everything in its path. “You’re a dead man, Ricci” I growled into the phone. My voice was low, steady, but filled with a lot of venom that I wished I could flood into his veins,
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER FIFTY ONE (ELI'S POV)
The room was too quiet. Too luxurious. Too suffocating. I sat on the edge of the silk-covered bed, my fingers curling into a fist on the sheets, trying to ground myself. The chandelier above me cast golden light over the space, but it all felt artificial, like I was in a dollhouse—one where Don Ricci controlled every little piece. The door opened with a soft click. I didn’t look up. I didn’t have to. His presence was unmistakable, a slow-moving deadly force that filled the room, even when he hadn’t said a word. He looks too refined to be a monster. But I knew better. “You haven’t touched your dinner,” Ricci’s voice was soft but it sounded like he was still amused. “What a shame. My chef is world-class.” “I’m not hungry.” “Mm.” He walked closer, and I stiffened when he stopped just in front of me. “That’s a problem. I need you strong, Eli.” The way he said my name—low and seductive—sent an involuntary shi
