Kimberly POV I woke to a persistent knock on my door. Did I mention I’ve moved out of this room already? Well, now I’m back here again, the only place that feels familiar in this twisted mansion.“Come in,” I said groggily, rubbing my eyes.Enzo entered, casting me a look laced with impatience.“You’ve been sleeping since yesterday, until now?” he asked, his tone dripping with judgement.I sighed, irritation stirring. This guy was really starting to get under my skin.“What—” I began, but he cut me off.“The boss wants to see you. Now,” he said.“The boss? Leonardo’s back? Since when?”“Please come with me,” Enzo replied, pretending he hadn’t heard me. He clearly had no intention of filling me in.I was still in shorts and an oversized T-shirt. Since he hadn’t suggested I change, I took that as permission to stay as I was. If Leonardo didn’t like it, he could blame Enzo, not me.Following his brisk pace, I realised we were heading to a part of the house I’d never seen before. The furt
Kimberly POV I paced the hallway, my mind racing. Was Leonardo serious? Would he actually hurt Lan? I’d been calling him for hours, but he wasn’t picking up. At one point, his phone had been switched off, and my heart leapt into my throat. “Please, Lan, answer me.’Seeing Mario near the entrance, I hurried over. He seemed friendlier than the others, and maybe he’d tell me something I could believe.“Mario,” I called out, my voice laced with nervous energy.He turned and offered a casual smile, as though nothing were wrong. For a second, I was stunned. “Didn’t he just witness a murder? How do they all do it?” “Hey, Kimberly, what’s up?” he asked, seemingly oblivious to my distress.“Kimberly? You okay?” he said again, his brows knitting together.“No, Mario. I need to talk to my brother.” My voice wavered. “Leonardo threatened him earlier, and now I can’t reach Lan.”Mario smiled slightly, but I saw something flicker in his gaze, just for a second. “Leonardo wouldn’t hurt Lan,” he repl
Kimberly POV Enzo soon called to tell me it was time to leave. I was glad I came. It had been a good day already.Luciana clung to my cargo pants as I tried to go. “It’s okay, she’ll come visit another time,” Emily said, trying to coax her daughter. Lucy reluctantly let go, but the tears in her eyes nearly undid me. “Babies—they’re so sweet,” I murmured, bending down to hug her. “You’ll come again, huh?” she whispered, her lip trembling. “Pinky promise,” she said, thrusting her tiny finger toward me. I laughed softly and hooked my pinky around hers. “Pinky promise,” I whispered, meaning it. I already saw family here, even if they weren’t supposed to be mine. Behind me, Enzo cleared his throat. I shot him to look sharp enough to cut glass. I understood their rules—emotions weren’t encouraged. But was he really this heartless? I hissed under my breath and gave Emily a final hug before following him out the door. In the car, I noticed the food flask beside me. Emily had
Kimberly POV I knew I wasn’t supposed to talk to this person, but curiosity got the better of me. At first, I tried to ignore the strange message—some random person offering me help out of nowhere—but something in the words pulled at me. “Help.” The idea of escaping this life, of leaving Leonardo and this sick life behind, was too tempting to resist. So, I opened the message and replied. “Who is this?” I typed. The response came almost instantly, making my heart skip. “Someone who can help you.” Help. The word wrapped around me like a lifeline, and suddenly, I couldn’t let go. Help meant hope. It meant a way out. “How?” I typed quickly, my fingers trembling slightly as I hit send. “I can help you leave that place,” came the reply. My chest tightened, and I sat up straighter on the bed, now wide awake. The weight I carried every day—the helplessness, the suffocation—shifted, just a little. Could this really be the way out? “Help me leave here? How?” There was a pause,
The night before That evening, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as my mind spun in circles. The air in the room felt too thick, pressing down on my chest like a weight I couldn’t escape. The phone beside me glowed faintly in the dark, a reminder that everything I knew was about to change. Sleep teased the edges of my mind, but it refused to stay. My thoughts raced. What if I had gone too far? What if there was no way back? Just as I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, the phone buzzed, sharp and intrusive. I grabbed it with shaky fingers. A message from S. "Just a little push. Tomorrow, everything will change."I swallowed hard, my throat dry. I wanted to believe I'm just not doing the wrong thing.The Next Morning The moment my eyes opened, my hand instinctively reached for my phone. Lately, checking my I*******m has become a reflex—since I met s. Today was no different. I scrolled mindlessly until a message from S appeared, waiting for me like a coiled snake."You'
Kimberly POV A sharp sting jolted me awake, pain searing through my back. I blinked, struggling to piece together what was happening, as the sound of gunshots broke through the haze, bringing me back to reality.“Kimberly.” My name floated through the chaos, barely audible.“Kimberly!” The voice came again, louder this time, unmistakable. Leonardo. I could pick out his voice anywhere.Gritting my teeth, I made a feeble attempt to stand, but it was futile. The stone crumbled instantly under my fingers, tumbling down in a dusty heap. The mansion was nothing but rubble now, reduced to mere debris.Another explosion ripped through the air, and I stumbled back to the ground, clutching my side as pain flared up my spine.I forced myself up again, only to see Leonardo rushing toward me. But a pile of fallen bricks had already risen between us, forming an impassable wall.I couldn’t go out, and he couldn’t get in. All around me, the walls continued to cave, pieces collapsing one after anothe
Leonardo POV I rested my head on the desk, the world around me fading as the conversation with Salvatore played on repeat in my mind. His voice was so clear, full of malice, too alive in my thoughts, and every word was like a fresh reminder that he never left.****** The Day Of The Explosion I was sipping my morning coffee when my phone buzzed. It was an unknown number. I picked it up regardless.Silence hung in the air before a voice cut through it—cold, smooth, and maddeningly familiar.“Hello, Mr. Leonardo,” he greeted.The sound of his voice was enough to make my blood run cold. I gripped the edge of the table, forcing myself to stay calm. “Salvatore.”“Nardo,” he purred, his tone thick with mockery. Only Salvatore called me that, his favourite insult hidden under a thin layer of sarcasm.“So quick to remember me”My teeth clenched, jaw tight. “What do you want?”“Ah, straight to business, as always.” He chuckled—a low, grating sound that made me clench my fist around the coffe
Kimberly POV A week had passed since we relocated to the mansion in the southern part of Spain. It was grand, imposing, just like the previous one. Talking about that, the name of the man responsible for my turmoil had finally reached my ears—Salvatore. The realisation twisted in my gut like a cruel joke.Days earlier, Luca had demanded my I*******m login after my phone was shattered, taking with it the last shred of privacy I clung to.. Together, we scrolled through my exchanges with Salvatore, each line a reminder of my recklessness. Mario and Enzo looked on, their silence heavier than words. Enzo’s gaze, hard with judgement, sliced like a knife.Suddenly, Leonardo rose from his chair, the scrape of wood against marble slicing through the tense silence. He walked over to the bar, pouring himself a glass of wine, his jaw clenched."I'm wondering why you never left," he said quietly, his voice low but laced with accusation.My breath caught. "Left? And go where, Leonardo? You took eve
Kimberley's Pov My heart leapt into my throat. There, in flesh and blood, with a gun clutched in one hand and his eyes locked onto me. My man. He was all I ever could have hoped for. But Lara wasn’t through yet. Not even her doom is glaring. Without hesitation, she moved for me, her fingers closing around my neck and jerking me backward roughly. My knife was still clutched in my fingers, but Lara moved first, her grip tightening around my throat in an unrelenting grasp. “No, no, no, Leonardo,” she sneered, her breath coming in jerky puffs. “You have played your move too soon. I will be the one to conclude it.” She yanked me toward her, using my body as a shield. I struggled to breathe, my chest rising and falling desperately against the tightening grip. My vision blurred, and I felt the sting of tears at the edge of my eyes, not from pain, not yet, at least, but from fear. Leonardo’s gun remained leveled. His eyes glinted, trained on both of us, a deadly tranquility in his
Kimberly’s POVMy heart slammed against my ribs. There he was, my Leonardo standing in the dimly lit warehouse, a gun clutched in his hand, his dark eyes locked onto mine. My man. My savior. My only hope.But Lara wasn’t done. Not even with her downfall staring her in the face.Before I could react, she yanked me backward, her fingers closing around my throat in a vice-like grip. The force sent a sharp jolt of pain down my spine, my breath choking off in my throat. My knife was still in my hand, but she moved too fast, her hold tightening with brutal force.“No, no, no, Leonardo.” She sneered, her breath ragged with fury. “You played your move too soon. I will be the one to finish this.”She jerked me against her, using my body as a human shield.I struggled, my chest rising and falling in desperate gasps. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, my body fighting the suffocating grip. I wasn’t just afraid, I was terrified.Leonardo’s gun never wavered. His face was unreadable, bu
Kimberley's POV.Pain radiated from my wrists, where the ropes had chafed my skin. The moldy, wet environment in the warehouse blistered in my lungs when I struggled to draw a steady breath. The knife was still at my throat, the cold steel pressing hard enough to sting.Lara’s grip about the handle was strong, but it seemed off. She was unbalanced, trembling, and unsteady.She’s unraveling.I’d spent long enough witnessing humans manipulate, deceive, and distort reality to know when an individual was about to lose it. Lara was losing it completely, her sanity, her power, her sense of victory.I just had to push her a little deeper.“You don’t have to do this,” I whispered, putting a tremble in my voice. I had to sound vulnerable. Needed to make Lara believe I'm afraid, because I was, but fear wasn’t the only thing keeping me alive right now. My baby was.Lara let out a faint, humorless laugh. "Sweetie, I don't have to, but I'd prefer to."I swallowed, feeling the press of the knife ag
Leonardo's POV.The moment I stepped out into the cold night, I could sense the weight of it all bearing down upon me. My heart beat in erratic pulses, my blood afire with anger and with fright. This was not just another job; it was about Kimberley—my wife, the mother of my daughter, the woman I loved more than anything.She was out somewhere, in agony, and at the mercy of a lunatic with no qualms about ruining everything I cherished.My team was already in motion, but the distance between us and the abandoned warehouse district felt like an eternity. My mind raced, calculating, strategizing. I had to move quickly, but every second felt like a lifetime.The pounding in my head matched the thudding of my heart."Boss," Enzo interrupted, shaking me out of my trance state. “We’ve got the location. We’re almost there. We’ll storm the place, get in and get her out.”I barely acknowledged him. I kept my eyes trained in one direction and my hands holding onto the wheel even tighter."I’ll ta
Kimberley's POV My nerves weren’t soothed by the faint, fading light above my head. The adrenaline coursing through my veins made my pulse race, and the sweat trickling down my back only added to my sense of urgency. I wasn’t going to give up, not now that there was still a chance to escape. I had to give it my all.The only thing standing between me and freedom was Royce, who stood quietly in the corner, his body stiff and guarded. Lara had gone off to do whatever twisted thing she had planned, leaving me alone with the man who had been both my captor and maybe, just maybe my saviour.Royce’s eyes darted nervously around the room as he sat on a crate a few feet from me. He was a man lost in thought, pondering his next move, uncertainty written all over him.I recognized it. The hesitation. The anxiety. I had to use it. I needed to take this moment, to push him further.With a quiet resolve, I began, my voice gentle but steady. “Royce, I know you don’t want to be here. Your eyes show
Leonardo's POV There was no sound in the safe house. It was silent. Too silent. Seated in my office, my knuckles turned white as I gripped the whiskey in the crystal tumbler. The amber liquid, which had yet to be touched, reflected the faint light from the enormous chandelier above. My thoughts were elsewhere, obviously not in this house or this room. They were with her. Kimberley. My wife. Missing. In danger. Kimberly's parent has called a while ago, doing everything within their power to bring back their daughter. But nothing was coming forth. Well what do I expect when dealing with a psychopath? Nancy had been beating and blaming herself and it's driving me crazier.And now this.I gazed at the plain envelope on my desk, my fingers quivering slightly. Just a simple manila envelope. No address. No labels.I sat there as if my world hadn't just been shattered. Lan had brought it. It was found outside the main gates. The delivery had not been captured on camera. There were no footpr
Kimberley's POV It was cold in the room. Not only from the absence of heat but also from the overwhelming presence of insanity that hung thick in the air. My wrists were raw from the restraints, my body sore from the struggle earlier. But none of that mattered. What mattered was survival. I had to get inside Royce’s head. He looked like he is doing all of these by order and not will.I needed to make him question, doubt, and eventually turn against Lara. Because she wasn’t just unhinged, she was unpredictable. And unpredictable people were the most dangerous.Humming under her breath, Lara sat in the corner, flipping through her sick little scrapbook. I got chills from the sound. She was engrossed in a world she had created for herself in which I was the barrier she had to remove, and Leonardo was hers. After a while, she fell asleep.I needed to act quickly.With his arms folded and his face unreadable, Royce stood close to the door. He was built like a soldier, broad shoulders, a
Leonardo's POV.Sweat, alcohol, and sex filled the underground den. The gloomy shadows on the dirty walls were created by the dim red lights that flickered above. Cigarette smoke thickened the air, and the faint sounds of illegal transactions buzzed around the room.Men such as myself hardly ever entered such a place without making a scene.And I was going to do just that.Closely followed by my men, I forced my way through the heavy steel door. Suspicious eyes darted toward us, and the room’s noise level instantly decreased. Since they were already aware of who I was, I didn’t need to introduce myself.Enzo moved forward first, looking around the throng. Then he barked, “Where’s Aldo?”A couple of customers shifted uneasily and looked toward the rear area. In situations like this, fear outweighed loyalty—even though nobody wanted to be the one to sell out their own.I didn't have patience for games. I strode forward, yanking the nearest man out of his seat. With a yelp, he spilled hi
Kimberley’s POV A dull ache pulsed at the back of my head, pulling me from unconsciousness. My limbs felt sluggish, and my body felt heavy as I forced my eyes open. The tiny, windowless room was filled with unsettling shadows as the faint light above flickered.Panic weighed heavily on my chest. The last thing I could recall was kicking, struggling, and tasting fear as I fought Lara before I was grabbed from behind. Right now, I am in a new and worse place. The air was cold, with a hint of mildew and a hint of metal.This time, my wrists were bound in front of me rather than behind me as I lay on a firm mattress. Even though my ankles were still tied, there was more space than before.And then I heard a sound…light footsteps.I tensed as I looked up suddenly. The light flickered as Lara stood in the doorway. But she was different in some way. She was no longer the smug, controlled woman I had previously met.This was a more dangerous Lara, with her hair disheveled, her pupils blown w