Chapter 11Stacy°° °° °° °°The pain started as a low, nagging ache, the kind you could almost ignore if you will yourself to, and ignore it I did. But when I stretched and changed positions, the dull throb in my abdomen quickly morphed into something far more sinister. It felt like someone had ignited a bonfire in my lower belly, the flames licking my insides, churning them into a blistering, molten soup. The devilish cramp twisted through me, wrenching an involuntary gasp from my lips, and I shot up in bed, clutching my stomach. Panic surged alongside the pain, a sinking dread filling my chest as I felt something warm and wet beneath me.No. No, no, no.I whipped the duvet off in a frenzied motion, only to stare in horror at the sight beneath me. Blood. So much blood. Spreading like a sinister inkblot across the fabric. Staining Vincenzo’s pristine white sheets.I was furious—no, I was fuming. This was the first time I’d gotten my period in three months, and it had to happen now
Chapter 12Vincenzo°° °° °° °°“How the hell does something bleed so much without dying?”I grumbled the words to myself as I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my tie. The question wasn’t rhetorical. I genuinely couldn’t wrap my head around it. I’ve seen men lose a few pints of blood in a fight, and most of them didn’t make it. But this thing with women was something else entirely. Bleeding like a damn open faucet, yet she’s still there, breathing, talking, making my life hell. I finished adjusting my tie, then I straightened my hair. I was in one of the guest rooms, my frustration mounting with every second as I went over my life choices in the last seventy two hours of my life. The Irish Mob were expecting me today, even though they never responded to my message, and I couldn’t afford to show up late or worse—cancel. They’d sniff out weakness faster than a pack of wolves, and right now, I didn’t need a pack of barbarians breathing down my neck.Not when Tristano’s death
Chapter 13Stacy°° °° °° °°Years of following my dad into these kinds of meetings had trained me to spot the boss from a mile away. In this room filled with four stout men with smart tailored suits, I couldn’t find a single one with that quiet confidence that comes from knowing that everyone else in the room would jump at your command like the one Vincenzo has. None of them even resembled a Clyde Cummiskey.Vincenzo must know that too because he wasn’t being nice to any of the guys who were trying a little too hard to make him believe they were in charge. He simply brushed them off with curt nods and dismissive glances. Well, even if Vincenzo doesn’t know it, I’d made my mind to avoid saying anything that would draw attention to me more than this damn collar and cuffs were already doing. These men might as well carve out my captor’s eyes and hold it up in a stake for all I care. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a guy leaning against the far wall, his gaze fixed on us with
Chapter 14Vincenzo°° °° °° °°This was the kind of place that thrived on secrets and the power of men who operated outside the law—dimly lit corridors with a labyrinth of peeling paint and grime, many exits for emergencies and scattered weapons. I had always found a twisted sense of belonging in these places, a perverse comfort in the shadows. But not right now. Now, I was hunting.I moved through the narrow passage quietly, the scent of dampness clinging to the air, mingling with the acrid stench of gunpowder from the recent firefight. The bastard had escaped through a hidden door—a clever trick, but not clever enough. I had ways of finding people, even in the most rundown and crude places.As I approached the end of the corridor, faint voices and hurried footsteps reached my ears.Good. They hadn’t gotten far.I reached the end of the hallway where the passage split into two. I took the left without hesitation, trusting my instincts. The voices grew louder, more distinct. I cou
Chapter 15Vincenzo °° °° °° °°“Vincenzo,” he drawled, his Irish accent thick, more pronounced now, as if he were savoring every syllable. “You know, I’ve heard a lot about you, Mancini. Crawling between women’s thighs like a fucking snake.” He grinned, flashing teeth that seemed too white for a man of his nature. “You cleaned up nicely, I must confess I could use your charms with women.”I snorted, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. The flame from the match briefly illuminated his face, casting shadows that danced in his eyes. They were sharp, glinting with amusement, as if he found this entire situation entertaining.This fucker’s enjoying himself.I took a deep drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs before blowing it out slowly. The wind, cold and biting, whipped the smoke away into the night, leaving the scent of burning tobacco mingling with the stench of blood and death.“Funny,” I said in an emotionless tone, the words burning my lips. “You must know so much about me, ye
Chapter 16Stacy°° °° °° °°There’s nothing quite like that post-period horniness—a ravenous itch you just can’t scratch, especially when you’re lying in bed with your bones still aching like a 90-year-old grandma who fell down the stairs. It’s been a week since that damn incident with Vincenzo and his Irish bastards, a week since I thought I’d die thrice in the same day, a week since I survived that damn crash— and my body still feels like it was wrung out and left to dry. Aurelio might as well have smirked at me while driving us into that wreck; I’m still convinced the bastard did it on purpose. A little “oops” to keep me in line, silenced and out of the way.Well, mission accomplished. By the time I woke up that day, I was back in Vincenzo’s little slice of hell—a room so perfect it makes me want to scream. The bandage on my head was tight enough to make my brain throb, but what really got under my skin was the collar still around my neck, his name etched into it like I’m som
Chapter 17 Stacy °° °° °° °° “Looking for something, little mouse?” His voice was a low purr, laced with an edge of suspicion. I swallowed hard, slipping my hands into my pockets to hide the trembling. “Just putting away some clothes,” I lied smoothly, but I could almost hear the doubt in the way his eyebrows lifted suspiciously. “What clothes?” “None of your business.” I returned in irritation. “Why, are you afraid I’m going to escape through the fucking closet?” I scoffed, “Then you must have such little faith in your henchmen.” His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, as if he could see straight through the flimsy walls of the closet, straight into the depths of my thoughts and right through the ruse. And for a split second, I wondered if he knew. But instead of pressing further, he merely nodded, a tight smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Alright,” he said, turning away to pour himself a drink. “Finish up your food.” As he moved across the room, I slipped my
Chapter 18 Stacy °° °° °° °° Fifteen minutes after Vincenzo stormed out, I was still holding the note in my hand. I hadn’t moved from where he left me, too stirred up to. My fingers trembled as I felt the crumpled paper seeming to throb with its own kind of energy. A part of me wanted to tear it to shreds, to forget it existed, but the other part—the part that had been desperate for freedom—couldn’t resist. Unfolding it carefully, I scanned the words, my pulse quickening with each line: “Went to much trouble to get this to you, princess. What do you say about a mutually beneficial meeting at the alley tonight?” The words were scrawled hastily, as if the writer had been in a rush, or perhaps afraid of being caught. A mix of excitement and dread swirled within me, but it was quickly shut off by the voice in my mind. This is a trap. “Or it’s just someone genuinely trying to help me.” I countered. Yea, but who would want to? My thoughts immediately jumped to the ch
Chapter 106Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼The villa reeked of her.I never liked her, not even as a kid when she’d parade around in her silk dresses, pretending to play the perfect wife while twisting knives into my father’s back. Hell, she’d never liked anything concerning me either. Maybe that was the one thing we had in common.The men in this place went down like dominoes, pathetic to the last. She always surrounded herself with men who looked the part but crumbled the moment you applied pressure. A quick choke, a snap of the wrist, and they folded. I didn’t bother watching them hit the ground, I was already halfway up the stairs.She was working with the Irish. Against her own blood. Against her own children. And for what? A scrap of power she’d never actually hold? A seat at a table where no one respected her? Revenge on me? It would’ve been laughable if it wasn’t so goddamn infuriating. My men had already fanned out, securing the lower levels of the house. I made my way upstairs with V
Chapter 104Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼He murdered her.The thought circled endlessly in my mind, like a cruel pendulum swinging back and forth, slamming into me every time. He murdered her.I was still sat in that cold, damp cell, my legs still strapped in unforgiving metal chains. My tears had dried hours ago, leaving my cheeks stiff and raw. Nisca’s head rested in my lap, her lifeless body sprawled awkwardly, her once-bright eyes now dull and glassy. My hands were covered in blood, either hers or mine, I wasn’t sure.When Clyde dragged her in last night, limp and wrapped in a sack, I thought I might’ve been hallucinating. It wouldn’t have been the first time my mind played tricks on me. But then they ripped the sack off her head and tossed her at my feet like garbage.“You must be lonely,” Clyde had said, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction. “I brought you a companion.”That companion was Nisca. But it was not the smiling, love sick girl who’d tried to protect us when they barged into
Chapter 104 Vincenzo ⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼ FEW WEEKS AGO Chains dangled from the ceiling, the metallic clang echoing every time Valente twitched, which was often. He was tied to a steel chair, wrists strapped so tightly that blood trickled down his arms in sluggish streams. His face was a mess….swollen, bloody, barely recognizable as human after the first round. I flexed my knuckles, the blood coating them sticky and warm. “You scream like a woman, Valente. Did your mother raise you that way, or is this just your natural state?” “Please,” he gasped, spitting blood onto the floor. One of his teeth clattered to the ground like a broken pearl. “Please, Vincenzo—” “Please?” I crouched in front of him, gripping his chin so tightly his jaw cracked under the pressure. “You think ‘please’ is a magic word? Jesus, what are you, a nun?” He whimpered, his bloodshot eyes darting toward the door like he thought salvation might walk through it. “Let me explain something to you,” I said, my voice dropping
Chapter 103Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼I’d worn cuffs too many times to not recognize the feel of them.The cold air stung my skin as I sat curled on the stone floor, hands trembling despite my effort to steady them. The dim light overhead flickered, barely enough to chase away the suffocating darkness that pressed against the walls of this room. No, it was a cell…my cell. Where the hell am I?Was I hallucinating? Oh yeah, my mind must be playing games, dating back to the time when I was shackled up in that tiny room in Russel’s warehouse, listening to my father scream while Russel took pieces off his skin. I’ve had those before. But why did it feel so real today? I had no idea how long I’d been here. Hours? Days? It was all a blur of rough voices outside the dark, chains scraping against cement when I moved, and the unmistakable sound of Irish men moving around like wolves waiting for the kill. Did Vincenzo capture me again? But Vincenzo is not Irish. Dante? Why would he want me chained up a
Chapter 102 Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼Russel asked Nikolai to babysit me. Well, not technically, but having him follow me around for the last two weeks could be considered babysitting at this point.He thought I was fucked.The chair beneath me groaned, probably in sympathy with my irritation. Meanwhile, Dante sprawled across from me like he owned the damn world, oozing arrogance. And maybe Russel was right, because the only reason the man was still breathing was Nikolai.“You must be losing your touch if it took this long to find me,” Dante drawled, casually reaching for the glass of water in front of him. He was mocking me with every second he wasted. “Perhaps I wasn’t hiding. Did you think of that, Vincenzo?”I didn’t respond.My patience was hanging by a thread. No, not even a thread. It was barely hanging by a single hair. My mind felt like it was on fire, fueled by two weeks of sleepless nights, numerous dead ends, and the glaring absence of activity in my life.I’d gotten too used to t
Chapter 101Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼TWO WEEKS LATERI’d escaped a physical prison only to end up in an emotional hell. There’s something uniquely pathetic about sitting cross-legged on the floor of a shoebox apartment, trying to piece your life back together. And by ‘life,’ I mean the sad collection of my father’s business files Elixir managed to stack away from the Mancinis.I shoved aside a cracked snow globe, its tiny Eiffel Tower missing, and yanked out the next item. A silk tie, flamingo pink. Flamingo. Pink.“Nisca!” I hollered, holding up the offending accessory like it was a dead rat. “What the hell is this?”Her voice floated in from the small kitchen. “Vintage Versace. You’re welcome.”“Vintage or not, it’s hideous.” I dropped it back into the box like it might bite me and leaned back against the wall, staring at the disaster surrounding me. Nisca, my former chief maid and Elixir’s sister, who was two years older than me, strolled into the room, a mug of coffee in one hand and a big
Chapter 100 Vincenzo ⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼ She was gone. Gone. And I felt like the biggest fool alive. I’d woken up this morning, expecting to see her tangled in the sheets beside me, maybe still asleep, looking as sinful as she had the night before when she curled up on my chest. I’d told her—like an idiot—how much I cherished her. How much I couldn’t bear to lose her. She never said it back. But I hadn’t noticed. Not then. The bed was empty, but I hadn’t panicked. Why would I? Stacy liked her showers long, her coffee black, and her hair styled perfectly. I convinced myself she was probably in the bathroom or out on the balcony. I spent the first thirty minutes on the phone with Russel, going over Valente’s latest tantrum. Then I made calls to my men about the shipment in the Englewood warehouse. Approved it. Sent a text. And then decided to join her in the bathroom, maybe drag her back to bed for another round. The bathroom was empty. Still, I hadn’t panicked. Not yet. I’d checked th
Chapter 99Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼I couldn’t sleep a wink. It wasn’t just the sex—though that was seared into my brain like some sort of branding iron. It was the way he’d looked at me after. Vulnerable, almost human. Like maybe, I was no longer the daughter of the man who murdered his mother. And then, of course, he had to ruin it by saying something ridiculous like, “My demons have fallen in love with your darkness.”What was that even supposed to mean? I’d spent the last hour staring at the ceiling, blushing like some lovesick idiot. Me. Blushing. Because of Vincenzo Mancini, the man who once dragged me kicking and screaming into his hell and cuffed me like a prized animal. And he was sleeping so peacefully beside me, nose buried deep in my air like he was taking in oxygen, hand sprawled possessively across my waist. I needed air.Sliding quietly out of bed, I grabbed the bloodied shirt Vincenzo had tossed on the chair earlier—it still smelled like him, damn it—and crept out onto the te
Chapter 98 Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼“We have to spend the night here,” Vincenzo announced as he entered the room, I took one glance at him and noticed how completely out of place he looked. His white shirt was untucked, and the sleeves were rolled up, his hair tousled. “I know,” I muttered, casually slipping off my heels and giving him a quick glance.I’d been waiting in here all evening, I wasn’t exactly thrilled, but I wasn’t about to show it. He’d been busy with the Valente guy and handling Cummiskey related issues before I decided I needed a break myself and opted to wait here. “You’re not mad?” His voice carried that slight uncertainty. And if I wasn’t so aware of the way his jaw tightened when he asked, I might’ve found it endearing.I shot him a look, barely suppressing my frown. “Mad? About what? The fact that I’m stuck in here with you once again? Or just the whole ‘we’re back in this damn room we started in’ situation?”His lips twitched like he was fighting a smile. But his eyes l