Still managing my migraine, which has resulted in a terrible fever. But I’ll see if I can fix up another chapter later today. Please vote and comment. 🤍 Xoxo. 😚
Chapter 76Stacy ⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼By the time we left the boutique, Vito and Luca had to make three trips to the car with bags full of clothes, shoes, baby stuff and accessories.“Now that we’ve got the essentials,” Allesia said with an exaggerated stretch, “let’s go to the mall. It’s a perfect time to really stock up, that house has everything but food in it.” Vito’s hands gripped the steering wheel even tighter, but there was no escaping it. He barely muttered a response, only the occasional grunt of resignation. Luca, ever the silent observer, let his body language do the talking. He looked tense, but that wasn’t going to stop Allesia.We drove for another mile, the city sprawling out in front of us. And then—bam—there it was. A giant billboard plastered with a photo of none other than Allesia Mancini herself.“Ahhh!” Allesia squealed. “That’s me! That’s me! Oh my God, I look amazing!” She was practically vibrating with excitement, and I couldn’t suppress my eye roll. The sound of her voi
Chapter 77Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼The scent of saltwater and diesel hit me first—a deeply unpleasant reminder that I wasn’t in bed where I belonged. Instead, I was standing on the docks at an ungodly hour. Well, maybe not so ungodly if I were following Russel’s logic, but still.The cold wind sliced through my coat and bit at my neck, making me curse every life choice that had led me here.Declan had picked this fucking spot well. Neutral territory, or so he thought. A place where neither side had the upper hand, but I couldn’t care less. Neutrality meant nothing when my brothers and I didn’t play by the same rules as the Irish.Russel walked ahead of me, his posture tense but calm, the perfect diplomat. I knew he’d been rehearsing his speech for hours, carefully piecing together whatever excuses he thought would smooth things over after my little… mishap with Dante’s cargo.Too bad I had no intention of apologizing.“You’re late,” a gravelly voice greeted us as we stepped onto the dock. Th
Chapter 78Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼I hate being played for a fool. The phone nearly slipped from my hand, but I tightened my grip, my body freezing before it erupted with raw fury. “Jesus, Vito,” I dragged a hand down my face, “A fucking mall! She could be anywhere, for fucks sake, she could be halfway across the country by now!” Vito stammered on the other end, his fear palpable even through the static. “She… she slipped away, boss. One minute she was in front of me, and the next—gone.”My blood ran cold, then boiled just as fast. “And you’re telling me this so I can call for you? How long has she been missing?”There was a pause, heavy with hesitation. “About thirty minutes, maybe less. We thought she—”I cut him off, my patience gone. “You thought? You thought wrong, Vito. I don’t pay you to think—I pay you to act. If she isn’t found in the next ten minutes, you’d better hope you disappear too.” Before he could say something else, I added, “Have that fucking mall locked down until I ge
Chapter 79 Stacy ⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼ I’ve had near death encounters in the past, today felt like the worst. The mirror bit into my back, cold and unforgiving, but it was nothing compared to the heat of his body pressed against mine. His hand was tangled in my hair, the sharp pull forcing my head back until my eyes met his in the reflection. “Look at yourself,” Vincenzo growled, his voice low and edged with something primal. “See what you do to me.” His eyes burned into mine, dark and unrelenting, and I hated the way he knew just how that made me feel, my breaths coming quick and shallow. I tried to push against him, to claw back even an inch of control, but his grip tightened, and I froze as the sting shot through my scalp. “Fighting me again?” His smirk twisted cruelly, his other hand sliding up my thigh, dragging the hem of my dress higher. “You don’t learn, do you,? Maybe that’s why I enjoy this so damn much.” I hated him. Hated how he could strip me bare, even when I was fully clothed
Chapter 80Stacy⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼Vincenzo was very mad at me, again. He let Luca drive Allesia, let Vito ride with them, but he insisted I ride with him, and worse, sit in the passenger seat. The disapproving look of anger, disappointment and maybe hatred he constantly gave me was practically a living, breathing thing. He didn’t say a word to me since we left the mall, even through the ride, his brooding silence and the occasional suspicious looks he gave me were as loud as any argument. Not that I cared.Okay, I cared a little.Fine—a lot.But I wasn’t about to let him know that.If Vincenzo suspected I had something up my sleeve—and knowing him, he already did—he wouldn’t rest until he tore apart every thread of my lies. God help me if he demanded the security footage from the mall. If he saw even a glimpse of my meeting with Elixir, it would be over. Not just for me, but for everything I’d been working toward.The man didn’t trust me as far as he could throw me—well, not without a plan
Chapter 81Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼She was fuming, but that served me well. I returned to the sitting room where Vito and Aurelio were waiting once again, their postures stiff. I settled back into the chair, the leather groaning under my weight as I poured myself another glass of whiskey. The warmth slid down my throat, but it did nothing to calm the fire burning through me.My mind stayed in that room upstairs, where Stacy was no doubt pacing like a caged animal, spitting curses that couldn’t touch me. The memory of her glare—sharp enough to flay a man alive—made the corner of my mouth twitch.She wanted to act bold, sauntering around half-dressed like she owned the place. By the time I was done with her, she’d understand that I owned her.Aurelio cleared his throat, snapping me back to the moment. He and Vito sat across from me, the look on their faces confirming that something was very wrong, but they didn’t seem to know how to put it into words. Aurelio’s elbows rested on his knees, hi
Chapter 82 Stacy ⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼ I heard the commotion from inside the room. Vincenzo’s voice was bouncing off the walls, he was furious. Then Marcel’s voice followed, his words were just as biting, matching Vincenzo’s tone, and though I couldn’t make out the details, I heard my name. That was enough to make my chest tighten. “Bring me Stacy.” I heard Vincenzo’s order. My stomach twisted. Had they found out about Elixir? I ran to the hidden corner where I’d tucked the phone Elixir smuggled to me. I retrieved it with trembling hands, fingers fumbling as I tucked it into the lining of my dress. My heart thundered in my ears as several scenarios of the phone falling out in front of Vincenzo played before me, engulfing me with panic. When I heard footsteps approaching, I ran back and took position in front of the door. I wore my best angry girl look and waited. The door swung open, and I braced myself, expecting to see Vito or Luca, maybe even Aurelio, but it wasn’t any of them. It w
Chapter 83Stacy’s POV⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼Driving to the airport in the dead of the night was hell enough. But doing it with a bunch of gangsters who’d sooner throw me into a shallow grave than exchange pleasantries was like being hand-delivered to my executioner. The executioner was sitting right beside me, gripping the steering wheel like he wanted to twist my neck instead.Vincenzo insisted on driving. Of course, he did. Control freak. He hadn’t said a word since after the room episode, didn’t even have to tell me to get into the passenger seat after him, all he had to do was glare at me and I was scrambling inside. Thinking about it now, that unconscious reaction from yours truly pissed me off even more. Every once in a while, I’d catch him flexing his fingers, like he was imagining them wrapped around my throat. He could do that later of course, just not in the kind of way that’d give him the long term satisfaction he wanted. Russel and Allesia were in the car ahead of us, cuddling, I b
Chapter 108Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼Liam traced the location to a place called ‘The Iron Vault’ in Agrigento, though someone should’ve just called it ‘Come Die Here.’“That’s the spot,” Liam’s voice boomed in my ear. I was staring at the location he’d sent while Nikolai was driving us there. “The guards look sloppy, but the trucks? Military-grade. Clyde’s been spending his allowance.”Dante sat off to the side, arms crossed, his expression as cold as stone. “You know this is a trap, right? Clyde doesn’t do subtle.”“Yeah, well, neither do we.” Nikolai said from the driver’s seat.I lowered the tab to my lap and spared a second to glare at him. Russel insisted he come, and he accepted the guy’s offer to help him eliminate his brother, but looking at this guy who had the same face as the guy we were going after had a way of making me want to squeeze his neck.How do we even know it’s not Clyde sitting here?“You’re not coming in there with us.” I told Dante without hesitation.“Why?”“We’ll ne
Chapter 107Vincenzo⟻⟼ ✦ ⟻⟼“The hair does match, but she’s too overdressed, which is unlike her.” The cigar in my hand burned steadily, wisps of smoke curling into the dim air of my study as Vito leaned over the desk, pointing to a grainy photo on my laptop screen. His voice was calm but edged with urgency.“Outside of Palermo,” he said. “We’ve had reports of her moving with a small group of Irish men who were trying a little too hard to blend in. No confirmation yet, but the timing matches. They might be keeping it low, but she’s alive.”I exhaled slowly, and watched the smoke drift toward the ceiling as my mind worked through the implications. Alive. That could mean a lot of things, it could mean I still had to kill her with my own hands. It could mean Russel would find her first and do it anyway. It could mean Dante might get her first and withdraw from whatever agreement we had. Or it could be a direct contradiction to everything Valente told me, which would mean I’d still hav
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