The weight of everything crashed over me in relentless waves. Theo was gone. Someone close to us had betrayed us. And Levi was on the brink of something dangerous. I watched him from across the room as he stood by the window, his fingers curled into fists at his sides, his entire body coiled with tension. His shoulders were stiff, his breathing slow and controlled, but I knew him. I knew what was simmering just beneath the surface. He was barely holding on. Theo had been more than his second-in-command. He had been a brother in every way that mattered. Loyal, ruthless when needed, and completely devoted to the empire Levi had built. And now he was dead, executed like he had meant nothing. The silence in the room was suffocating. I had barely said a word since we found the video. I did not know what to say. I wanted to scream, to break something, to hunt down the people who had done this and make them suffer. But the betrayal gnawed at me like a festering wound. Someone in ou
Pain ripped through my skull as I came back to consciousness, my body heavy and sluggish. My head pounded like a drum, and the acrid scent of smoke clung to my clothes. I was moving. No—I was being moved. Rough hands gripped my arms, dragging me forward. My boots scraped against the ground, my muscles refusing to cooperate, but I forced my eyes open. The world was spinning. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. Concrete walls. A dimly lit corridor. The unmistakable scent of mildew and blood. I was underground. Panic flared through me, but I crushed it down. Panicking would get me nowhere. I needed to think. I needed to act. I let my body go slack, pretending to still be unconscious. The grip on my arms did not loosen. Whoever these men were, they were professionals. Not the Rossettis’ usual muscle. These were trained operatives. That meant I did not have time. I cracked my eyes open just enough to take in my surroundings. Three men. Two holding me up, one leading the way
The world blurred at the edges, my body swaying as I forced myself to keep moving. Every step sent a fresh jolt of pain through my side, but I bit down hard, refusing to let weakness win. I had made it out. I was free. I just had to keep going. Dark streets stretched before me, empty and cold. The city lights glowed in the distance, a reminder that I was still too far away. I had no phone. No way to call for help. No idea how much time had passed since I had been taken. But Levi would find me. He had to. My knees threatened to buckle, but I locked them, pushing forward. My breathing was uneven, shallow. Blood loss was catching up to me, making my limbs feel heavy, my thoughts slow. A distant roar filled the night. At first, I thought it was the pounding in my head. Then headlights cut through the darkness, an engine snarling as tires screeched against pavement. A black SUV sped toward me, moving so fast I barely had time to react before it jerked to a violent stop. The
Levi paced the length of the study, the tension rolling off him in waves. The weight of what had happened was pressing down on both of us, but instead of retreating, instead of licking our wounds and waiting for the next strike, we were going to end this. No more playing defense. No more waiting for them to come for us. I sat at the large mahogany desk, sifting through financial reports, shell company records, and offshore accounts tied to the Rossettis. We had spent the past few hours gathering every piece of information our network could scrape together. Now, we had to figure out the best way to use it. Levi stopped pacing and leaned over the desk, bracing his hands against the surface. His eyes were sharp, calculating. “Their money is their power,” he said, his voice low but filled with deadly certainty. “If we strip them of that, they start to crumble.” I nodded, scanning the documents in front of me. “They have holdings in real estate, clubs, and offshore accounts. But th
I arrived at the meeting spot with my pulse steady but my instincts on high alert. The warehouse was abandoned, rust coating the steel beams overhead, the air thick with dust and something rotten. A single overhead light flickered, casting long, eerie shadows. It was the kind of place where people disappeared, and I had no doubt that was the intention. I had insisted on going alone despite Levi’s arguments. He wanted me to wait, to let him vet the situation, but time was not on our side. If this informant had real intel, something we could use to finish the Rossettis for good, I needed to hear it firsthand. The man waiting for me was tall and broad, his face partially hidden in the dim light. He was nervous, shifting from foot to foot as I approached. “You came alone?” he asked, his voice rough, thick with a northern accent. I did not answer. I just stopped a few feet away, watching him. If he was looking for confirmation, he would have to work harder than that. He exhaled s
I sat in Levi’s office, watching as he paced back and forth, his mind already ten steps ahead, strategizing, plotting. He had been like this since the moment we got back, his focus shifting entirely to retaliation. He had barely spoken since I told him what the Rossettis had said. That this was only the beginning. That they knew about the baby. His silence was a dangerous thing. It meant he was thinking, calculating, deciding who would die first. I leaned back in my chair, stretching my sore muscles. “So what is the plan?” Levi finally stopped pacing and turned to me, his dark eyes sharp and unreadable. “You are staying here.” I exhaled through my nose, already shaking my head. “Try again.” “Eliana.” His tone was hard, unforgiving. “They are coming for you. They are coming for our child. I am not letting you put yourself in the middle of this.” I stood, my chair scraping against the hardwood. “You do not get to decide that.” He stepped closer, his hands clenching into fi
I had spent years believing Nathan was dead. Years wondering what had happened to the boy I once loved, the one who had been my safe place when the world turned on me. Nathan had been kind, steady, the kind of person who made you believe that there was still good in the world. Now, he was standing in front of me, very much alive, but there was no kindness in his eyes. It was like looking at a ghost, but not one that haunted me. No, this ghost had sharp edges and a hardened expression, a version of Nathan I had never known. I kept my stance firm, my hands loose at my sides, ready for whatever this was going to be. “You’re not dead,” I said, my voice even. Nathan smirked, but it was cold. “Neither are you. Though I heard people tried.” I ignored the jab. “You’re working with the Rossettis.” Nathan exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Something inside me twisted, but I didn’t let it show. “They kill people for fun,” I
I sat across from Levi in his office, the tension between us thick with unspoken words. The message from Mr. Rossetti sat on the table between us, a challenge wrapped in the pretense of diplomacy. He wanted a meeting, alone, but we both knew that walking into his game on his terms would be a mistake. Levi leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. His jaw was tight, his eyes sharp as he stared at the message. “He thinks we’re desperate,” I said finally. “He thinks he has the upper hand,” Levi corrected. I nodded. “So we flip the board.” Levi’s lips curled into a slow, dangerous smirk. “I was hoping you’d say that.” We had spent too much time reacting, waiting for the next move. That ended now. *** We chose the location carefully. An abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city, one we had secured weeks ago when we first started preparing for this war. It was rigged with cameras, escape routes, and more firepower than any of the Rossettis would expe
Years had passed since the day we fought for freedom, for peace, and for the life we have now. The life we had dreamed of for so long but never dared to imagine in the depth of our darkest days.Our home was no longer a symbol of chaos or fear—it was a sanctuary. The walls that once echoed with tension now hummed with the laughter of our children and the soft murmur of conversations that held no weight of the past. It was a place of peace, of love, of family.Levi stood by the window, looking out over the vast grounds of our estate. The sun was setting, casting a warm, golden light over everything. He had always been the protector, the one who looked out for everyone, but now, as I watched him from behind, I saw the shift. The years had softened him in ways I hadn't expected. His gaze, once sharp and filled with purpose, now held a quiet w
We stood together, the weight of the world no longer pressing down on us. For the first time in what felt like forever, I could finally see the horizon ahead—clear, unobstructed, and full of promise. The past had been a storm, one we’d weathered with everything we had, but now the skies were calm, the air sweet with the scent of new beginnings.Levi’s hand found mine, his fingers wrapping around mine with that familiar, comforting strength. We had come so far, from the darkness of a life we never asked for, to this—this quiet, peaceful moment where everything felt right. We had built a life together, piece by piece, through the pain and the loss, through every challenge that had come our way. And now, we were free.I looked down at our son, sleeping peacefully in Levi’s arms, his tiny chest rising and falling with every breath. He was a symbol of everything we had fought for, everything we had dreamed of. He was our future, and that
The world had changed for us. For the first time in a long while, I could breathe without the weight of the past suffocating me. Levi and I, side by side, were finally at peace. The endless battles, the constant fight for survival, all of it felt like it was behind us. There was no more running, no more hiding. We had built something together, something we never thought we’d have: a life that was free of fear, full of hope, and, most importantly, full of love.I watched Levi as he stood by the window, his hands resting lightly on the sill. The evening sun bathed him in a warm golden light, casting long shadows across the room. His face, once hardened by years of war and loss, now wore a calmness that I hadn’t thought possible. There were lines on his face, yes, but they were no longer lines of anger or sorrow. They were lines of experience, of wisdom. He had lived through so much, and yet, now, in this quiet moment, he was at peace. We both were.I leaned a
Levi held the envelope in his hands, his fingers tracing the edges of it as if unsure whether to open it. The silence was heavy between us, each of us waiting for him to make the first move. I could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on me. I had never expected to find myself in this situation, not with Levi’s mother standing before us, and certainly not with her holding something that could change everything. The tension was palpable, and for a moment, it felt like the room itself was holding its breath.I glanced at Levi, who was still staring down at the envelope, his jaw tense, his mind clearly processing everything. It wasn’t just the content of the letter that he was contemplating; it was the years of abandonment, of unanswered questions, of the emptiness that his mother had left in his life. No matter how much he tried to shield himself from it, the truth about her absence, the reason why she had walked away all those years ago, was something that
The days after our vow renewal passed in a peaceful blur. For the first time in what felt like forever, there were no enemies at the gates, no secrets threatening to tear us apart. There was only the present—the quiet, intimate moments we shared as a family. Levi and I spent hours talking about our future, about the life we were going to build for our son. We reflected on all we had endured to get to this point, but even more so on the love we had for each other and the trust that had grown between us.In these moments, I felt a sense of calm that was foreign to me. In the past, I had always been on edge, waiting for the next betrayal, the next threat to arise. But now, in the safety of our home, with our son sleeping peacefully in his crib, I allowed myself to feel what I had always longed for—peace.Levi and I shared a quiet dinner one evening, the soft glow of the lights illuminating the room. Our son was asleep in his room, and for the first time,
As I watched Levi hold our son, the weight of everything that had happened seemed to melt away. It was hard to believe that just months ago, we were fighting for survival, struggling with betrayals, with enemies lurking at every corner. And now here we were, in a hospital room, surrounded by the soft hum of machines and the faint scent of antiseptic, with our child between us. I couldn’t remember a time when I had felt more at peace.Levi had always been the force of nature, the leader who commanded respect, but here, in this moment, I saw a side of him I hadn’t truly known before. The man I thought I understood—cold, calculated, driven by the mission—was now softened, changed by the simple act of holding our child. Our son, our little miracle, had transformed him in ways I didn’t think were possible.I turned my head to look at him, my hand resting gently on his arm. He was staring down at the baby with a soft expression on his face, his
The moment Levi held our baby for the first time was one I would never forget. I had seen him strong, cold, ruthless in battle, and yet here, in the quiet, dimly lit hospital room, all that faded away. It was just him, me, and the tiny life we had created together.His arms were gentle, yet his grip was firm, as if he were afraid to let go, as if the very idea of losing this moment, losing this piece of him, terrified him more than anything else. His face was soft, his eyes filled with a vulnerability I had never seen before. He looked at our child with a kind of reverence, his gaze intense and full of awe.“I never thought…” Levi’s voice faltered, thick with emotion, and for the first time, I saw the cracks in his armor. His gaze flickered from the baby to me, and there was a shift in him, something profound. “I never thought I could feel like this. So... so helpless. But in the best way. This... this little one has already changed
The world around me was a blur of motion, flashes of light and darkness, the steady beep of machines blending with the sound of Levi’s voice. He was calling my name, his hand gripping mine tightly, but everything felt distant, as though I was floating somewhere far from him.“Eliana, stay with me,” he said, his voice strained, as though it was costing him everything to speak. I could hear the panic there, the fear, but there was something else too—something I hadn’t heard before. Something raw. His hand tightened around mine, and I tried to squeeze back, but my fingers felt heavy, sluggish. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t stay present. My body felt foreign to me, as though I was losing control of it.“Eliana,” Levi’s voice broke through again, more urgent this time. “I need you to stay with me. Just a little longer, please.”I tried to respond, but no words came. Instead, I felt the p
I wasn’t sure how long we’d been fighting, but it felt like hours, maybe days. Each moment blurred into the next as we moved, fought, and fought some more. The Rossettis, Livia, even Mr. Rossetti—they had been obstacles, pieces of the puzzle, but they weren’t the true threat. They were pawns, caught in a game they didn’t understand. It was always her. Levi’s twin sister. I had sensed it all along, but I hadn’t been able to put the pieces together until now. Every step we had taken, every move, it had all been leading us to her. She was the one who orchestrated this entire nightmare. The Rossettis had been too predictable, too visible. It had been her, pulling the strings from behind the scenes. And now, as we stood on the precipice of everything we had fought for, it became clear. She was here. She was the storm we had been trying to survive, and now it was time to face it head-on. Levi’s anger was palpable beside me. I could feel the tension in his every muscle, the way he gripp