(Alessio's POV) "What happened? How did the explosion start?" Salvatore asked over the phone. "It was an attack from our enemies," I replied, puffing the smoke from my cigarette through my nostrils. Ever since the strange phone call, I had been smoking nonstop due to paranoia. He dared to play games with me—no one had done that before, but this stranger did, even laughing at me for not being able to detect his voice. I had tried calling a thousand times, but whenever I did, it was always unreachable. "Which of our enemies attacked us?" Salvatore inquired. "Leave it to me. I'm going to handle it," I said. Telling the Godfather that I didn't know who had attacked our clan was the last thing I would do. It wasn't that I was afraid; I wasn't afraid of anyone, not even the creator of the earth. I chose not to tell him so he wouldn't have any reason to come back to Italy. I didn't want him to return and see Lisa—maybe I forgot to mention that the Godfather is the third person who knows
(Alessio's POV) "Don Alessio!" Marco approached me as I arrived at the nightclub with Ivan. "I'm glad you came; it's been a while. Should I get the best women ready for you?" he asked, speaking in Italian. "I'm looking for someone," I replied. "Who could it be? Tell me right away, and I'll fetch the person for you," Marco said with a smile. He had always wanted to get on my good side, but unfortunately for him, he was trying to please the wrong person. Signaling to Ivan, he showed Marco a picture of the boy we had obtained from the CCTV cameras. He must have been foolish not to realize that there were cameras around. "Do you know him?" I asked. Marco took the picture from Ivan and stared deeply at it. "I think I know him, Don Alessio. His name is Zach, and he comes here every Friday to gamble," Marco said. "Why are you looking for him?" he added. I took the picture and handed it to Ivan. "I need a VIP seat at the gambling hall," I said. "You want to gamble?" Marco asked, but I
(Alessio's POV)"What should I do, Boss Alessio?" Ivan asked when he returned. With my fist tightly clenched, I turned to face him. Ivan innocently stared at me. He can't possibly be the strange caller, right? Ivan wouldn't betray me because he knows the consequences if he does. A part of me chose to believe that he couldn't possibly betray me, while the other part had doubts."Did I do something wrong? You keep staring at me," Ivan said, and I sighed before shifting my eyes away from him. Trust isn't a commodity in my world, but somehow I was able to trust Ivan. He had been my right-hand man for a couple of years now, and all he had ever shown me was his sincerity. He had been loyal, despite the behavior I often displayed.Thinking about that, I decided not to believe he could be the strange caller. He's too afraid of me to even consider it."I'm going to handle it myself. Where's Zach?" I asked."I dropped him off at a nearby hospital, though I don't know if he'll survive or not.""
(Lisa's POV) Did he just ask me for a cup of coffee? I thought to myself as I stared at Alessio, his dark brown eyes fixed on me. Initially, I thought he was going to kill the maids because they had sat around me while I served them coffee. It took a lot of convincing before they agreed to sit with me. Isabella had helped as well. I just wanted them to feel comfortable around me—at least until I managed to leave this place for good. Isn't he the monster who kills for little or no reason? So why was he asking me for coffee instead of killing them like he usually does? No, I should be grateful he wasn’t acting like his monstrous self today. "All of you should leave," his deep voice commanded, addressing Isabella, Vanessa, and the maids, who kept their heads bowed, clearly terrified. Of course, they’d be scared of dying—no one wants to die. They all stood up at once, and without sparing me a glance, they left. Now I was alone with him. But strangely, he didn’t scare me the way he use
(Alessio's POV) I had told Lisa to sit down because I wanted to tell her about the strange caller who seemed to know about her. But when she sat across from me and stared at me with those innocent, beautiful eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She’s fragile, and I knew she might get scared if I told her. I didn’t want her to live in fear, knowing her life could be in danger. That’s why I had asked her to stay with me while I finished the coffee she made, instead of telling her about the strange caller. From the moment I kidnapped her and brought her into my home, I knew I was endangering her life. Yet, I chose to take that risk and keep her with me. Her face wasn’t something I could ever grow tired of, so I wanted to keep seeing it. I didn’t want any man to lust over her beauty and body—except me. As I sipped the coffee slowly, I noticed the frustrated look on her face. If she had her way, she’d probably yell at me to finish the coffee quickly so she could go back to her room
(Lisa's POV) I could barely move from the bed because my stomach ached so much. I’d have said it was the coffee from last night, but when a liquid dropped into my panties, I knew it was my time of the month. Isabella was kind enough to give me some of her sanitary supplies since she had packed a lot before coming here. I believe her now, after the maids told me they had been brought in here unconscious, but I wasn't dwelling on that because my stomach hurt so much. It had always been like this during my time of the month. I could barely move and would stay on the bed all day, tossing around as I endured the pain that felt like it might kill me. Isabella wasn’t here with me because I had told her I wanted to be alone. The pain came as sharp as a knife, and I winced. I always hated this time of the month because it brought nothing but pain. Back in California, I took drugs to ease the pain, but they never worked for me—probably because I could only afford the cheap ones. “Are you
(Alessio's POV) Lisa took the bottle of water and medicine from me, avoiding eye contact. She read the prescription on the medicine before swallowing two pills. "Are you okay now?" I asked, hoping the medicine would work quickly so she could stop feeling pain. I didn’t like the way she looked right now; it felt like she’d died. The pain consumed her to the extent that she lost her voice. I didn’t know women went through this kind of pain during their monthly flow. If not for Isabella, I wouldn’t have known what was going on with her. I’ve always known she was stubborn, but I didn’t realize she was this stubborn. She was dying in pain, and yet she chose to hide it from me. Did she have any idea how worried I was when I came into the room and saw her like that? I thought she was going to die with the way she held her stomach, her voice weak and faint. It scared me so much that I rushed to the nearest pharmacy as quickly as I could to get her medicine. What the heck is she doing to
(Writer's POV) "What do you mean by my daughter isn't back from her business trip?!" Jacob, Lisa's dad, yelled at the woman in her late thirties, who happened to be Lisa's boss. "She is not yet back from her business trip," the lady answered, her tone low and her eyes darting nervously because she knew she was lying to the old man. "Business trip? Among all the workers here, why did you choose my daughter for the business trip?" Jacob asked, annoyed. The lady took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves so Jacob wouldn't realize she had been feeding him lies. "Lisa is the most capable one, and that's why I chose her. You should be happy about this." "Happy about this? The last time I spoke to my daughter was on the night before her sudden disappearance. She never mentioned any business trip to me." "Because it came as an emergency. Go back home, and I am sure your daughter will be home soon," the lady said, hoping he'd leave, but Jacob shook his head. "I'm not leaving until
(Lisa's POV) I have always been curious about Alessio's family. Anytime I brought up the topic, he always found a way to change it. Though he had said it was something he didn’t want to talk about, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Even Ivan had once warned me never to mention his mother to him. Bianca might be the second person I hate after the devil, but at least she was right about one thing. I can't claim to love a man and have countless sex with him without knowing anything about his family—what they look like, what happened to them, and, most importantly, his relationship with his parents. "You know everything about his family?" I asked as curiosity took over me. Bianca walked up to me, the smile on her face unwavering. "Do you think I was joking when I said I grew up with Don Alessio? We grew up together, Lisa. I ate from the same plate as him and even slept in the same bed. I knew the cheerful side of Don Alessio when he was still a kid, before he transformed into a
(Lisa's POV) "Whoa, Lisa! You're improving so much," the lady in charge of teaching me Italian complimented after I finished reading some words in Italian. Though it was hard to pull off, I was happy my efforts weren’t going down the drain. "Thank you so much, ma. But I'm still not fluent in it," I simpered. "Yeah, you're not, but you're doing a very good job. If you keep learning, you'll be perfect—not as perfect as a native speaker, but at least you'll be able to understand when someone speaks Italian," she said with a smile, her Italian-English accent evident. Some people in the clan could speak basic English, but Italian tones were always detected in their voices whenever they spoke. I was the only fluent English speaker here, which is why I was determined to learn, so I could interact with them in the language they were comfortable with. Not to forget, there was also my deal with Salvatore. I had been getting a lot of compliments on how much I was improving in terms o
(Writer's POV) Isabella sighed deeply when she woke up the following morning and found herself naked in Ivan's room. She had clearly been somber when she asked him for a one-night stand, and right now, she didn't regret it because it wasn't the first time it had happened. Before she had come here to be a chitchat buddy to Lisa, she had always gone to the clubhouse once every month, bought herself some drinks, and then get laid with any man who approached her. Just like she had told Lisa, she shut her heart from love after her love story was cut short when her first love died. She believed she would never find a man like him or a man who would love her the way her first love did. Sighing again, her eyes scanned the room in search of Ivan, and that’s when she noticed the sound of the running tap coming from the bathroom. Her clothes were scattered all over the room due to how Ivan had hastily discarded them. She clearly enjoyed the sex from last night, and she'd admit that
(Writer's POV) Enzo had always kept an eye on Alessio. He followed him everywhere he went, making sure Alessio didn’t notice him. The DeLuca family had always been known to move silently, as it was a part of their training. Enzo had witnessed how Alessio’s eyes were fixed on Lisa the night she walked into the bar after she got her heart broken by Nathan. He had also witnessed how Alessio saved her from the man who tried to harass her and how possessive he was when he held her fragile arms. Enzo was also aware of what had transpired between them when Alessio took her to a hotel. He had thought Lisa was just one of the flings Alessio had a one-night stand with—until he overheard Ivan talking to Marco about finding a chef who knew how to cook California dishes. He disguised himself and went to Marco's clubhouse since he had been following Ivan too. That’s how he learned that Alessio needed a chef. At first, he didn’t know why Alessio needed a chef who could prepare Californ
(Writer's POV) Isabella sat in the dining chair, enjoying a bowl of pears while grinning to herself. She loved pears a lot and couldn't go a day without eating them. Fortunately for her, they were always among the items delivered to Alessio's residence every month. Ivan was always the one who took the deliveries from the gateman and brought them inside the house since he knew both the exits and entrances of the mansion. "Anyone who doesn't love eating pears must be from ancient Greece," she said and chuckled at her own words. She was still enjoying her bowl of pears when Vanessa approached her with a worried expression. "What's wrong, Vanessa? Why are you wearing a sad face?" she asked. "Aren't you worried about Lisa? She hasn't been home for seven days," Vanessa voiced her concern. "There's no need to be worried about her, Vanessa. She already started her training at Don Alessio's underworld." "Really? Even if she has started her training, that doesn’t prevent her fro
(Alessio's POV) "Am I interrupting something?" I asked, jealousy evident in my voice. I was clearly not happy about the unnecessary attention she was getting. Everyone in the clan was talking about her, and some of the male mobsters even went as far as complimenting her beauty. I was sure that if I had introduced her as my woman, none of them would have dared to talk about her or even try to compliment her beauty. As if that wasn't enough, here was Angelo, the clan's hacker, offering her a can of soda. "Good afternoon, Don Alessio. Lisa and I were just talking," he said in Italian with a smile. "What were you both talking about?" I asked in English, just so Lisa would understand. Before Angelo could reply, Lisa interrupted him with a laugh, stepping in between us. "You should get going, Angelo. I'll just talk to Don Alessio," she said with a smile. I didn't like the idea of her calling me 'Don Alessio,' and what intensified my irritation was how she was smiling at him. T
(Lisa's POV) I walked around the clan, feeling so excited to be here. There were lots of training grounds to learn martial arts and how to handle guns too. When Alessio showed me around the clan, I couldn't even count the number of guns, dangerous weapons, and explosive bombs they had. I guess the mafia world sometimes calls their clan the underworld because it’s filled with all the dangerous things you could find. Alessio said he needed to attend to something, which was why I was taking a walk and going through the places he had shown me. I smiled when I saw two young ladies like me fighting in the training ground. I’m definitely going to learn how to fight like them. "Hi," I waved at them with a smile, and they waved back before continuing with their combat. This was what I wanted, for everyone to be comfortable with me. If Alessio had introduced me as his woman, I’m sure they'd have bowed to me instead of just smiling and waving at me. Well, everyone except for Bianc
(Lisa's POV) I kept grinning as Alessio drove toward his clan. It would be my first time seeing the underworld he ruled, and I felt so thrilled about it. When he told me he had agreed to let me join his clan, I was overjoyed, and last night was mesmerizing. It was wild, passionate sex. He made me experience what it feels like when a man teases you with his tongue. I enjoyed every bit of it and would love it if he did it again. Damn! I’m becoming more corrupt with each passing day, I grinned to myself. "What's making you so happy?" he asked when he noticed my smile. "Why don't you guess?" I teased, my eyes boring into his. Alessio glanced at me, and a naughty smile played at the corner of his lips. "You loved last night, didn’t you? And you want me to do what I did to you again, right?" he asked, his eyes flickering between the road and me. "How on earth are you capable of that? Are you sure you're not a wizard?" I asked, and he chuckled. It was still hard to get us
(Alessio's POV) After much thought, I had decided to give Lisa a chance to be part of my underworld, not because I wanted her to win against Salvatore, but for herself as well, since she had chosen to stay in the chaotic world that I live in. Salvatore might be a man that stays true to his words, and even if she perhaps fails, he would have to kill me first because I won't allow him to touch Lisa like he had done the last time. "Really? You will allow me to join your underworld?" she asked with excitement in her voice. I barely nodded my head because it was a hard decision for me to make. But if I really wanted her to be by my side, she needed to know a few martial arts and how to handle guns because the strange caller was still lurking around, waiting for the perfect time to attack. Lisa screamed in excitement and jumped on me. We'd have fallen to the ground if I hadn't stood firmly. Her legs curled up on my waist, and she beamed at me, obviously excited about the decisio