(Alessio's POV) "Lisa!" I called out as I barged into her room. She quickly tightened the towel wrapped around her body. Her skin was slightly wet, indicating she had just taken a shower. "You should know how to knock, Alessio," she said, her voice low. I walked up to her, turning her around to check if she was hurt. "Are you okay?" I asked, my voice filled with concern—something that had never happened before. Lisa stared at me before nodding, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Did someone come in here while I was away?" I inquired, despite knowing that only Ivan and I knew how to exit the house. That left me wondering how the stranger had found out about Lisa's room. "No one came in, Alessio. I was alone in here." "Were you sleeping just a few minutes ago?" I asked, locking my eyes on hers. "No, I wasn't," she replied. Did that mean the strange voice was just playing tricks on me? I clenched my fists, angry that I had fallen into his trap. But I couldn't shake the qu
(Lisa's POV) Why didn't he fall for my tricks? I had asked him to watch me dress, but he chose to leave. Why didn't he give in? I pondered while sitting on the couch in Alessio's suite, where he had instructed me to stay until he returned. Had I not done it properly? Come to think of it, he had barged into my room, asking if I was alright or if someone had entered while he was away. It was the first time I had seen panic in his eyes, and it made me wonder what could have happened. Was he attacked? I sighed, realizing that the quietness of his suite offered no answers to my questions. If he were under attack, he should release me and let me return to my simple life. I don't want to be involved in his chaotic world, which seemed more dangerous than the Great War. After sitting on the couch for almost thirty minutes, I stood up and began pacing around the suite, feeling bored. I wanted to leave, maybe go to the library or go to Isabella, who could easily entertain me with her jokes a
(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
(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 Bian
(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
(Lisa's POV) "What were you thinking, making such a deal with the Godfather, Lisa?!" Isabella scolded me. "Don't tell me you're going to scold me the same way Alessio did," I muttered. Ever since I left his suite yesterday, he hasn't talked to me, and I couldn't go to his suite since I was the one who left on my own and even slammed the door in his face. "If I could scold you with more than words, I would gladly do it! What were you thinking, Lisa? The Godfather isn't someone who goes back on his word. I trained to be a mobster at the clan for three years—three fucking years, Lisa! And I'm still average when it comes to martial arts. So how can you achieve such a feat in just two months? You should have thought about it more before making such a deal with him," Isabella said. She was right. I didn't think at all. I just went with what my heart told me, and I did it. But still, I wanted to believe I could do it. If Salvatore was really a man of his word, then I had nothin
(Writer's POV) "I'm telling you, Godfather, you made a mistake accepting that deal with Lisa! Why would you even make such a deal with a weakling?" she stated, letting her anger be known to him. "That's why I agreed to her deal, Bianca," Salvatore smirked, and Bianca furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what he meant. She was furious when Salvatore accepted Lisa's deal, and her anger intensified even more when Lisa didn’t tremble upon seeing her, unlike the first time at the hospital. "What point are you trying to make here, Godfather?" Bianca asked. "Do you really think she will be able to train and accomplish a mission in just two months?" Salvatore smirked and continued. "I only agreed because I know she is going to fail, which means it will be easy to kill her," Salvatore explained, and Bianca smiled. It was almost laughable when Lisa proposed the deal, and he agreed to it because Lisa wasn’t just weak, she had no knowledge of martial arts or handling guns. Learning all of
(Alessio's POV) "Here's your velvet cake, sir," a man said to me as he handed me the box of velvet cake. I paid for it and went back to my car, with the thought Lisa couldn't wait to eat her favorite cake. But as I reached my car, the cake slipped from my hand, and the smile I was wearing disappeared when I didn't see Lisa inside. I entered my car, looking around as if she were some sort of needle that would be hard to find. Then I noticed that the glove box of my car was open, and a few euros were missing. "Where did she go?" I muttered. I got out of the car and strode toward a lady who has a small kiosk where she sells fruits. "Did you see a woman leaving that car?" I asked, speaking in Italian and pointing at my car. "What woman?" "She has blonde hair. She doesn’t look Italian," I said, hoping she had seen Lisa. The woman thought for a moment, and I tried my best to be patient so she would give me the answer I was looking for. "I didn't see a woman coming out of y
(Lisa's POV) "What stupid deal are you trying to make with the Godfather? Who do you think you are to make a deal with him?!" Bianca snapped at me. I was scared of her, but this time, I decided not to show it. She was a fellow woman like me, and even though she was part of Alessio's underworld, I shouldn't show any signs of fear. "I wasn't talking to you, Bianca. You should mind your business," I shot back, making sure my eyes held no fear. "You've really got some nerve talking to me like that, weakling!" she spat as she stood up, supporting herself with the walking stick she was holding. I looked down at her legs and saw they were bandaged. "You better sit back on the sofa, Bianca. It would save you the stress since you have three legs now," I said fearlessly. Yeah, that's what I should do. Talk back when she talks to me. I'm Alessio's woman—I have nothing to fear. "How dare you speak to me that way?!" Bianca thundered, raising her hand to slap me, but Salvatore stopp