"She is going to be fine. The knife didn’t go that deep, which means it’s just a minor injury," I heard a man say. My vision wasn’t clear when I first opened my eyes, but after a brief moment, I saw Alessio talking to a doctor. "If something bad happens to her, you’ll be dead," he said authoritatively, his tone scaring the doctor. "I have been in this medical field for more than eleven years, and I assure you she will be fine. I’ve already operated on her, and the stabbing didn’t go that deep," the doctor explained, though he fidgeted nervously in front of Alessio—he always had a way of intimidating people wherever he went. As for me, the doctor was right when he said the stabbing wasn’t deep, because I had made sure of that when I intentionally stabbed myself. It had taken all the courage in the world to purposely stab myself. It was the only option I had. I thought finding the exit would get me out of his life and back to my normal life in California, but I was wrong. With
(Alessio's POV) "It's been a while, Godfather. I'm so happy to see you again," I heard Bianca say as I entered my office. She was pouring him a glass of liquor, trying to win his favor. "Why are you back?" I asked, not bothering to offer him a welcome greeting. He had to return to Rome at a time when Lisa needed me the most. She’s lying in a hospital bed, and I can’t be with her right now because of Salvatore. "Shouldn’t you at least give me a welcome-back hug?" Salvatore asked with a smile. "That’s not my thing," I replied, my eyes shifting to Bianca. She understood the silent command in my gaze and left without a word. "What brings you to Rome?" I asked again. "Am I no longer allowed to be in my home country?" he replied with a smirk. "By the way, where’s Ivan?" he asked, and Ivan entered immediately. "Welcome back, Godfather," Ivan greeted with a warm smile. Salvatore walked up to him and patted his back. "Thanks, Ivan. That’s what I like about you—you always know
(Lisa's POV) My eyes slowly opened, and I winced in pain from my stab wound. I tried to comprehend where I was, but the room was dark. I attempted to stand up despite feeling weak, but I couldn't move. I was tied up with heavy chains that I couldn't break free from. What happened? Why am I here? I asked myself these questions, slowly remembering how I had asked Rosita for help and how she had willingly agreed to assist me, only for me to fall unconscious in her car. "I’ve found someone for the job" I recalled her words from earlier, and fear gripped me as I realized I had been kidnapped. What job was she talking about? Did I jump from frying pan into a lake of fire? I was trying to run away from Alessio, only to be kidnapped again. I struggled against the chains, but they were too heavy for me to break free from. Even when Alessio had kidnapped me, he had never tied me up with chains. "Someone please help me!" I screamed. My wounds were bleeding, and it hurt so much, even i
( Alessio's POV) "How hard was it for you to watch over one single woman?!" I yelled at the men I had assigned to watch over Lisa. "We are sorry, Don Alessio. She told us she needed to use the restroom. We took her there, only to be tricked by a woman who claimed Madame had lost consciousness and that we should call a doctor. But when we returned to the restroom, neither the woman nor Madame was there," they explained. I dismissed their explanation as mere excuses and punched them in their faces. My punch was massive, sending them flying across the room. "You're all idiots, and that's why you were so easily tricked! If I don't find her, consider yourselves dead!" I yelled at them. "Boss Alessio," Ivan approached me, and I turned to face him, my anger boiling over. "Did she leave the country already?" I asked. "No, she hasn’t. There’s no information about her booking a flight back to California, but I found something on the hospital’s CCTV cameras where she was admitted," I
(Lisa's POV) He came for me. I don't know how he was able to find me, but he did, saving me from being completely naked in front of those men. When I looked at him, I couldn't help but cry, because I knew I had brought this upon myself. But what scared me now were the men who had their guns pointed at him. Would he be able to handle all of them? I asked myself as my eyes focused on Alessio, who was visibly angry because these men had referred to me as the property of Dario Claudio. I guess Dario Claudio was the bearded man who paid Rosita off after she brought me to him. "Who dares interrupt my strip show?" The bearded man, Dario Claudio, stepped into the clubhouse, and Alessio’s eyes darted from his men to him. "Who the heck are you to interrupt my strip show?" Dario Claudio demanded. Does he have no idea who Alessio is? But then it occurred to me that not everyone would know him. "I see you're Dario Claudio," Alessio said. The rage in his voice was evident, but Dario Clau
(Lisa's POV) "Alessio, please, open your eyes," I whispered, my voice breaking with tears as he was rushed toward the operating room. His body was covered in blood, and those cold, ruthless eyes that always holds so much intensity now stared blankly at me. I had managed to get help, and the people around me had rushed him here as quickly as they could. But I couldn’t help but feel it was too late. "Alessio!" I called his name again, clutching his hand tightly, my tears flowing freely, mingling with the bloodstains on his skin. "We’ll take it from here," one of the doctors said firmly, stopping me at the threshold of the operating room. His words were a mix of authority and calmness, but all I could hear was the deafening thrum of panic in my chest. "But—" I tried to protest, but the doctor was already ushering me away. "Let us do our job, miss," he said with a reassuring tone, but it was nothing more than a gentle command. Reluctantly, I released his hand. I crouched down to
(Lisa's POV) "Do you want anything?" Ivan asked me, but I shook my head, resting it back on the wall. I was sitting on the bare floor close to the threshold of the operating room. Ivan had offered me a seat, but I declined because I wanted to be the first person to know about Alessio's condition when the doctors comes out of the operating room. "I'm sure you must be hungry. I can get you whatever you want to eat while the nurses attend to your wound. You're bleeding from your stab wound." Ivan said. I slowly looked at my stomach, where I had intentionally stabbed myself. It stung, but it was nothing compared to what Alessio was going through right now. I had intentionally stabbed myself, but he never wished to be shot. "I'll be fine. I don't need any treatment," I said, my voice barely audible. "You need to be attended to, Madame. Boss Alessio will definitely kill me if he finds out about this," Ivan said, trying to convince me to get my stab wound treated by a nurse, but I
(Lisa's POV) Bianca picked me up from the ground again, holding my hair. I winced in pain as the ache in my stomach hit me hard, but Bianca cared little for my suffering. Her eyes were filled with rage as she attempted to slap me again, but Ivan's voice stopped her. "What the heck are you doing?!" he roared. He dropped the food he got for me and briskly walked up to her. He took me from her grasp, his eyes filled with agitation as he spoke to her. "What gave you the right to hit her?!" "You know this woman too?" she asked, pointing her finger at me while I hid behind Ivan. "Who the heck is she to Don Alessio?!" she demanded. "I won't answer your question, Bianca. Leave now, or you won't like what I do next," Ivan warned, but Bianca scoffed and shot me a glare. "I'm not going anywhere until I find out what relationship she has with Don Alessio! Do you have any idea how I felt when the clan's hacker told me you had rushed out because Don Alessio was shot? And then, when I go
(Lisa's POV) I betrayed the man I love and the man who loves me, and no matter what my reasons were, it wasn't justified. I had a chance to ask him about it, but rather than confronting him, I acted rashly. He lost everything. A lot of innocent souls died because of me, and it's best if I leave. If he had wanted to kill me, I would have accepted it, but since he wanted me out of his life, I will do as he says, even though it hurts being separated from him. Staring at the entrance of the airport, my tears fell down my cheeks, but I wiped them off with a sob. With the despicable thing I have done, I don't know if I could live a normal life. I will forever be haunted for betraying him and for killing innocent souls. I sniffled one last time. I made to enter the airport, but I bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," I managed to say, but fresh tears fell from my eyes and down to my cheeks when I saw I had bumped into Angelo. "Angelo," I said, nearly breaking into tears. I had
(Alessio's POV) "How long have I been unconscious?" I asked. "For a few days," Ivan answered. I sighed, trying to sit up on the bed, but Ivan quickly stopped me from doing so. "You shouldn't do that yet. Your wounds are still fresh," he said, but I ignored him and sat up on the bed, enduring the pain. Every part of my body was filled with injuries. It hurt and itched at the same time. "Where's Salvatore?" "He left a few minutes before you woke up," Ivan replied. "Is it true that Enzo destroyed everything, including my house and the clan?" Ivan looked at me and sadly nodded his head. "We lost the mobsters at the clan. The innocent maids also died from the explosion." "No single person survived?" I asked, hiding how bad I felt. "No one, Boss Alessio. We have nothing left," Ivan answered, wiping his tears, as he was too emotional to control them. I failed to protect my men. If I hadn't been trapped under Enzo's custody, none of this would have happened. "Aren’
(Writer's POV) "What did I just hear you just say? You gave who to who?" Salvatore sneered. He had booked an early flight to Rome so he could know the happenings of the clan, only for him to meet dead monsters and a destroyed clan. Lisa took in her lips, unable to say anything. Salvatore had always said she'd betray Alessio, and she felt so embarrassed because his instinct came to pass. She betrayed the man who loves her. A man who always showed up whenever she was in danger. She made a promise… but couldn't keep her promise. She was just like his mother. "Have your tongue been cut off? Repeat what you just said!" he snapped at her, and tears strolled down her eyes. No matter how much she cried, it wouldn't justify what she had done. "I didn't mean to betray him," she began sobbing. "I thought he killed my dad, so I gave him an apple injected with succinylcholine. He became weak because of it, and Enzo was able to trap him. Enzo has him in his custody and it's all
(Writer's POV) "Did Don Alessio answer the phone?" Isabella asked Ivan in a panicked voice, while Ivan shook his head with a sigh. "Why would Lisa even think of leaving the house?" Isabella murmured, her worries palpable. She had earlier gone to Lisa's room to talk to her, only to find out she wasn't in her room. When she got worried, she asked Ivan for help, and he looked into the surveillance cameras and they both found out that Lisa had sneaked out of the house by secretly entering the car trunk of Alessio's car. "Do you think Don Alessio has seen her already?" "I don't think so, Isabella. It's unlike him not to answer the phone either. Something seems off and I can feel it," Ivan muttered. Isabella swiped her hand through her hair in frustration. "Why can't Lisa just believe that Vanessa was indeed a spy?" "Asking questions won't do. If Alessio still doesn't know she's not in the house, then we should find her before he does." Isabella nodded, and just as they were about t
(Lisa's POV) "I love you so much, Lisa." Those words repeated themselves a thousand times in my ears, and fresh tears rushed down my face. These were the words I had always longed to hear from him. Alessio finally confessed his feelings to me. My glassy eyes shifted to him, and I saw the sincerity in his tears. Did he really not kill my dad? Did I accuse him wrongly? If he wasn't the one who murdered my dad, then who could have done it? "I didn't kill your dad. I will never do that to you," he whispered, and my heart shattered even more. I didn't know who to believe because my dad, who could have spoken for himself, was dead. "Enough with the emotional scenes, lovers. Tell me, Alessio, aren't you happy to see me?" he smirked. Alessio glared at him. "Why should I miss someone like you? You're still the weak person you are. Isn't that why you made me appear weak in front of you? Because you know I would always beat you to a pulp," Alessio said, despite his weakness. Enzo got
(Alessio's POV) I was all alone in my office, thinking of ways I could make Lisa forgive me, when I received a text from her, demanding we meet up. My eyebrows furrowed in surprise, wondering how she was able to leave the house because I had given my men strict warnings not to allow her leave. I sprang up from the chair and called her. It rang many times, but she didn't answer. Grabbing my jacket, I rushed out of my office and almost bumped into Angelo on my way out. He looked shocked upon seeing me. "Why are you looking at me that way? Did something happen?" I asked. "No... nothing happened?" he stuttered, his hand shaking. I didn't have time to ask him why he was reacting that way because all I could think of was going to Lisa and ask how she was able to leave the house. I left Angelo standing there and got into my car. I drove off to Gianicolo Hills, where Lisa had asked me to meet her. Arriving at the hills, she was the only one there, staring into space, lost in t
(Lisa's POV) Angelo arrived at the location the caller had given me. It was a warehouse, but from the looks of it, it was still under construction. I tried getting down from the car, but Angelo held my hand. "Don't tell me you're going in there?" "Yes, I am. That's why I asked you to bring me here in the first place." "You need to tell me what's going on, Lisa. Don Alessio will kill me if he finds out about this," his tone was etched with worry. "You don't need to worry about that. He won't ever find out unless you snitch on me. Are you going to do that?" Angelo sighed, feeling defeated. "You know I would never do that to you. I just want to know why you came here and who you want to talk to." "It's just someone I know. I just need to find out the truth." "The truth about what?" I ignored his question and got out of the car. He tried to follow me, but I stopped him from doing so. "What if you get hurt?" "I'll be fine. I can defend myself," I assured him. "Should
(Lisa's POV) I didn’t know what to do at that moment. There was no way I could possibly leave this house—not when Alessio had his eyes on me. My heart shattered as I spoke to him. Not even in my worst nightmares did I ever dream about losing my dad. Everything was happening so fast in just one day. First, Vanessa died. Then Alessio drastically changing from who he used to be into something worse. And now, I just found out that my dad was dead. It felt like my world had collapsed right in front of me. Why was all this happening to me in one single day? “I… I can't leave. Alessio’s got his eyes on me,” I sniffled. “Then it means you're not interested in knowing who killed your dad!” he snapped and hung up. “Please, don’t hang up on me!” I cried out. Sobbing, I called the number again, but he didn’t pick up. “Please answer the phone,” I cried, almost at the brink of losing myself. I wished this was all just a dream—one where I’d wake up and find Vanessa cooking for me, my dad sti
(Lisa's POV) I sat down on the bed, burying my face in my thighs and wrapping my arms around them as fresh tears dripped from my eyes. I don’t know what had gotten into Alessio, but he had completely changed in just few hours. First, he killed Vanessa, and now he didn’t even blink before sending my dad away. I want to leave. No matter how much I love him, I can't tolerate him anymore. He killed Vanessa—an innocent woman who had been so kind to me from the very first day she was brought here by that monster. More tears streamed down my face as memories of Vanessa filled my mind. It felt like a dream, but I knew it wasn’t. She was dead. The door creaked open, and he stepped inside, his hands in his pockets. “You’re finally awake?” he said, but I only gave him a hateful glare. My heart might still love him, but my mind already despised him for what he did to Vanessa. “Lisa…” he took a step closer. “Don’t. Don’t come any closer, Alessio,” I said firmly, though my eyes continued to