(Lisa's POV) I sat down on the bed, exhausted from reading so many books in just a few hours. Isabella had left after I told her I needed to be alone. She didn’t argue and left so she wouldn’t get on Alessio’s bad side. Lying on the bed, counting the lights on the ceiling, my thoughts drifted to Alessio. It had been four days since he left, and I wondered when he would be back. It's not like I missed him, but I was just used to seeing his face every single day. I sighed in frustration, wondering where the exit of his house might be. Ivan had shown me around, but there were no place that looked like they led outside. I had been brought here while I was unconscious, which was probably why I hadn’t figured it out. Should I interact with the maids? I was sure they knew where the exit was since they were brought in by Alessio. But what if they chose to keep it a secret, like Ivan and Isabella? I don't believe Isabella; it was impossible for her not to know where the exit was. She must h
(Alessio's POV) That smile of hers always pulls me in, in ways I can't explain. When she asked about my life and why I didn't become an architect or a baker, I got mad; one thing I don't like talking about is my painful childhood. If it had been anyone else who asked me such a question, they would have been begging me to spare them, but it was Lisa who asked, and somehow she was exceptional. I even had to scare her with my voice, which is why I decided to leave before I frightened her further. I didn't want Lisa to look at me with fearful eyes, like I was her worst nightmare that came to life to haunt her. But here she was, holding my hand and asking me to share the cake with her. I didn't even admit that I was the one who brought the cake for her because it felt embarrassing—this was the first time I had experienced what it felt like to be embarrassed. "You can have it all to yourself," I said, stepping away from her, but she grabbed my hand again. "I can't eat it all because it'
(Lisa's POV) A smile crept onto my face as I stared at myself in the mirror. I had purposely allowed him to kiss me, just the way he wanted, because my plan all along was to stop him the moment he tried to take off my blouse. And it worked just as I had pictured it in my head. I could see the desire in his eyes when I halted him—it was the first time I saw desire in his gaze, rather than the usual cold demeanor he portrayed. He wants me—he wants all of me. He wants to bury himself inside me just like he did the first time we met, but I won't give him what he so desperately desires. Now that I know I can easily seduce a ruthless Mafia boss like Alessio, I’ll keep playing this game. He kidnapped me without my consent, right? I will play my part by always seducing him but never letting him touch me. I want to make him fall in love with me so I can escape this place, but since he's a man made of stone, that plan can wait for a while. I'm going to make him long for me, yet I won’t give
(Lisa's POV) "Are you already afraid of her?" Isabella asked as my gaze fell on her, already indulging in the velvet cake on the table. "No, I’m not. I have no relationship with Alessio, so why should I be afraid of her?" I replied, though I knew it was a lie. I hadn't even seen this Bianca, but the thought of her scared me. If she could kill her best friend, then I would be an easy prey for her. All my life, I had lived peacefully, without knowing how to handle guns or anything related to fighting skills. Since Bianca was part of Alessio's underworld, I was sure she was strong enough to beat me to death without much effort. "But don't worry, Lisa. I think she won't be able to kill you." "You think so?" My voice was low, revealing how scared I felt. "Yeah. You belong to Don Alessio. I'm sure she values her life and wouldn’t dare do anything to you—unless she wants to die." "You really think Alessio will protect me from her?" I asked again. "That's a silly question, Lisa
(Alessio's POV) "She asked about where the exit of the house is," I said to the maid who had reported Lisa to me. "Yes, Boss Alessio," she answered, her head bowed to the floor. "And what did you tell her?" I asked, displeased with the fact that she still wanted to leave. "I told her the truth. We don't know the exit of this house because we were brought here unconscious," she said. My eyes fell on her, and she quickly dipped her head to the ground, afraid that I might kill her. "Leave," I ordered, and she rushed out of my suite immediately. I lit up a cigarette, clearly not happy that Lisa had inquired about the exit of my house. If she hadn't accepted that she couldn't leave, what were all those smiles of hers for? The maid who had just left was right when she said they were brought here unconscious. When they accepted to work for me, I had brought them into my house unconscious. Even Isabella was brought here the same way. So, apparently, only Ivan and I knew that the library
(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
(Writer's POV) Ivan's eyes slowly opened when he heard a knock on the door. He stretched his whole body, blinking sleepily, before getting up to open the door for whoever was outside. "Isabella?" he yawned, trying to see her clearly. "Can we talk for a few minutes?" she whispered. "Let it wait until tomorrow morning," he replied, attempting to shut the door in her face, but Isabella held it, preventing him from slamming it. "I thought you said you were on your monthly flow. Don’t tell me you changed your mind and want to have sex with me," he said, and Isabella kicked his knee. Ivan pressed his lips together to suppress the pain. "I know I agreed to be friends with benefits with you, but I am not here for sex. It's about Vanessa." "Vanessa?" Ivan uttered, sounding serious. Isabella nodded. "What about her?" he questioned. "Can we talk inside your room? Or should we find a safe place to talk?" she asked, and Ivan opened the door wider, allowing her to enter. "So,
(Writer's POV) "You should have been careful, Vanessa!" Enzo scolded her loudly. Vanessa had managed to escape from Alessio's house to meet up with Enzo. "I have always been careful, Enzo. I didn’t know Alessio would be awake at that time. I thought he would have been tired after having sex with Lisa, which was why I snuck into the kitchen to call you and inform you about Lisa winning over Salvatore," Vanessa explained. "But still, you should have been more careful!" he scolded again and took in a deep breath. "How were you able to survive? Alessio kills his enemies without thinking twice." Vanessa smirked and crossed one leg over the other, picking up a cigarette from an ashtray. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, which made her look younger than her age. "Lisa was able to bail me out. She used her relationship with Alessio to blackmail him." "And that devil complied?" Enzo asked, sounding surprised. "Yeah, he did. He's head over heels for her. And as for Lisa, I have
(Lisa's POV) The sickening sound of something I couldn't quite describe penetrated my ears. My eyelashes fluttered before I slowly opened my eyes. My head hurt, and for a moment, everything around me was dark. It wasn't until I regained my sight that I saw the clan's doctor packing syringes into a plastic box. She didn't seem to notice me, so I intentionally cleared my throat. Her eyes instantly shifted from her work, and when she realized I was awake, she rushed to my side. "Thank God you're finally awake," she said with relief. I tried to sit up in bed, but I was too weak, so she helped me. "Thank you," I muttered, and she beamed at me. "It's nothing, Lisa. What matters most is that you're awake." "What happened to me? All I remember is passing out after I drank the pineapple juice Nadia gave me," I murmured. "The drink was spiked with barbiturates." "Barbiturates?" I furrowed my brows. "Yes. It's a dangerous drug when taken excessively. But what matters right now is that
(Alessio's POV) "Bianca was the one who spiked Lisa's drink with barbiturates?" I asked, and she slowly nodded her head. "Yes. I'm sure of it, Don Alessio. She asked me once about a poison that could kill someone. I wasn't sure what she was up to, so I lied to her, telling her that barbiturates are dangerous." "Why didn’t you tell me about this?" I fumed. "I wasn't sure what she was up to, which is why I lied to her," she replied, and I harshly choked her neck. "What difference does it make now?! Lisa is unconscious! The least you could have done was tell me when you found her suspicious!" I snapped. "I'm sorry, Don Alessio. I never thought she would use the drugs on Lisa," she pleaded, but I added pressure to her neck. "Your mind didn’t tell you Bianca would use the drugs on Lisa, but it could whisper to you to take your phone and call Salvatore, right?" I growled. "I'm a doctor, Don Alessio. I couldn't watch Bianca die when I knew I could treat her; that's why I call
(Alessio's POV) "Where did she go?" I muttered to myself as I entered the shooting range and couldn't find her there. The moment we arrived at the clan, she had told me she wanted to go to the shooting range. I had agreed, but upon arriving at the shooting range, I couldn't find her anywhere. The guns were still intact, meaning she hadn't been here. Did she lie to me? Jealousy flared in me as I sensed she must've gone to see Angelo. I left the shooting range and went to his room inside the clan—he was the only one who didn’t have a condo of his own aside from the room he had in the clan, which was why he was mostly here. Arriving at his room, my brows furrowed when I didn’t find him there. "Where's Angelo?" I asked a mobster I came across. "He's in the power room, Don Alessio," she replied with a bow. Right. For a moment, I had forgotten he normally spent half of his day there since it was his job. Before I could get to the doorstep of the power room, I heard his voice. He w
(Lisa's POV) "They're... they're what?" I stuttered, surprised by what Alessio had just said. He stuck his hands into his pants pockets, giving me a mocking look. "They're fake, Lisa," he replied with a smirk. "If they were real, do you think you would have still been alive after you stepped on it the first time?" he asked in a mocking tone. "So you mean you left me standing for hours in the rain, believing they were real landmines?" I asked, and he gladly nodded his head. "It was a way to punish you for trying to escape from me." "Alessio!!!" I yelled at him, unaware that I had stepped away from the landmine. I gasped, but when I didn't see myself explode, I calmed my nerves. "See? I told you they were fake," he mocked. "Why did you do that to me, Alessio? Do you know how terrified I was that day? I thought I was going to die!" I yelled at him. "You wouldn't have stepped on it if you weren't trying to escape from me," he sneered. "You're a jerk!" I thundered, aimi
(Alessio's POV) I read her text over and over again, but I was too angry to reply. She had no right to threaten me the way she did, and a part of me still hurt, knowing she was using my relationship as leverage to bail Vanessa out of my hell. I wasn't done with Vanessa. I was determined to fish out the truth from her. I just needed to catch her red-handed so she wouldn't have anything to say when I did. I glanced at the cellphone in my hand, which belonged to Vanessa. It wasn't a smartphone. I dialed the number she had called last night, but whoever it was didn't answer. What made me suspicious was when I glanced through the phone and discovered there were no other numbers apart from the one Vanessa claimed was her sister's. It was impossible to have just a single number on your phone. Even I, who hate keeping friends like kids loathe medicine, have plenty of contacts. I became suspicious of her. She better be ready for me, if my suspicions turned out to be true, not ev
(Lisa's POV) "Good morning," I greeted him when I woke up the following morning and discovered he was back in his suite. He didn't answer. He was focused on buttoning the buttons of his black shirt. Didn't he hear me? "Good morning, Alessio," I greeted again with a cheerful smile, but he still didn't reply. That was when I realized he had actually heard me but was pretending not to. I got down from the bed and strode toward him. "Let me help you with that," I smiled, reaching out to help him button his shirt, but he held my hand. "I can do it. I don't need your help," he said, his tone different from the way he usually spoke to me. Was he mad at me? Yeah, he should be. What I said to him last night was really uncalled for, just like Isabella had said. I shouldn't be the only one ignoring him whenever I was upset with him. I guess this time around, it's my turn to apologize. "Alessio, about last night..." I began, but he cut me short. "I have something important to do," h
(Lisa's POV) "You don't mean what you just said, do you?" Alessio asked, disappointment evident in his eyes. He hadn’t expected me to say that, but I couldn't just stand by and watch him kill Vanessa—a woman who had been nothing but kind to me. "Yes, I mean it, Alessio. I can easily go back to California if I want to, so don't make me do it," I replied, looking directly into his eyes. Alessio stared at me, as if trying to form a response, but when he couldn't, he walked out, bumping shoulders with me as he passed. I staggered. Alessio left the kitchen, with Ivan silently following behind him. I watched until Alessio was out of sight. "Lisa," Vanessa called my name, sobbing. I rushed to her, squatting beside her. "Are you alright?" I asked. She shook her head, sniffling. "I didn't do anything wrong, Lisa. I only had a secret phone because my sister is in the hospital. You know how my daughter died because I was too busy traveling the world and learning different dishes,