Hey guys, I just wanted to address something! While I might not write every technical detail about arrests, bails, and interrogations in the story, please know that these events are happening behind the scenes. If I were to explain every single procedure, it would take away valuable time and focus from the characters, which is the heart of the story. I try to balance the narrative between realism and storytelling. Thank you for sticking with me and for your thoughtful feedback—I love hearing your thoughts! Much love, XOXO 💋
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ It wasn’t paranoia, I knew their way of looking at me had changed. Their eyes lingered longer than they used to. They were subtle but enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Every corridor I walked down, every room I entered, I felt it. A shift. A tension. Conversations cut off mid-sentence. Quiet smirks exchanged when they thought I wasn’t looking. They knew. The interrogation. Alessandro’s words. That move to humiliate me. It had worked, and now it was all anyone around here could talk about. Even Fitz had that look—like I’d just confirmed every worst-case scenario he’d ever imagined about me. They didn’t say it to my face, of course. The FBI didn’t work like that. No, the Bureau thrived on whispers, on knowing glances, on passive-aggressive judgment that could cut deeper than any outright insult. I sat at my desk, pen in hand, clicking it over and over—open, shut, open, shut. The men gave me these looks...half-pity, half-something els
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The chill of the New York night bit through my tactical gear as we huddled in the staging area just off a dirt road deep in the woods. The outskirts of the city felt worlds away from Manhattan. It was silent except for the rustle of leaves and the occasional low murmur of voices. Only the moonlight filtered through the trees, fell on the convoy of SUVs and black tactical vans. The warehouse sat less than a mile away. Recon photos showed it was heavily guarded, complete with cameras, floodlights, and armed guards stationed at all entrances. Fitz stood at the center of our team, as he went over the final details. A large map of the warehouse lay on the hood of one of the vehicles, illuminated by a red tactical light. “The perimeter team will secure the exits,” Fitz voiced, his gaze sweeping over the group, “We don’t want anyone slipping out into the woods. Entry team moves in through the west side. It’s the weakest point. Surveillance suggests minimal guards there
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ I leaned back in the leather armchair, staring blankly at the whiskey glass in my hand, her words still echoing in my head. "Freckles, you think people like this actually exist? Two people, so wrapped up in each other that they just... give it all, no questions asked? I don’t know. Feels like these books are just setting people up for disappointment." I could still hear the scoff in her voice, see that half-smirk pulling at her lips, like she was too smart to fall for fairytales. "Honestly? I don’t buy it. Unconditional love—people throw that phrase around like it’s just something you fall into. But in real life, love fades. It’s not all hearts and flowers; it’s fights and regrets. Most people can’t tell the difference between lust and love. They just get off on the idea of a forever that doesn’t exist." I should’ve heard it then. Really heard it. She wasn’t just talking about love, she was telling me exactly who she was. Exactly what we were. Temporary. Dis
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Do you ever walk into a room and feel like every single pair of eyes is on you, sizing you up, waiting for you to make a mistake? Like the walls themselves are whispering behind your back? That’s how it felt today at the office. Every whisper, every sideways glance, it all felt like it was about me. When someone leaned in close to speak to someone else, my stomach knotted. Were they talking about me? Talking about Stella? Questioning how I still had a job after everything that went down? Every time someone adjusted their holster or touched their weapon, I swore they were about to pull it, like they had made up their mind about whose fault this mess was. I kept looking around, searching for a friendly face, anyone who might give me a shred of reassurance but there was nothing. Not a single one of them felt like a friend, like someone I could trust. And I realized then, I was alone in all of this. The one person who might’ve understood, who might’ve cared enough to
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Lesson number 1: Gloves. Lesson number 2: No one is innocent, Not in this world. Lesson number 3: Never, ever trust anyone. And most important of all: I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. That was the deal, wasn’t it? He said he’d protect what was his and he meant it. And against every ounce of reason, against instincts screaming at me to walk away, I loved him for it. Because if Alessandro taught me anything, it’s that protecting what’s yours isn’t just a promise. It’s a purpose. And when I have a purpose, I don’t hesitate, I get to work. The security cameras were easy. I wrote a custom loop override script last week. It froze the feed leading to the records room, cycling the same static image to make everything look normal. The timestamps matched perfectly. Carl in the security room? He wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Probably had his feet up, sipping his third vending machine coffee of the night. He’d see the footage, glance at the clock
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The room was cold and too quiet, the kind of quiet that crawled under your skin and makes you shiver. The only sounds were the soft tapping of keys as the polygraph operator prepped the machine. My pulse thrummed in my ears, loud enough that I wondered if they could hear it too. The chair they had me in was straight-backed and uncomfortable, positioned dead center in the room like a bullseye. Wires and straps were secured to me: one around my chest, another on my arm, sensors on my fingertips. I felt like a lab rat, stripped of any dignity, every breath I took measured and recorded. Across from me, Special Agent Hanson sat, clipboard in hand. Fitz stood in the corner, arms crossed, his face a mask of disappointment and scrutiny. “You know how this works, Kane,” Hanson said, his voice clipped, “Answer with a simple yes or no. Any deviations will be noted. Understood?” “Yes,” I said, my voice was steady despite the storm brewing inside me. “Good.” He glance
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ The morning felt colder than it should have been for late spring. Or maybe it was just me, a lingering frost settling deep in my chest since I opened my eyes. The suit jacket rested across the back of the chair in my room, its dark fabric catching the faint light from the window. Black-on-black. Not tie. A tie said I was here to play by the rules, and I wasn’t. The trial wasn’t about proving anything, not guilt, not innocence, not morality. It was about breaking us. I adjusted my cuffs in the mirror, letting my reflection stare back. Dead eyes that don’t blink enough to look human. I’d scare myself if I didn’t already know the things I’m capable of. Viviane. The name sits heavy in my mind, like an ache I can’t quite shake. I shouldn’t think about her now, not when everything is riding on today but she’s there, always there at the back of my mind, refusing to leave. She’s not here now. She’s probably somewhere safe, out of sight, out of reach. Smart. If sh
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Do you know what it feels like to be surrounded by people and still feel like you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean with no lifeline? That’s what it felt like sitting at the defense table today. Fitz, Logan, and Warren were right there, close enough to touch, close enough to remind me of all the bridges I’ve burned but no one spoke to me. They didn’t have to. Their silence said it all: I was disposable, and if I weren’t crucial to this case, I’d already be a footnote in someone else’s report. My stomach churned, but my face stayed neutral. Years of training couldn’t prepare you for this. My eyes betrayed me, flicking to him against my better judgment. Alessandro. He was sitting there with that smug confidence he always had. He leaned toward Goldstein, listening intently, but then, for the briefest second, his gaze shifted. And it landed on me. My heart stopped. His eyes narrowed, not with warmth or familiarity, but with something colder, harsher.
Viviane☩═✦═☩This had to work. Failure wasn’t an option, not for me, not for her, and definitely not for the truth. If this plan fell apart, it wouldn’t just ruin everything I’d clawed my way toward; it would rewrite the narrative, paint her as the victim when she was anything but. The thought made my stomach churn. I stood at the head of the table, my arms crossed, watching the two boys fidget under my gaze. Their mothers stood protectively behind them, throwing nervous glances at each other. They weren’t scared of the courts or the cops. No, their real fear had a name: Nikolai. “Do I need to remind you how much I’ve already paid you?” I said.I leaned forward, my palms flat on the table, watching their faces carefully. One of the boys, the taller of the two, finally mustered the courage to speak. “Yeah, but… going in front of Don Niko wasn’t part of the deal. We agreed to testify in court, not to lie to him.” Before I could answer, one of the mothers stepped in, “Ms. Viv
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ The morning air bit at my skin, cold enough to clear my head. Coffee in hand, I leaned against the front door. Last night replayed in broken flashes—her body beneath mine, her breathless moans, the way she looked at me. I shouldn’t have touched her. Not again. Not after everything. But fuck me, when she’s near, it’s like every ounce of logic burns away. And God, she makes it so fucking easy. One of my men stepped out of the car, with the garment bag in his hand. “Sir, the dress,” he said, holding it out. A dress for her. Something elegant, beautiful, tailored to fit her perfectly. Because, apparently, I’m the kind of man who has shit like this ready for a woman I can’t trust, can’t forgive, but still can’t fucking let go of. I snatched the bag out of his hand, and dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Inside the house, I dropped the garment bag onto the couch. The coffee in my hand was lukewarm now, but I drank it anyway, the bitterness biting at my to
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ His lips dragged a lazy path down my stomach, he kissed the sides of my waist, his stubble scratched against my skin, and when he reached the edge of my lace blue panties, he paused. His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine, half-lidded, intense, and filled with so much lust that made my stomach flip. His lips parted, his teeth brushing over the delicate lace as he caught the fabric. It wasn't smooth, it was messy, slow, and really sloppy. He tugged the panties down with his teeth, the fabric catching briefly against my thighs before sliding lower, until they pooled at my ankles. Every nerve in my body seemed to be on edge, my head spinning from the booze, the heat, the way he looked at me like I was something he was about to ruin in the best possible way. His mouth hovered just close enough to make me squirm. My head tipped back against the pillows, the room spinning like I was on a carousel I couldn’t get off of. When his tongue finally swept between my folds, I c
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Then he spoke again, and his voice hit me like a bucket of cold water. Oh, he was real. Too real. “You're the biggest headache of my life... and the only thing I can't stop wanting,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. His hand raked through his hair, and he looked down, like he was trying to find the words buried somewhere in the concrete beneath us. “You’re so goddamn...pretty. It’s infuriating.” I blinked at him, caught off guard, “What?” His head snapped up, and he looked at me like I was the problem, like I was the one ruining his life. “You heard me,” he said, “You’re pretty, okay? Too fucking pretty. And I hate it. I hate you. You make everything impossible.” My breath hitched, and I hated myself for it. “You hate me?” my voice trembling with anger or maybe it was something, “Good. Because I hate you too.” He stepped closer, and suddenly there was no space left between us. I could feel the heat rolling off him, his breath warm and tinged with whis
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The table felt lopsided, or maybe that was just me. I leaned forward, elbows planted on the table like some heathen with no manners. Across from me, Alessandro was laughing—a deep, rumbling laugh that I found fucking annoying and it grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. Because his arm was draped around her. He was playing a new game, "I'm-going-to-make-Viviane-homicidal" game. Miss Bubblegum-Lip-Gloss-And-Too-Much-Perfume laughed at something he said, her perfect teeth gleamed under the lights. She was laughing like he was the funniest man alive. “Here,” he said, as he lifted a forkful of whatever overpriced dish was on his plate. “Try this.” She tilted her head, batting her eyelashes as she parted her lips and leaned in to take the bite he was offering. She ate the damn thing like it was a scene from a rom-com, her eyelashes fluttering like she had a severe medical condition. I nearly choked on my wine. I slammed my wine glass down harder than
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ I’ve always had an ego. And I’m not exactly shy about it either. Call it arrogance if you want. Call it self-awareness. Doesn’t matter to me. I know who I am, and I own every part of it. The problem was when someone like me goes head-to-head with someone just as stubborn, just as egotistical, it’s not just a spark...it’s a fucking wildfire, and nothing survives that. Not pride. Not patience. Not us. We hadn’t spoken directly in over a month. Every word, every message, every order was funneled through his brothers like some sort of twisted game of telephone. I knew he hated it as much as I did, but neither of us would break first. It wasn’t just about stubbornness. It was about principle. I refused to be the one to crawl back, and Alessandro, well, he’d rather set himself on fire than give me the satisfaction of seeing him bend. Whatever. Let him stew in his own ego. Let him send his brothers to speak for him, like the coward he is. “Ms. Kane, the bo
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ I ignored Viviane like my goddamn life depended on it, like she didn’t exist, and she returned the favor like a pro. Every other day, she showed up with something new to hand over, evidence, a strategy, or another clever way to make the FBI and the Cartel bleed. And every single time, Nikolai gave her just one name of a cartel member, leading her back to the bastards responsible for her sister’s death. It was a deal between them, a trade of trust. She didn’t hang around my family like someone looking for forgiveness. No, Viviane Kane walked in like she’d already claimed it. She was making herself indispensable, carving her space back into our world. Sometimes, I’d catch her on the couch with the girls, sharing a drink, laughing at one of their jokes, her guard down just enough to make her seem human again. Other times, she’d be in the corner with Nikolai and the other men, throwing back sarcastic words like they’d been friends for years. It fucked with
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ “What the fuck is she doing here?” Alessandro barked, his finger stabbing the air in my direction, though his eyes stayed locked on Nikolai. Nikolai shot me a brief look before turning back to him. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about.” I stayed by the door, forcing myself to stay calm as every memory of him came rushing back, hot and biting, like a wound torn open too soon. Ghost. “Talk about what?” Alessandro’s voice dropped an octave. Nikolai hesitated, and that was a first. He glanced between us before sighing. “She works for me now.” Alessandro laughed incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the fuck does that mean, Niko?” I’d had enough. My patience had already been stretched thin, and I wasn’t about to let him bulldoze me again. Stepping forward, I slapped a file onto the table in front of Nikolai, the sound echoing through the room. “It means exactly what he said,” I cut in, turning to face Alessandro, “I work for Nikolai Costell
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ Nikolai was calm today, like a man who already knew the end of the story and was just here to watch it play out. My attention snapped to the front of the courtroom the second she walked in and approached the stand. She raised her hand to take the oath, and I felt everything catch in my chest. The words were routine, the same for every witness, but hearing them from her, seeing her there... it hit differently. Nikolai glanced at me, like he knew something I didn't but I ignored him, my focus locked on her as the questioning began. Viviane Kane was on the stand, and I was in hell. She sat there, like none of this was a big deal, like she wasn’t sitting at the center of the storm she created. That fiery red hair of hers was slicked back into one of those tight buns. That grey pantsuit was just another lie. It made her look like she had her shit together, like she wasn’t the same woman who’d been crying in my bed a few nights ago, clutching me like I was her