Natalia's POV: His index finger curled around the trigger as his grip on the gun tightened. My blood ran cold.He wasn't really going to shoot her, right? ‘What did you think? You've watched him kill a man right before your eyes.’ Just as Carlo was about to pull the trigger, Vittoria burst into a humorless, unhinged laughter. Her weak body racked with it and slowly, she turned her head to ward Carlo. The movement made some strands of her hair move, exposing her right eye that had ballooned shut.Carlo's expression morphed from puzzled to anger and he smacked across the face with the back of his hand. “You think this is funny, you fucking bitch!” Gasps and murmurs erupted as his hand and the butt of his gun collided with her face.Vittoria coughed up saliva mixed with blood, her lips were torn from the impact of the blow. “You know what I think is funny? You.” She laughed again. “Your downfall is just around the corner, Carlo. Even if you kill me now, there will be someone else
Carlo's POV: Fuck, how long has all these be going on under my nose and I prided myself as one who was always careful. “And do you know who she might be?” I asked, searching my brain to see if I had noticed any weird behaviors from maids recently. “No, not really,” he replied quickly. “Some of us undercover don't actually work with him here at the main office. So I had done a little digging and I found that the one he'd sent specifically to Italy was, Ginevra Berlusconi.” Ginevra Berlusconi. The name wasn't familiar to me, I didn't think I'd heard it within the mansion either, well, I didn't expect it to be so easy. If she was disguised as a maid, then she most definitely wasn't using her real name within these walls. And it was time to fish out whoever they were. “I will get to the root of this matter, Julian,” I said. “In the meantime, keep an eye on your boss. If he begins to act quickly, let me know.” “Sure thing, Don.” The call disconnected. For the next few weeks, my
Natalia's POV:I was being dragged away like I was some sort of criminal while I screamed, cried, begged but it all fell on deaf ears of course.I turned my head toward him while strong hands kept pulling me. “Carlo, please,” my voice wavered as I called out to him. “Please, I'm begging you,” I sobbed harder.But his face remained stoic, shoulders squared.There was no changing his mind. The realization hit me like a freight train, knocking the wind out of me as The closer we got to that familiar, dark underground dungeon, the more my panic heightened.As the guards tossed me into a damp, smelly, dark cell. I felt the lump in my throat thicken. I gasped as I fought so hard for air, clawing at my neck like there was some kind of invisible hands that were restricting my air flow.Tears streamed down my cheeks endlessly as a cold shiver ran down my spine.‘Breathe, Natalia, breath.’ But I couldn't, I tried my usual breathing technique and it was futile. I was way to riled up for it t
Natalia's POV:Eleven years old.The whole house was dark, and very quiet… The house was dark because we didn't have electricity, we almost never had electricity. Daddy always forgets to pay our bills, well, how could he? He was always too drunk to remember and almost never at home.Like now, he was away, so late at night and I was all alone.My stomach grumbled loudly as little pangs of hunger attacked my intestines, I could feel my insides squeezing and my hand came up to rub at my tummy.I was starving and hadn't eaten since lunch school yesterday, it was Saturday today, which meant I was either going to stay hungry until school on Monday or it was one of those rare times dad brought home a meal and I wouldn't have to go hungry until Monday.Maybe if I just try to sleep, I won't feel the hunger pangs anymore…I rose from our worn out couch, slipping into the hallway to my room. I laid on the bed and counted down to ten, hoping to fall asleep. But my tummy only rumbled louder, the
Carlo's POV: FIVE MORE HOURS LATER…. DINNER TIME: The energy around the table was off, gloomy even. Everyone ate their meals in extreme quietness, as if they were secretly judging me in their minds. I wasn't bothered. I really wasn't. Well, except from the fact that my mind kept bugging me to check up on her… Sigh… Maybe I was bothered. BUT only because I knew she was claustrophobic and she might have passed out or something… But that was the point right now, there was a reason why punishments were punishments. Why did I have to care if she was scared or not. A loud clank of metallic cutlery being dropped abruptly on glass snapped me out of my thoughts, my eyes following the sound to find Angela frowning down at her plate like it'd somehow offended her. “What did you do thar for?” Her blazing blue eyes met mine, lips pursed into a thin line as she stared at me for a beat. “You.” She finally said, voice tight. “Brother, how could be so cold? Zia begged you, yet it fell
Carlo's POV: 6:58 AM I paced the length of my bedroom, watching curiously as Natalia was being attended to by Camilla. Camilla was an old school friend and a doctor who worked for me whenever one of my men or me needed a doctor's. It was one of the ways we kept our lives and work away from the scrutiny of the public. “She's stable now,” she said, packing up her bag. “But please for the love of God, don't ever do that again. That's IF you want her to live.” “Of course I want her to live,” I protested, scrubbing my hand over my face. “I never planned on killing her.” “Could have fooled me,” she scoffed, tugging on her bag zipper. “It was just punishment for her crimes,” I pointed out sternly. “If she hadn't done what she did we wouldn't be here.” “Sure, whatever.” She placed her bag strap over her shoulder. “Just let her get some rest, the poor girl is shaken up.” A pang of guilt hit me and I tried to push it away, walking Camilla to the door. Just as she was about
Natalia's POV: I sat up quickly, but he was faster. He grabbed my shoulder, pushing me back on the bed. “Relax, you need to rest.” So that had been a dream? For a second there I thought I was a kid again, going through hell with dad. Thank goodness. A breath I didn't know I was holding escaped me, only to stop short when I realized that I wasn't exactly out of danger as the memories of hours earlier came flooding in. My throat went dry, my heart beating rapidly in my ears as my wide eyes flickered back to bluish-grey one. As if he could read my mind, he laughed a little. “You don't have to be afraid. You're pardoned. For now.” “Wait… what?” My racing thoughts came to a screeching stop. “I'm being pardoned?” I couldn't believe my ears. “Yes, monella,” he said, brushing a stray strand behind my ears. “You're forgiven. What you did is usually unforgivable but I will let you go this time.” My erratic heartbeat started to slow down but somehow, it was replaced with ang
A DAY LATER…Alessandro's POV:“Explain to me in simpler terms, so I could understand the bullshit coming out of that mouth of yours!” “Go fuck yourself!” I shot back, glaring hard into my partner's eyes. “I found a solution for this mess when no one else could!” Everytime, they act like they are the boss of me, like we aren't in this as partners!“Really?” They scoffed. “The plan was to get the girl involved after she had gotten Carlo to trust her and now we can no longer get her involved with that stupid suggestion you made.”I paced the length of the abandoned building, tugging on my strands and then I came to a stop. “If you had at least let me explain things better you'd understand that my plan isn't useless. But all you do is criticize and talk shit to me.”Their lips pursed into a thin line as they regarded me slowly. “Go on then.” They took two steps forward until we were only a foot apart. “Explain this grand plan to me.”“I was hoping you'd ask,” A smug smirk tugged on my l
Natalia's POV: Ding! My phone chimed with an incoming text and my heart leapt like it knew who it was. I grabbed my phone from my bedside table, glancing at its screen.Grumpy asshole: My room in five.My stomach flipped. Hard.I knew he'd give in. I might not be certain about a lot of things but this one, I was quite sure of.One thing I knew for certain is that Carlo was insanely attracted to me as I was to him even if he didn't have feelings for me—the thought of that made my chest ache but I chose to ignore it. I knew what it was from the start.Which takes me back to what I said to Angela. To Carlo, this was just sex, hot, dirty, wild sex. Nothing more. Even though I was starting to want ‘more.’Pushing away the negative thoughts, I got off my bed, and out of my room. I slipped into the hallway, heading straight for his room, my heart pumping fast with anticipation and excitement.Few rooms away from his bedroom, I caught myself grinning from ear to ear and my smile dropped ins
Carlo's POV: The soft raping had me lifting my eyes from my laptop. “Come in.” My eyes shifted back to my laptop and I continued working as the door creaked open. I heard it click shut but didn't bother looking up.“Hey.” My shoulders stiffened, hairs stood at the back of my neck as that familiar voice echoed around the four walls of my office. My gaze met dark blue ones. “Didn't think you'd be home.” She pulled out the chair across my desk and lowered herself into it. “Seriously, do you ever go to your company's office?” “I do, when necessary—” I paused abruptly. Why was I explaining myself? “What are you doing here, Natalia?” She arched her brows, a sly smirk tugging at the corners of those sensual lips. “Natalia? You rarely call me that.” I felt my stomach clenched but I maintained my cool on the outside, returning my attention back to my screen. “What do you want? I have a lot on my plate.” “You've been avoiding me, why?” My eyes met hers again as my mind darted back to t
Natalia's POV: ‘I like Carlo.’ The moment the word escaped my lips, the air around us stilled. My pulse quickened and it felt as though the heater had been turned on to its maximum temperature. Angela's fingers stilled in my hair and I pushed myself up, shifting until I was seated opposite her. She just stared at me, her expression unreadable. Embarrassment washed over me like a tidal wave, the whole situation was awkward. Why did I think it was okay to blurt it out like that? What was I thinking? This was stupid, so stupid.. “Or maybe not. I don't like Carlo. Never will. I guess I was just confused? I dunno. Just—” A loud bubble of laughter escaped her, cutting my rambling off and if I thought my cheeks felt hot earlier, it was like a burning furnace now. “Just… just forget about it.” “Forget about the fact that you admitted to liking my brother? Hell no,” she said between laughter, her shoulder trembling with it.“Did you miss the part where I said, ‘I think?’ I made a mistake
Natalia's POV: Morning sun filtered into my room, forcing me awake. My eyes squeezed shut as I rolled over, away from the window.I still needed to get some more sleep in. My body felt so weak, I'll probably need two weeks’ worth of sleep ro get back to normal. Satisfied with my new position, I hugged my pillow tightly against my chest, drifting into another peaceful sleep when a knock on my door interrupted.“For fuck’s sake!” I muttered under my breath but not moving. Maybe if I didn't answer, whoever was at the door would go away—KNOCK!! KNOCK!! “What now?!” I groaned loudly, tossing the pillow I'd been cuddling across the room. I just need so few minutes to myself, why couldn't I just get that?!KNOCK! KNOCK! “Goddammit! I'm coming!” I yelled, tossing back my covers as I slid out of bed, stomping over to my door. I grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and I yanked it open. As soon as the door opened, I came face to face with a maid and my irritation grew. “Now why would you keep
Natalia's POV: First, the fog cleared, next, my eyes fluttered open. And then I realized; I can't feel my limbs. I couldn't move either. But I could feel hands on me. My body felt like it didn't belong to me. And maybe, it didn't. Not with the way Carlo had manhandled me. I definitely should get on his nerves more often if it was gonna end up the way it did. “Can you walk?” Carlo's deep voice penetrated my thoughts and my bleary eyes shifted to him. “We need to shower, can you walk or do I need to carry you?” I guess you'd have to carry me. I tried to speak but my tongue felt too lazy and my throat was sore from all the screaming. So all I could do was stare at him, drinking in the sight of him in a disheveled state. His thick, dark hair looked wet on some parts from sweat, some strands were flustered to his forehead. My eyes dropped to his bare chest, showing off his impressive pecs. Somewhere along the line he'd taken off his clothes, untied me and cuddled me against
Carlo's POV: “N–yes.” I chuckled under my breath. “Go on, tell me why you're being punished.” “I.. er.. because.” She paused, breathing heavily as if trying to catch her breath. “Uh.. I barged into your office and spoke rudely to you.” Close enough. “That you did, but that is not why you're in this situation right now.” I heard the moment her breath hitched. “It's… it's not?” Well, it was until I changed my mind. I don't say that out loud. Wanted to keep her guessing. I moved closer to bed, admiring my handiwork on her skin. With how reddish and tender it looked, I bet she wouldn't be able to sit for days without thinking of this moment.Good.I liked the idea of being on her mind all the time.Well, for now, let's get right back to business. “I'm still waiting for your reply, bella. It's either that or I double the punishment.” “Shit.” She cursed under her breath, and I could almost hear the gears in her head turning. “You have only sixty seconds to give me a reply,” I said,
Natalia’s POV: ‘Strip.’That commanding tone of his already had my belly flipping really hard. But I decided to mess with him, I mean, is it going to be a fun punishment if i don't mess with him a bit.“I'm sorry, what?” I feigned ignorance, my eyes tracking his movements as he unlatched that black belt from the belt holes of his slacks. At my words, he arched his brow, folding the belt in two. “Are you trying to disobey me, monella?” I rolled my eyes but kept my lips shut. This was going to rile him up. Good. I wanted him that way.God, I was so fucking sick.Why did the idea of being punished by him make me ruby thighs together, relieving the growing ache between them.“Strip,” he growled, his eyes darkened w as he took several steps forward until he stood toe to toe with me and I could clearly make out the color of his eyes. “I will not repeat myself again. Do as I say or face the consequences.” Fuck.A shiver ran down my spine at his words, I should be afraid of the dangerous
Natalia's POV: Why did I always make bad decisions when I was upset? Because that was exactly what I did earlier. Make a bad decision.Why did I think it was okay to barge in and talk to Carlo in that manner? That in no way helped Angela's case and I think I just made it worse.From the way his jaw clenched hard at the mention of Angela texting a man, I knew I'd fucked up. Fuck. Was there a way to turn things around? And Angela… My chest tightened painfully. The poor girl must be devastated. I think I should go see her first before deciding what to do to salvage this situation.But as soon as I opened my door, I dived face-first into a hard, warm wall, stumbling back, a hand shot out and steadied me.I didn't need to look to tell who it was, I could recognize his scent in my sleep. “Carlo?” He took a few steps forward, forcing me to move backward until he was standing in my room, locking the door behind him. “You wanted to talk. So here I am” I arched my brows, eyeing him warily.
Carlo's POV: “Romeo and Francessco say they have a lead on Luca,” Enzo said, leaning back in his chair. “They said an Intel told them that he was last spotted in Andorra but they aren't sure.”I arched my brow. “Andorra?” “Yes.” Dio. This boy would be the death of me someday. Perhaps I should have just gotten my men to bundle him back home as soon as we realized he'd run to Spain. I couldn't tell what was on his mind, couldn't understand the reason why he was doing all this.But I had wanted to trust his judgement, didn't want to be the kind of father that mine was to me but this time, he was really pushing my hand. And only a matter of time will our enemies begin to go after him.Enough is enough.“If they find him, they must get him home no matter what,” I demanded. “I don't care whatever method they use, they must bring Luca home, got it?” “Sure thing, Don,” he replied with a curt nod, digging into his pockets. He produced his phone, unlocking the screen and typing rapidly on