NADIAI was already done with the business files Jeff returned home. I'd told him to increase it a bit more which he did, working on this file for a while. I could only say that Luciano was intelligent and professional with the dealings of his company. Time flew by and it was night already. Luciano wasn't home yet, so I returned to my room. Later in the night, I woke up because I was having a nightmare. Amidst my thoughts, I heard slow, and unsteady footsteps approaching my room, before I could react, the door burst open, revealing Luciano's imposing figure.He staggered through the door, muttering under his breath. The heavy whiff of alcohol followed, consuming the air, as soon as he walked into the room.Was he drunk? I frowned and got up to help him. “Luciano, are you okay?” I asked, for some reason, feeling deeply worried.He laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. “Am I okay?” his words slurred, his voice mocking. “Why wouldn't I be? My family's circus, my brother's snake, my father,
AUTHORLuciano's anger was triggered by his father and brother, at his mother's memorial service.A day Ago,Luciano stood at the vast, ornate hall where his mom's memorial service was being held. His jaw was clenched so tightly that it ached. He knew that behind the facade of those gathered belied the insincerity of their whisper. Not any one of them had a single sympathy for the woman who they claimed to mourn, they only cared about their power, appearance and no one was more obvious to flaunting those than Luciano's father, Silas Moterno.Dressed proudly in a black suit, Silas held court at the center of the room, a picture of a grieving widower. His words were laced with honey, his demeanor composed, yet the sight of him filled Luciano with fury and hatred, so intense it made his vision blur. Silas, standing tall, had stolen everything from Luciano, his mother, his childhood, Damon, and every semblance of his peace.Luciano's hand clenched tightly into fists by his sides, his rag
NADIAThe house felt like a hollow shell without Luciano. For a month, he had left without a word, leaving me to wonder if it was because of that night. Although I still bore the scars, not on my body, but deep in my heart, and everytime i passed his closed bedroom door, the memory of his drunken rage haunted me.Yet, there was a part of me that couldn’t help but yearn for him, a part of me that couldn’t let go. Something in his eyes that night had looked broken,desperate and betrayed, and that’s what made it so hard to resent him fully.With Luciano gone, it was easier going outside, venturing beyond the walls of the mansion, although his men never ceased to follow me around wherever I went, but they gave me breathing space. On one of those outings, I met Damon, the man from the restaurant.I had just finished walking through a local bookstore, holding on to the small bag of novels, when he appeared. “Hi Nadia, we met again.” he smiled softly, waving at me.I waved back and looked aw
NADIA It's been weeks already, with Luciano and I barely speaking to each other, I barely see him not to talk of crossing paths with him. If he was avoiding me or was just too busy at work, I have no idea. These past weeks, I've been feeling a lot of things, tired, when I actually did nothing, sleepy and extreme dizziness. My sleep wasn't as peaceful as it was before. I kept seeing myself, or rather, the little version of me, as a kid, laughing and playing around in a huge mansion. The sounds of her laughter were filled with so much happiness and contagious playfulness. Amidst her happiness, a deep voice called out her name, his voice dripping with love and genuine affection, but then, the name he called wasn't Nadia. Vesper, he called her Vesper. He was calling her to stop running, but she kept running, her laughter growing louder and echoing in all corners of the mansion.I was desperate to see his face, to know who he was, but just each time, I failed. He either seems to disappe
NADIA“Miss, are you okay?” I turned to the guard and nodded, but his gaze was fixed at Damon, glaring daggers at him. Damon's expression remained unfazed, rather a smirk was etched on his face, as if daring Luciano's men.“Let's get going, I was about to leave before you guys came.” I said, trying to ease the tension.Luciano's men nodded and we left. All through the drive home, my unsettled mind continued to ponder, it's no new news that Luciano wouldn't know about what happened today and the mere thinking of what he might do, scares the shit out of me. At some point, I thought of talking to his men so they wouldn't disclose It to him, but I knew better than that, he was their boss and no matter what happens they will spill everything to him.If meeting Damon at the bookstore today was going make Luciano go ahead with his threat ... .no way, I can't even think about that.My heart began to race rapidly the moment the car pulled into the vast and spacious estate, taking a deep
NADIAAs if noticing my presence, Luciano and the doctor abruptly stopped talking and glanced my way. Luciano slowly shifted his gaze, turning his back against me. He was acting cold again. “Are you okay?” The doctor asked and suddenly walked up to me, I nodded firmly, my gaze still fixed on Luciano’s back. “Good you need to take care of your health, else when your health gets this bad again, you’ll have to be operated on.”I frowned, “Operated on?” he nodded. After a series of talks, the doctor left. Luciano was about to leave too when I stopped him. “You’re just going to walk away again?’He paused on his steps, but didn’t look at me. “Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? Rest well.”I chuckled, “You know that’s not what I meant,”“What did you mean then?”“What’s the point of avoiding me? What would those who are scared of you think, when they learn that you are avoiding or should i say afraid of facing a lady?”His fists clenched beside him and he slowly turned to look at me,
NADIAThe morning light filtered through the thin curtains, but I felt none of its warmth. My body was sluggish, way down by exhaustion, I couldn’t shake. I clutched the sink in the washroom, my stomach roiling with nausea as the bitter taste of bile lingered in my mouth.This was the fourth morning in a row I’d woken up feeling like this, and my persistence headaches and fatigue left me frustrated and confused. The doctor’s warning about my health echoed in my mind. I knew I couldn’t delay any longer, pulling on a simple coat, I slipped out of the house unnoticed, not even by any of Luciano’s men. Uncertain of where to go, but I quickly remembered seeing a pharmacy store closeby by where I went with Luciano’s men.Reaching there, a wave of unease washed over me. I took a deep breath and worked into the store. It was very large and spacious, the bright interior of the place was calm and unnervingly quiet. I approached the counter hesitantly, my eyes darting around as I was also scared
NADIA My heart raced wildly as I stared at the message, utterly confused. Who is this person? I thought the pregnancy result was between me and the nurse…how..how did this person find out? Was I being followed?“Jesus, Joseph and Mary, help me out.” I tossed my phone on the bed, shoved my hand into my hair, to push back a few strands, as if they could stop me from going crazy.Luciano had wanted me to tell him about every message I received. If it was before, I'd gladly report this to him, but now? I can't, I can't risk him finding out I'm with a child, his child, because I plan to abort this child. My life is a mess already, I can't bring an innocent child into it.I picked up my phone, reading the address over and over again. Truth is, I needed answers to all my questions, but the person behind the phone might be after me. The person might be an enemy of the emperor who wants me dead. I was about to return the phone to the stand, when he dinged with another message, I quickly open
NADIA A stark, blinding whiteness consumed my vision. The scent of antiseptic burned my nose. The steady, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor pulsed in the background, dragging me out of the abyss.My eyelids fluttered open. The ceiling above me was white, too white, like a void swallowing everything. The bright lights stung my eyes, forcing me to blink against the sharp ache pressing against her skull. A dull, throbbing pain radiated from my abdomen, each pulse sharper than the last.My breath shuddered as the memories from last night flooded into my head. Luciano. The chaos. The escape. And then….my fingers twitched against the stiff hospital sheets. Slowly, I turned my head, my body protesting even the slightest movement. A deep, dragging exhaustion weighed me down, as though my bones had been replaced with lead.My heart skipped as I suddenly remembered.My stomach. The pain. The warm, sticky wetness. The sharp, gut wrenching pain that ripped through my body before my legs gave
NARRATOR ~~The moment the alarms blared, Luciano knew the escape wasn't going to be easy, but he had vowed to get Nadia out of there.The red warning lights flashed through the dark corridors, casting eerie shadows as men flooded the halls. The silence that had lingered previously shattered into chaos. The air was consumed with the metallic scent of blood and gunpowder as gunfire erupted like a violent storm.Luciano's grip on Nadia tightened as he turned to Logan. “Get her out of here. I'll clear the path.”Logan's face was grim. He nodded, stepping towards Nadia, but before he could even lay a hand on her, bullets whizzed last them, slamming into the walls, sending chunks of stone and debris flying.“Fuck….get down!” Luciano barked, grabbing Nadia’s arm and shielding her as he pressed her against the wall. His men had already taken position, returning fire with ruthless precision.The hallway had now turned into a wall zone.Luciano moved swiftly, his gun raised as he fired at the
LUCIANO~~My fingers curled into fists as my patient grew thin, as if hanging on a thread. Every second that passed felt like a blade slicing through my control. Nadia was in that house, surrounded by Damon's men. And yet, here I was, standing and waiting.“Time’s running out, Logan,” I growled, my voice a low warning. “If I find out you've been wasting my time, I swear I'm gonna put a bullet into your fucking skull and get to her myself.”Logan exhaled, steadying himself. “Listen, I want Nadia out of there, as much as you do, not just for my sake, but I got her in there. But if you go in now, guns blazing, they'll kill her before you can even step inside.”I clenched my jaw, my body vibrating in frustration. My instincts screamed at me to act. To move. Logan continued, his voice low. “I know the layout. Her room is in the west wing, near Silas’s personal quarters. Damon stationed his most ruthless men outside her door. We're talking about killers that have intense hatred against the
NADIA “You think your adoption was fate? Some kind couple taking in a poor, abandoned child?” His fingers trailed down my arm, but I recoiled violently, my breath coming in ragged bursts. “You were handpicked, Nadia. And the name Eddie, I gave that to you. The orphanage just chose to call you Nadia.” Silas continued, his voice thick with cruel amusement. “Your adoptive parents weren't Saviours or kind. They were paid by me.” The room spun.No.No, no, no.“You're lying,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.Silas chuckled, dark and pleased. “Am I? I watched you grow. No. You grew on my money, I was waiting for you to become what I needed. But those bastards? They failed me.” His smile twisted into something crueler. “So, I showed them what it felt like to go against me.”Bitterness rose in my throat.“You..” my voice choked.“Yes,” he said simply. “I killed them, and their precious daughter? Heh, you wouldn't want to know what I did with her.”The air in my lungs vanished, I
NADIA“I'd been dreaming all these while.” I cursed under my breath as I sat up from the bed. I'd been so overjoyed to see Luciano, only to find out it was a dream.Could that be a sign? I thought.“Good morning, sweetheart,” Damon's voice suddenly sounded behind me, startling me out of my thoughts.“What do you want?” “Don't ask obvious questions.”“I wish I could let you relax more, but no. We stopped somewhere last night, I'm eager to finish it.”“So, tell me. Did you make up your mind to tell the truth?”I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.“Damon, I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about. I swear.”There was a sharp shift in his gaze, “Are you intentionally testing my patience?”“No, I…” “Bring her!” He barked.His men bagged into the room and yanked me up from the bed. Pulling me to follow them.“Damon, no!”I was brought to a dimly lit room, the temperature was very low, almost freezing. Tears pricked my eyes as I glanced at Damon's cold face.“You have so
LUCIANOMy fingers trembled slightly as I unfolded the crisp white paper, my pulse an unsteady rhythm in my ears. The moment my eyes scanned the bold letters on the top of the document, my world tilted.PATIENT: NADIA ANGELO RESULT: POSITIVE – APPROXIMATELY 6 WEEKS PREGNANT My breath caught. I read it again. PREGNANT I inhaled sharply. My grip tightened around the edges of the paper, my knuckles white. My heart, so used to being a weapon of ice and steel, felt like it had just been ablaze.Nadia is pregnant…with my child.A growl tore from my chest, raw and vicious, rattling through the walls of the empty bedroom. My jaw clenched as a thousand thoughts fought for dominance in my head. I had failed her….. again. I had let them take her. And now she wasn't just Nadia. She's with my child. The mother of my child.And Damon had her. Damon, that bastard, who would stop at nothing to break people. My mind snapped to the worst possibilities, was she hurt? She's scared, I know her and she'
NADIAMy heart pounded in my chest like a war drum. The room, dimly lit and suffocating, felt smaller with every second that passed. Damon's presence was consuming, his dark gaze drilling into my soul with a twisted amusement that we entered chills running down my spine.Luciano was right…Damon is such a monster.“You still don't get it, do you?” Damon's voice was smooth, almost scornful. He reached out, brushing a stray of my hair from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheeks, sending chills down my spine. I flinched back, but I couldn't move away from him, my back was against the wall already.“You act so strong and fearless,” he said, his lips curling into a sinister smile. “But I can feel your fear, it's, it's intoxicating.”My fingers instinctively clenched into fists. “If you think terrorizing me Is going to change how I feel, then you're wrong and also wasting your time. Luciano will find me, and when he does…”“Enough!” Damon's hands shot out and gripped my chin between his
NADIA I couldn't believe my eyes. My pulse quickened and my breath hitched in my throat. The person standing before me, smirking coldly, was none other than Logan. The last person I expected to see. “You? How could you?” I spat, my voice a mix of anger and disbelief. My chest heaved with anger and frustration. I couldn't believe Logan would dare to have me kidnapped.“You should be thankful, Eddie. This is the only way to save you from him. Now you're here, we will protect you.”“We?”“Yes, we. We'll make sure to keep away from Luciano.” Another familiar voice echoed from behind Logan, as he stepped in.“Damon?” “Sweetheart. Long time no see. You were avoiding me, now, look who's excited to see me.” He chuckled and walked closer to stand in front of me.Damon and Logan are now working together, just to have me kidnapped. Why?My eyes darted between the both of them, “Who told you I need to be safe from Luciano? Damon, you'd regret bringing me here, if Luciano finds out. Let me go.”
LUCIANO “Does anyone have something else to say?” I thundered, pointing the gun at every one of them. “No!”“What?” “No, Boss!!”“Good.” I hummed, playing with the gun. “Now, I need me, his family members. Everyone of them should be brought to the basement.”“Roger that, boss!!”It wasn't long before Jeff returned with the asshole, their face battered, clearly they've had a good fight. The winner is obvious, heh.“Good job, Jeff. Throw him into the car.” When we returned to the basement, I had other men tie him to the pole. Luke isn't new to this game as he knows my punishment for betrayal, but this time, I'm gonna make it so brutal he'd regret crossing me.“Hasten the arrival of his family.” I whispered to Jeff, he nodded and left. I turned to Luke, “Luke, Do you remember our first encounter? Where and how I met you?”He nodded, his eyes blazing with fear, but not regret or remorse. “What did I say was the punishment for anyone who betrayed me?” “K-k-killed by comrade..”“Tha