{GIOVANNI’S POV}
**So, I left her.It wasn’t like I didn’t have a choice. I could’ve stayed back with her. Hell, a part of me wanted to. But I just... I just walked away.She knew my name, but I didn’t bother learning hers. Why would I? She was just a kid. Well, legal, barely 18, so no problem there, right? That’s how it goes. First time, one time. No strings, no complications.She wasn’t special.To me, she was just another warm body in a long, forgettable list of bitches. Names? Faces? They didn’t matter when you lived a shitty life as mine.So, in summary, thanks to my shitty life, I took what I wanted. When I wanted. And moved on.But damn. There was something about her.Not love or anything stupid like that; let’s not get carried away. But there was this way she looked at me, like she saw past the bullshit. Like she could strip me down to nothing with just her eyes.It pissed me of{EDMONDO’S POV} * * If there's anything I hate about myself, it's the lack of patience towards bastards. I hate chasing ghosts. The Irish Consigliere; a slippery bastard, is the kind of problem I like to solve immediately… with a bullet. Fast, simple, no bullshit. But here I am, trudging through this piss-soaked tunnel, hunting him down because my men couldn’t catch him outright. The underground reeks of rot, mildew, and something worse. Darkness. They all cling to my suit like a second skin. This isn’t where a man like me: The Don belongs, no, I should be sitting in the estate, drinking my scotch and celebrating the little blocks I've set for the empire I'm building. But ghosts don’t respect empires. They sneak in, lurk and poke around, and see how much they can steal before they vanish. And this ghost? I’ll make sure he vanis
{EDMONDO'S POV} * * The bastard’s trying to rile me up. And it’s working. My hand itches to reach for my knife. But I hold back. Not yet. Not here. He surely didn't come here to hug but to attack. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” I say, my voice is low and cutting. “But balls won’t save you when you’re six feet under.” “Ah, but I’ve no intention of being buried tonight,” he replies, his smile fading as his eyes harden. “I came here to talk.” Talk? “Talk?” I spit the word out like it tastes bad. “The Irish don’t talk. You threaten, you scheme, and you stab people in the back. So, cut the bullshit and tell me why you’re really here.” Donnelly shrugs. His movements are quite slow. Slow like a poison but delib
{LUIGI’S POV}**You don’t crawl back to Edmondo D’ Avi. Not after you’ve fucked up like I did. And definitely not unless you’ve got a death wish.I lurk in the shadows now, watching him from a distance like some pathetic ghost. I don’t deserve to stand in his light anymore, not after the shitstorm I brought down on him with Massimo. But I still love him. I’d still kill for him. Maybe one day I’ll even die for him. That’s all I’ve got left to offer; a loyalty he doesn’t even fucking know is still here.The tunnel’s cold and damp. This is the kind of place where rats thrive and bodies disappear. I blend into the dark like a goddamn phantom, watching Edmondo square off with the Irish Consigliere.Donnelly.I’ve heard his name whispered in back rooms and barrooms. The Irish Consigliere is a legend. A man with a silver tongue and an iron fist. He’s sharp as a switchblade and
{CARA'S POV} * * “Is Papà waiting for me?” I ask, my grip tightening on the door handle, and my pulse rising. I’m not sure I want to hear what he has to say. But I need to. 'Cara, you’re my only child now. By my side, you’ll hold the future of this family in your hands.' I can almost see it; my life shifting, closing in, and heavy duty falling heavily on me. We aren’t just an average family. We’re La Rosas. Power and blood - it’s what we’re built on. I’ve known it since before I could even talk. Trust no one. Don’t back down. Never apologize. But tonight, something’s changed. Agata, my sister, is gone, taken by this war, and now the Gambinos, Da Costas, De Lucas… they’re out for blood. They’ll come for me next to destroy the family whole. “Miss Cara, your father has been waiting,” Papà’s assistant says, opening the door to his study. The thick scent of cigars and leather hits me, comforting, familiar, but tonight, the air feels different… tense, sharp. “Daughter.” His
{EDMONDO'S POV} [HOURS AGO] * * The estate looms ahead, its iron gates dulled by the fading sunlight. This place has never felt like home.. not with the life we live. My grip tightens on the steering wheel, knuckles blanching as I roll the car to a stop. Dropping Rossa off at her grandma's was calculated. Necessary. Her safety isn’t something I gamble with, not with wolves circling. But the unease in her eyes before I left… it gnaws at me, like a silent accusation. 'Why didn’t you tell me sooner?' Because some truths don’t protect... they haunt. I step out of the car. The air carries the faint smell of wet stone and tobacco, mixing with the oppressive silence. Giovanni is waiting, as expected, leaning lazily against the gate with his signature smirk plastered on his face like he doesn’t give a million fucks about the world. “So,” he drawls, voice light but laced with venom. “You’re playing knight now? Shielding the damsel from the big bad wolves?” I don’t answer. Ther
{EDMONDO'S POV} [Continuation] * * The screams are still there, echoing in my head. They didn’t stop in the car, and they’re not stopping now. Images of the mountains, broken bodies, and chaos cling to me like smoke I can’t shake off. As we get closer to the estate, I see a figure. Similar to my father's. Standing there like some marble statue carved from pure disdain and disappointment. I step out of the car, my body heavy and my mind running on fumes. But his gaze hits me before his voice does. “Edmondo,” he says, low but sharp. “What are you doing? What have you done?” I say nothing. My jaw tightens as I brush past him. “Non pensare di potertene andare!” (Don’t think you can just leave!) His hand clips the back of my head... not hard, not enough to hurt. But just about enough to spark the fury simmering beneath my skin. I stop. Turn slowly. “You know,” I say, my voice icy and deliberate, “potrei farti finire in galera per questo.” (I could get you sent to jail
{CARA'S POV} * * I wake to the sound of murmured voices, muffled, as if I’m underwater. My head throbs, and for a second. Darkness is so complete that I’m not even sure if my eyes are open. I try to sit up, but a wave of nausea knocks me back down. The floor beneath me is cold. Unyieldingly cold. Where am I? I force my eyes open again, blinking until my vision sharpens. I’m in a room; a dim, bare space with concrete walls and a single light flickering overhead. There’s an iron door to my left, the only exit. My wrists are bound tightly behind me, it's cutting into my skin with every movement. It’s freezing. I can feel the chill biting into my skin as well. The air here is different. Crisp. Sharp. Nothing like the warmth of home - Sicily. I know I’m far from home, far from anywhere near and anything familiar. I glance around, keeping silent and assessing. I keep my face calm. “Don’t let them see anything,” I tell myself. “Trust no one.“ Footsteps. Slow, deliberate. They
{EDMONDO'S POV} * * Smoke curls around me, thick and bitter, as I take another drag from my pipe. The faint flicker of torchlight dances across the cold stone walls, casting shadows that writhe like restless spirits. The air is damp here, heavy with the metallic tang of blood and the stench of decay. It clings to my skin, to my thoughts, to every breath I take. She’s here, chained against the far wall. Cara La Rosa. Her name alone ignites the fire in my chest, a rage I’ve carried for far too long. I hate the Southern Italy Mafias. I hate their disunity and weakness. Just like the La Rosa; they couldn't take the fight head on, so they decided to do their deeds in the shadows. She doesn’t belong here.. not in my world, not in my plans, not in my head. And yet, here she is. I lean against the slaughter table, the weight of the room pressing down on me like a stone. The pipe burns hot between my fingers, the acrid smoke doing nothing to calm the storm inside. I hate the way sh
{LUIGI’S POV}**You don’t crawl back to Edmondo D’ Avi. Not after you’ve fucked up like I did. And definitely not unless you’ve got a death wish.I lurk in the shadows now, watching him from a distance like some pathetic ghost. I don’t deserve to stand in his light anymore, not after the shitstorm I brought down on him with Massimo. But I still love him. I’d still kill for him. Maybe one day I’ll even die for him. That’s all I’ve got left to offer; a loyalty he doesn’t even fucking know is still here.The tunnel’s cold and damp. This is the kind of place where rats thrive and bodies disappear. I blend into the dark like a goddamn phantom, watching Edmondo square off with the Irish Consigliere.Donnelly.I’ve heard his name whispered in back rooms and barrooms. The Irish Consigliere is a legend. A man with a silver tongue and an iron fist. He’s sharp as a switchblade and
{EDMONDO'S POV} * * The bastard’s trying to rile me up. And it’s working. My hand itches to reach for my knife. But I hold back. Not yet. Not here. He surely didn't come here to hug but to attack. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” I say, my voice is low and cutting. “But balls won’t save you when you’re six feet under.” “Ah, but I’ve no intention of being buried tonight,” he replies, his smile fading as his eyes harden. “I came here to talk.” Talk? “Talk?” I spit the word out like it tastes bad. “The Irish don’t talk. You threaten, you scheme, and you stab people in the back. So, cut the bullshit and tell me why you’re really here.” Donnelly shrugs. His movements are quite slow. Slow like a poison but delib
{EDMONDO’S POV} * * If there's anything I hate about myself, it's the lack of patience towards bastards. I hate chasing ghosts. The Irish Consigliere; a slippery bastard, is the kind of problem I like to solve immediately… with a bullet. Fast, simple, no bullshit. But here I am, trudging through this piss-soaked tunnel, hunting him down because my men couldn’t catch him outright. The underground reeks of rot, mildew, and something worse. Darkness. They all cling to my suit like a second skin. This isn’t where a man like me: The Don belongs, no, I should be sitting in the estate, drinking my scotch and celebrating the little blocks I've set for the empire I'm building. But ghosts don’t respect empires. They sneak in, lurk and poke around, and see how much they can steal before they vanish. And this ghost? I’ll make sure he vanis
{GIOVANNI’S POV}**So, I left her.It wasn’t like I didn’t have a choice. I could’ve stayed back with her. Hell, a part of me wanted to. But I just... I just walked away.She knew my name, but I didn’t bother learning hers. Why would I? She was just a kid. Well, legal, barely 18, so no problem there, right? That’s how it goes. First time, one time. No strings, no complications.She wasn’t special. To me, she was just another warm body in a long, forgettable list of bitches. Names? Faces? They didn’t matter when you lived a shitty life as mine. So, in summary, thanks to my shitty life, I took what I wanted. When I wanted. And moved on.But damn. There was something about her.Not love or anything stupid like that; let’s not get carried away. But there was this way she looked at me, like she saw past the bullshit. Like she could strip me down to nothing with just her eyes.It pissed me of
{INGRID'S POV} * * Sharp, threatening voices wake me up the next morning. I stir from my sleep, waking up in a heap on the floor. I must have rolled over from the mat. My bones are aching from the position I slept in still, and I realize I must have fallen asleep sometime during the night. Wait. Hold up. I feel somewhere else too. Oh…yeah. Uncle. Uncle and I had sex. What's that pain? I look up to my wrists. The bind. The bind have rubbed my skin raw and my sleeping arrangement made my whole body sore and tense the more. Why didn't he take off the bind? But the most important thing right now are the voices. I hear them out in the hallway, deep and unfamiliar. And I think they're coming towards… here. I crawl into the corner of the room and pull up Mr. Giovanni's leather coat. He must have left it here after we…, probabl
{INGRID'S POV}**“Put your hands above your head,” he tells me.I do, looking into his eyes as I obey.My mind turns to the first time I saw him when I awoke in here. I can practically feel his hands on me as he holds me down, the intense powerlessness I felt at their touch.I breathe deeply, calming the emotions that race through me at the thought.I feel his hands on my wrists, pushing them together. The tie slides around them, the same fabric as before caressing my sensitive skin. I feel as it begins to tighten and look up to watch.He binds my wrists tightly, securing them with practiced hands.I give them a tug, experimenting with the length. The constraint leaves me feeling utterly powerless, and I wonder at the spark that spreads through me at the thought of it.I turn to find his eyes. They pierce me in question.I answer with my own, my chest heaving in anticipation. I
{INGRID'S POV}**His touch sends fire racing through my skin. Sparks burn through me in a high blaze.Every touch of his fingers, every flick of his tongue, and I’m burning up and I can’t find it in me to care.I never knew that anything could be as intense as the pleasure racing through me now. One moment I’m unthinking, lost in it completely. The next I’m so overwhelmed, I feel the need to run away.How much can I possibly take?No one’s ever touched me the way Mr. Giovanni is now. No one has ever looked at me with the fire presently burning through his brown eyes. I feel ready to collapse under that gaze.This man is more than I ever thought a person capable of being. With every movement, with every touch, he’s showing me that I am not alone.Loneliness has always been my phobia, my hate.. but Mr. Giovanni.. no, Uncle is telling me, showing me that I'm not alone now.I scream ‘Un
{GIOVANNI'S POV}**“That was a stupid move, bambina (little girl). A bloody stupid move,” I say, not knowing what else to say or how to just get her in there and pull away and end this cat and mouse rubbish.Though, I want to be with her. That's why I left Edmondo and came here.I want to finish what we’ve just started too.She looks at me with rage and fear all over her face and demeanor. “Just let me go. I owe you nothing and all you want to do is take advantage of me.”She looks at me, daring me to say the truth. She knows it, and I know it. We’re walking the faint line between lust and abomination. I knew from the moment I set eyes on her, loosing her cool and yelling for someone to save her sister, that she was going to be different and nice to own.This is lust. Compared to love… this… lust… It’s a lot more complicated than I ever would’ve thought. I pull
{INGRID'S POV}**The tension in the air is really palpable. The atmosphere is electric. I want him to touch me. I want him to do bad things to me. And I know it's so damn wrong, but I just can't resist. He's done something to me, definitely. He has messed with my head and played with my heart. All on the first day.It's like I'm the puppet and he's pulling on every one of my strings.He's breathing heavily, and he gently pushes down my panties until my hip bones poke out. I hiss as the air hits my skin. Mr. Giovanni groans when his fingers connect with my feverish body. "God," he says. "So fucking delicious. So damn wrong. I can't resist. I'm sorry, bambina, but I'm not even going to try to resist."With that, his fingers push off my white lacy panties and I arch my back, helping him along. What the hell am I doing? I don't even know him!Alarm bells are going off in my