CHAPTER 007The room pulsed with quiet efficiency; men and women in tailored suits, each with a reason to be there and clearly on purpose, circulated in and out of Nero’s expansive office. Near the window, Lucia stared at the streets below them. Her thoughts, like the city itself, never slumbered. She never made a decision or a move that didn't bring her closer to her revenge.“Lost in thought, Lucia?” Nero's voice broke through her reverie. Seated behind his desk, his sharp gray eyes studied her like a puzzle he hadn't yet solved.She forced a faint smile and turned. “Always. It keeps me focused.”Nero smiled and waved her in closer. ‘You’ve done good; you’ve earned trust and respect perhaps faster than I had thought.’ What’s on your mind today?”Her fingers brushed the hem of her jacket, and she hesitated. This was her chance. She couldn’t falter now. Her voice was steady but firm, but she began, ‘I’m going to need a favor.’Nero arched a brow. “A favor? That’s a bold request. Go on
CHAPTER 008Sophia paced back and forth in the dim room, her heels creating an unhappy snick on the polished floor. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her sides, and every now and then she glanced toward the door as if she could allow Lucia to appear. It was hard having so much jealousy burning inside of her. It was all becoming too much.Lucia was everywhere. She had wormed her way into the Roselli family, into Matteo’s life, and now she was beginning to worm her way past all of Sophia’s defenses. The closeness between Lucia and Matteo wasn't just what bothered her. No, it was more profound than that; it gnawed at her whenever she saw them together. Lucia was too perfect, too calm, too composed. She hated Sophia being jealous; it made her feel small, smaller, and insignificant.She had to do something. She was going to have to stop Lucia before it was too late.The plan was simple. Expose her as a fraud. She will expose herself as merely exploiting Matteo to ascend the family hie
CHAPTER 009Lucia thought very sharply and focused as she moved quietly through the shadows of the mansion. The Roselli family never failed to brag themselves up; they had built their power on lies and manipulation. But that was about to change. She calculated every move, every step to bring them down. She had spent months learning their weaknesses, learning their lives. But now that her plan came together, she nearly tasted victory.Outside it was still, silent, the air heavy from the tension that held the world in a constant void. Her mind was racing in the hallway, and she paused for a moment. Mr. Her next target was Roselli, the leading figure in this cancer case. He had harmed someone while she was protecting him, and he had crossed a boundary he would never regret.The pulse of power in her chest she could feel. This was all the pain... the betrayals... the broken pieces of her past leading her to. This was her opportunity to make them all pay.The plan was simple: It would targ
CHAPTER 010Matteo had a sleep problem.First they were flashes, broken images. They were vivid, real now. In every dream he could see her face, the woman who filled his thoughts every waking moment. Lucia.The first dream appeared suddenly, like a whisper in the night. Now, they were memories—memories of things he couldn’t remember fully. It was as if his old life were clawing, piece by piece, back to him. Every time he awoke, he’d be sweating and panting, his heart racing.In the dim light of his room, he sat staring at the ceiling, trying to put it all together."Why can't I remember?" he muttered under his breath. Frustration built inside of him; his fingers gripped the edge of the desk.He had seen her before, in these dreams. He could feel it—the betrayal, the pain, the heartbreak. He couldn’t recall the details, but it was like his heart knew her before his mind did. The more he got into the dreams, the more he started to understand.She wasn’t just some woman from his past. Sh
CHAPTER 011His eyes scanned the shadows of the alleyway. Dante leaned against the cracked brick wall. His mind was colder than the steel of the gun tucked inside his jacket, and the night air was thick with humidity. The one he didn’t want to take; he had just agreed to the job. The Vulpin mafia had made their offer, and he couldn’t help but feel he should walk away, but he couldn’t.Kidnap Nero’s “cousin.” That’s what they said.It made him uncomfortable just thinking about it. It didn’t feel right, but asking questions wasn’t his place. Not anymore. Not when the Vulpin mafia had him in their sights and had a debt on his head that he couldn't ignore.Despite this, the decision—all 80 plus kilograms—weighed on him. He had worked for Nero before. He wasn’t a fan of this cousin of his, but he had a certain respect for the man. Lucia, they called her. A mystery. The enigma is shrouded in such secrecy that Dante finds himself questioning if the risk was worthwhile.He muttered under his
CHAPTER 012In the darkness, Dante stood and looked into the house in front of him. His decision weighed on him harder than he could bear, and the world seemed to close in on him. Initially, the job seemed easy. Kidnap Lucia. For the first time, though, he'd met her face-to-face, felt the tugging of the bond between them, and everything was different.He leaned against the cold brick wall of the alley, watching the dim light of the streetlamps flicker like dying stars, and his stomach twisted into knots. He had known all along that this mission was strange. The Vulpin mafia was always messy, always full of lies and danger, but this was different. This was something he’d never been asked before.Lucia.The name echoed in his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way she looked at him with that piercing gaze, like she could see right through him, made his heart pound every time he thought about her. She wasn’t just a target. She wasn’t just on a mission. No, it was something ab
CHAPTER 013In a room lit only by the table's lamp, the map of Matteo's quarries stretched out, and Lucia was standing. Not a single line, not a single symbol on the paper was out of place: she was weaving, spinning the web to bring him down. She had spent months gathering information, quietly infiltrating his supply chain using Nero’s mafia resources. But finally the pieces were starting to fall a certain way.She ran a finger over the routes—the routes that were already being disrupted. Small shipments are disappearing. Larger deals are falling through. It was all of it, orchestrated by her, with Nero’s blessing. At least, that’s what he had told her; he had agreed to help her. She wasn’t so sure anymore. She had started to wonder if he knew how far she would go to get her revenge.It had all started as so small, so easy, so tiny... However, at the moment things were escalating, and Lucia felt there was pressure on its building. Nothing was accidental, nor was a step taken to topple
CHAPTER 014She moved in the dim alley silently, her senses up. It was cold out; a cold breeze prickled across the night air, causing the leaves scattered on the ground to rattle. She stealthily stepped from shadow to shadow, disappearing among the shadows. She had learned to be careful and has always been watching and listening, since the day she had been reborn. Kept herself safe and on track; there was nothing more important.But tonight was different. On a mission she was; she needed to stay sharp. She crouched behind an old dumpster, and her eyes scanned the street ahead. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here, but after the note she had received earlier, she wasn’t taking any chances. Someone knew. She had to stay ahead of the game; someone was getting too close to figuring her out.Dante was part of the Vulpin mafia, who had their hands in many things. She had seen him before, but tonight she didn’t know what to expect. She had planned to avoid him, to stay away from him mo
CHAPTER 030Her body burned as if all had been drained, leaving only the felt hollow shell. Her skin took the sharp chill of the steel table, and she struggled to pull in a shallow breath that almost sounded like a loss she wasn’t sure she would win. The room was filled with metal and antiseptic, as machines hummed faintly, but the voices that filled the room were cold and calculating, the worst of all.Matteo’s voice echoed smugly, triumphant, “Her blood is unparalleled.” “It’s power in liquid form. “A few more vials, and I’ll be in the black.”Her body wouldn't move; she wanted to scream, to lunge at him and wipe that smirk off his face. Her veins burned from whatever drug they had pumped into her; her muscles were leaden. The restraints around her wrists dug in her skin, refusing to shift.“One of these will knock you on your ass,” another voice cautioned. "It's a hybrid's regenerative properties. If you drain her too quickly, they might collapse."Regenerative properties. That’s w
CHAPTER 029Lucia stirred awake; the room was dark and cold. Her head pounded, and her limbs felt heavy, restrained. She tried to blink it all away and make sense of the place she was. Damp stone stank; she could almost smell blood in the tang of that metal smell.She pulled against the leather straps that bound her wrists to a wooden chair; her wrists burned. The confusion began to clear, and a sharp pang of anger replaced it. The betrayal, the memory of what happened, flooded back, and she clenched her teeth. The whispered apology before the darkness took her, Dante’s calm voice.Footsteps echoed down a corridor, getting louder. She forced her breathing to quicken, to calm. Dante stepped in, and the door creaked open, his face hidden by the dimmer light of a single overhead bulb.She spat, her voice raw but steady, 'You.' “You trusted me and this is what you do?”She caught him flinch, barely noticeable. His hands tucked into his coat pockets, he stepped closer. He spoke low, almost
CHAPTER 028The lamp had only one dim, golden glow that fell over Nero’s desk, but it wasn’t enough to reach the farthest corners of the room, and so the shadows pooled at the edges. Across her arms, Lucia sat in the chair opposite him, her posture stiff. His gray eyes were cold and calculating; his fingers were steepled as he leaned back in his wheelchair.He started, the name falling from his lips like a warning. “He’s getting too close.”The edges of her mouth tightened, and Lucia frowned. “It’s not that big of a deal.”“No,” Nero snapped. ‘You’re not reading into it enough.’ There’s a reason men like Dante don’t get close. And it’s never a good one.”Her defenses rose like a wall; she bristled. “He’s been useful. “He’s given me information we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.”Nero’s gaze didn’t waver. “Useful? Yes. Trustworthy? No. Lucia, he’s tied to the Vulpin mafia. You don’t want that thread tangled around your neck.”The reminder churned her stomach, but she kept her face neut
CHAPTER 027The dimly lit room had been scuffing her boots against the wooden floor as Lucia paced back and forth. She didn’t trust him, not for a second, but she knew she needed him. The mere mention of Matteo stirred her emotions, and the prospect of defeating him was the sole force keeping her grounded. But aligning with Dante? She wasn’t sure she could win that gamble.With arms crossed over his chest, Dante leaned against the wall, his face careful and neutral. Her anger, piercing and unyielding, would hover just beyond his grasp. He didn’t know if she would kill him or agree to his plan, but he kept quiet, letting her make up her mind.It was finally that Lucia stopped and turned to him. “How can I trust you?” she added icily. “You’re a Vulpin mafia member.” ‘For all I know, this is just another one of their games,’ I said.”Dante pushed herself off the wall and stepped, careful, toward her. He said evenly, “I’m not asking for your trust.” “I’m asking for a chance to prove that
CHAPTER 026There was too much quiet in the alley; the shadows felt alive. His breathing was steady, yet his mind was anything but calm. Dante lingered in the darkness. He knew full well it wasn’t an accident, and he’d followed her here. He wanted to follow Lucia, wanted this confrontation. He was trapped; she was baiting him.Her silhouette was sharp against the dim glow, and Lucia stood in the moonlight. She didn’t move, not one bit... too still, as if waiting for the pull of a trigger. Her voice pierced the silence, yet she remained motionless, not even turning her head.“Are you going to step out or do I have to drag you out?” Dante hesitated; there was steel beneath her calm tone.His fists clenched, he pressed his back against the cold stone wall. He could leave. Avoid this and disappear into the night. But he knew better. Lucia wouldn’t stop. The next confrontation wouldn’t end as cleanly as this one might; she’d find him.He stepped out of the shadows with a sigh and put up hi
CHAPTER 025 The folder on the table was frayed at the edges from being opened and closed a hundred times, and Dante stared at it. Across the top was scrawled the name 'Lucia Roselli', but it might as well have been written in flames. The photos, the timeline, the report, everything inside it felt heavy. His pages had turned over so many times he could recite the details by heart.Nero’s cousin. High priority. Capture alive.It sounded simple. It was supposed to be simple. Lucia was not simple.Dante ran a hand through his hair, leaned back in his chair, and the dim light of the room cast long shadows across his face. His earpiece buzzed again, a static-filled reminder of the pressure on the other end. He didn’t have to put it on to know what Leo would say. "Time’s up, Dante. She’s a problem. Solve it."Solve it. Like she was a puzzle or a task on a checklist. Everything sounded clinical and detached, like the mafia. How could they understand, though? They hadn’t watched her move thro
CHAPTER 024She walked quickly and lightly down the silent halls of Nero’s house. It was silent, but she couldn’t get the feeling of eyes on her. She knew better than to ignore her instincts; it wasn’t paranoia. The rustling leaves outside were barely audible, as was the faint sound beyond the window. She scanned over the courtyard below, looking for something moving. Nothing. The unease gnawed at her yet.Someone was following her. She was certain.Clenched her fists, trying not to go nuts. Panic wouldn’t help. She had been through worse and had come out stronger. It would be no different this time. They weren’t making it easy, whoever it was. She’d seen shadows where there shouldn’t have been, heard whispers in empty hallways. This feeling of being watched had grown impossible to ignore, and now.She locked the door and leaned against it, letting out a slow breath, back in her room. She had to work out who it was and why they were after her. She also had to be careful, though. If sh
CHAPTER 023Dante watched Lucia cross the courtyard of Nero’s estate with his back pressed to the rough brick wall. She moved precisely, each step deliberate, and her sharp eye kept moving across, almost as if she still expected trouble. She was always prepared and vigilant. Dante caught himself staring at her and admired the way she was so calm, focused, and touched in a place that didn't have light, let alone a breeze.Dante scowled and could almost hear Leo; it was the same in his head from their last conversation: “You’re stalling, Dante." “This isn’t complicated. Find the weakness, follow her, and deliver her. It’s business.”It wasn’t business anymore. He’d seen something different in Lucia the moment he noticed her again. The Vulpin mafia had described her as a fragile girl, but she wasn’t. Now in her she possessed strength formed by a source of pain and resilience, and it made Dante hesitate in a way that he hadn’t in ages.There was no sound in the alley around him; the shado
CHAPTER 022There was no noise but the fading rustle of leaves in the breeze, unnervingly quiet woods. The air was incredible, sharp against his skin; Dante crouched low behind a towering oak tree. He stared directly at the figure in front of him; it moved with the agile speed of a predator. She wasn’t like the others he’d tailed before—no hesitation, no clumsy missteps. She moved deliberately, precisely like she was testing him to keep up.Lucia.And that unnerved him most: she didn’t look like a typical target. When Leo from the Vulpin mafia approached him, the deal seemed straightforward: They kidnapped Nero’s cousin, delivered her to their bosses, and got a life-changing sum of money. Days passed, and he observed her from the shadows and why she was just about ransom and leverage; he knew it wasn't. He hated how little he knew, and the mafia wanted her for something else, something more significant.The soft buzz broke the silence of his earpiece. Dante’s day was interrupted by Le