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27- Into the Unknown
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2025-02-10 23:29:05I ran, the forest blurring around me, branches tearing at my skin, and every breath a sharp, jagged reminder that I couldn’t stop. Marco’s footsteps crashed through the trees behind me, relentless and unforgiving. I had no sense of direction anymore—only the pounding rhythm of my heartbeat and the desperate drive to stay ahead of him.
The cold air stung my lungs as I pushed harder, my legs burning with exhaustion. I could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in my ears, but Marco’s voice cut through it all.
“Elena!” he shouted, his voice laced with fury. “You think you can outrun me? You’re only making this worse!”
The rage in his voice sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Haines had run, and I could only hope he was far enough away now. He wasn’t built for this, but maybe… just maybe he had gotten out. And if Marco was chasing me, it meant he wasn’t
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Ruined By Mafia 28- Into The Trap
We ran, the forest closing in around us, the branches tearing at my skin, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Every step was a desperate attempt to stay ahead, to keep moving. Marco’s footsteps weren’t far behind, and even though his voice had faded into the distance, I could still feel him closing in.Haines stumbled next to me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He wasn’t built for this. He’d always been someone who thrived in quiet spaces, far from danger, and now, here we were, running for our lives. I wanted to shout at him to keep going, to push through the exhaustion, but I could feel his strength fading. We couldn’t last much longer.“Elena…” Haines wheezed, grabbing my arm for support. “I—I can’t keep up.”I glanced at him, the moonlight catching the lines of fear etched into his face. His legs were trembling, his chest heaving. I knew if we kept pushing him, he’d coll
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-11Ruined By Mafia 29- Bound by Shadows
(Elena’s POV)The car rumbled beneath me, the engine’s hum a steady reminder of my imprisonment. Dante’s hand remained a cold iron vise around my wrist, his grip unrelenting. I stared at his hand, the way his fingers pressed into my skin, feeling the subtle strength he always managed to radiate, even when he wasn’t trying.I was trapped, and he knew it. He reveled in it.The silence in the car was suffocating, the tension like a heavy fog that I couldn’t escape. The only sound was the soft hum of the tires against the road, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.“Elena,” Dante’s voice broke the stillness, low and menacing, yet smooth as velvet. He dragged out my name like it was a delicate secret meant to be savored. “You made things very difficult for me.”I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. His words were like a noose tightening around my neck, each one a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-12Ruined By Mafia 30- Bound by Shadows
I stood there for a moment, my mind spinning, my body trembling. Everything had happened so fast. I had been so close to freedom, so close to escaping Dante’s grasp. But now, I was back in the same place I had fought so desperately to leave. The weight of Dante’s words pressed down on me, suffocating any hope I had left.My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the bed, the soft mattress doing nothing to ease the tight knot in my chest. The room was cold despite the luxurious surroundings, and no matter how warm the blankets felt beneath my fingers, I couldn’t shake the chill that had settled into my bones.Dante’s voice echoed in my mind: *“You belong to me. Don’t ever forget that.”* It wasn’t just a warning; it was a promise. A dark, twisted promise that no matter what I did, no matter how far I ran, I would never be free of him.My hands trembled as I pressed them to my face, trying to hold back the wa
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-13Ruined By Mafia 31- The Devil’s Control
**Dante’s POV**The glass of wine in my hand trembled slightly, the dark liquid swirling against the sides as I gripped it harder than necessary. My eyes were fixed on the vast expanse of darkness outside the window, but my thoughts were anywhere but calm. The night was still, suffocatingly quiet, but inside me, a storm raged.I should have killed her.The thought slammed into me for the hundredth time since I brought Elena back, gnawing at my insides like a festering wound. She had betrayed me. Failed to complete her mission. Twice. She had run—**run**—thinking she could escape from me. The sheer audacity of it burned through my veins, hotter than the alcohol sliding down my throat.I didn’t kill her. **Why?**The question roared inside my head like a beast demanding answers, but none came. I had every reason to end her miserable, defiant life. She was weak, an outsider who didn’t belong in my world. And y
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-14Ruined By Mafia 32- The Devil’s Control
The air in the dimly lit room was thick with tension, the scent of blood and sweat clinging to the concrete walls like a curse. Marco stood near the door, arms crossed, watching the man before him with a detached expression. Haines knelt on the cold floor, his breath ragged, his face smeared with a mixture of sweat and dirt. His hands were tied behind his back, his once-pristine suit now wrinkled and stained. There was fear in his eyes. Not just fear—*desperation*. “I—Marco, please,” Haines rasped, swallowing hard. His voice wavered, cracking under the weight of terror. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to kill me.” Marco exhaled through his nose, his expression unreadable. He didn’t respond right away, letting the silence settle between them, heavy and suffocating. Haines took that as an opportunity to push further. “I’ll disappear,” Haines contin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-15Ruined By Mafia 33- Unveiling the Past
The night outside was still, the vast estate silent except for the occasional rustle of the wind against the iron gates. The moon hung high, casting pale light over the mansion’s sprawling grounds, but inside Dante Ricci’s study, there was no warmth, no softness—only the weight of power and the suffocating quiet of a man who ruled his world with ruthless precision.Dante sat behind a grand mahogany desk, his posture relaxed but commanding, the golden glow of his desk lamp illuminating the papers before him. The room smelled faintly of old books and the whiskey he hadn’t touched.There was always work to be done. Deals to close, betrayals to punish, enemies to outmaneuver. But tonight, something else demanded his attention.A knock came at the door. Sharp. Deliberate.Marco.Dante exhaled through his nose, glancing up from his paperwork. He didn’t need to ask who it was. Marco’s timing was as precise as ever.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-16Ruined By Mafia 34- A Game of Consequences
The air in the study felt heavier now, thick with something unspoken. The dim lighting did little to ease the tension crackling between the two men. Marco stood rigid, his fists clenched at his sides, the muscles in his forearms taut beneath the fabric of his tailored coat. His normally composed demeanor was marred by the slight twitch in his jaw—a subtle tell, but one that Dante did not miss.Seated at his desk, Dante observed him with amusement, swirling the whiskey in his glass, watching the amber liquid shift under the warm glow of his desk lamp. He had hit a nerve. And that, more than anything, intrigued him. Marco was not a man easily rattled.Marco exhaled sharply through his nose, his posture stiff as he turned toward the door. His hand reached for the handle, fingers brushing against the cool metal. It was clear—he was eager to leave. To put distance between himself and whatever storm was brewing between them.But Dante wasn’t finished
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-17Ruined By Mafia 35- The Road to Nowhere
(Elena’s POV)Morning came slowly, dragging itself across the sky in muted shades of gray. The air inside the bedroom was still, suffocating in its quiet, the kind of silence that felt deliberate, calculated. I lay curled on the bed, my back to the door, and mind racing in circles around a single, inescapable truth.Marco played me.I had believed him—trusted him, even—when he said he would take care of things. That no harm would come to Haines. That there was a way out of this nightmare without bloodshed.And yet, the weight of betrayal sat heavy in my chest, pressing down like a stone, making it hard to breathe.A knock on the door broke through the silence.I ignored it.Another knock, firmer this time.“Elena.”I recognized the voice instantly. Marco.My body tensed rage and hurt warring inside me. He had the audacity to come here now? After everything?My jaw tightened. I remained silent, hoping he would take the hint and leave.He didn’t.“I know you’re awake,” he said, his voic
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18
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I kept my expression carefully composed, even as my pulse hammered against my ribs. The room around us continued its rhythmic flow of conversation and laughter, the clink of crystal against crystal, the low murmur of business being conducted beneath the veil of social niceties. None of it penetrated the strange, tense bubble that had formed around our corner of the table. Because I could feel it—the weight of Alessandro's stare, the slow, deliberate way he studied me.His gaze traveled over my features with the careful attention of someone memorizing details for future reference, lingering on my eyes as if searching for something specific there. His smirk was lazy, the slight curve of his lips suggesting amusement at some private joke, but his eyes—his eyes were sharp. Focused. Predatory in a way that made my skin prickle with warning.The businessman who had attempted to steer the conversation back to safer topics had given up, turning his attention to one
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The conversation around the table continued, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. The voices of everyone blended into a meaningless hum as something else captured my awareness—a subtle shift in the atmosphere that prickled against my skin. I could feel him before I saw him. A new presence. A shift in the air that altered the energy of the entire room.It was subtle at first—the way the men at the table adjusted their posture, straightening almost imperceptibly in their seats. The way their laughter quieted just slightly, becoming more measured, more controlled. The way Dante's fingers, which had been idly tapping against his crystal glass, suddenly stilled. These minute changes spoke volumes. Whoever this man was, he mattered. He carried weight in this world I was still learning to navigate.I turned my head just as he approached, stepping into the warm glow cast by the ornate chandeliers overhead. The golden light seemed to accentuate everything about him—his height, his posture, t
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I continued before he could reply, knowing that maintaining momentum was crucial, that hesitation now would undermine the confidence I had projected. "Sometimes, it just means we're not what people expect." A careful answer, one that acknowledged the danger implied in his warning while suggesting that perhaps the danger applied more to others than to me. Not a claim of immunity or invulnerability, which would have been both false and foolish, but rather a subtle indication that I understood more than they might assume.A brief silence followed, heavy with assessment and consideration. The gray-eyed man's expression remained largely impassive, but there was something in his gaze now—a spark of interest, perhaps, or simply acknowledgment that this conversation had taken an unexpected turn. The others at the table watched with varying degrees of curiosity, their attention shifting between the gray-eyed man, Dante, and myself as they waited to see how this exchange would develop.Then—he
Ruined By Mafia 60- The First Test
I could feel the weight of their eyes on me, heavy and assessing, like physical pressure against my skin. Each gaze carried different intentions—some curious, others suspicious, a few openly hostile—but all shared the same underlying quality: calculation. Nothing and no one was viewed without first determining value, usefulness, or threat level. I was being cataloged, dissected, my worth measured in ways I couldn't fully comprehend. Their scrutiny raised goosebumps along my arms despite the warmth of the crowded room, a primitive response to predatory attention that no amount of composure could fully suppress.Watching. Calculating. Assessing my worth. These weren't casual observations born of idle curiosity. These were deliberate evaluations made by men who had built empires on their ability to read people, to identify weaknesses and strengths with a single glance. I could almost feel them stripping away layers of pretense, searching for the truth beneath the carefully constructed fa
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We approached the entrance, where two men in dark suits stood with the perfect stillness of those trained to become part of the scenery until needed. Their eyes flicked to Dante, recognition immediate, respect or fear—perhaps both—evident in the subtle inclination of their heads. Then their gaze shifted to me, assessing, cataloging, memorizing. In their world, unknown elements were threats until proven otherwise, and I was very much an unknown.The doors opened before us, revealing a foyer of marble and crystal, of art worth more than most people would see in a lifetime. The space was designed to overwhelm, to remind visitors of their place in the hierarchy before they even reached the main gathering. It was psychological warfare disguised as decoration, and even knowing its purpose didn't diminish its effectiveness.The moment we entered, I felt it. The shift in the air. The subtle change in atmospheric pressure that came not from weather but from power—from the awareness of predator
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The car rolled to a stop, the hum of the engine fading into silence. The transition from movement to stillness was jarring, marking the end of whatever sanctuary the journey had provided. Through the tinted windows, I could see the blurred outlines of other vehicles, sleek and black like ours, their polished surfaces reflecting the golden glow emanating from the mansion. Each one carried someone who could destroy lives with a single command, who navigated this world of shadows and power with the ease of those born to it.For a long moment, I didn't move. My fingers remained clasped tightly in my lap, the knuckles white with tension despite my attempts to appear composed. I drew in a slow, measured breath, trying to steady the rapid beating of my heart, to quiet the voice in my head screaming that I wasn't ready for this—that I would never be ready for this.Beyond the tinted glass, the world I wasn't ready for awaited me. A realm of predators and prey, of calculated moves and devastat
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Dante didn't move for a long moment after his last words, simply standing there, sipping his whiskey with a patience that was both calculated and unnerving. The amber liquid caught the light as he tilted the crystal tumbler, his dark eyes never leaving mine, gauging my reaction with that perpetual air of amusement that seemed permanently etched into his features. The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken threats and promises, the weight of it pressing against my chest until I could barely breathe.Then—without a word—he extended his arm toward me. A silent command.I stared at it. At him. My heart hammered against my ribs with such force I was certain he could hear it, the pounding rhythm betraying the calm façade I fought desperately to maintain. But I kept my expression unreadable, years of practice allowing me to hide the storm building inside me behind a mask of indifference. My fingers trembled slightly at my sides, and I curled them into fists to still the motion bef
Ruined By Mafia 56- Dressing for Power
The moment I stepped into the hallway, I saw her. A maid stood just outside, waiting. Her eyes, when they met mine, held none of the pity or concern one might expect. There was only a cool assessment, an evaluation that seemed to penetrate beyond the expensive dress and careful makeup.Her posture was perfectly composed, hands folded neatly in front of her. She didn't look at me like a girl about to enter a world of wolves. There was no sympathy in her gaze, no silent communication of solidarity or concern. Instead, she regarded me with a detached respect that was somehow more unsettling than any pity could have been.She looked at me like I was already one of them. Like the transformation was complete, the metamorphosis from ordinary girl to Dante's creation already accomplished. Her eyes held the recognition of a fellow predator, not the wariness reserved for prey. I didn't know whether to feel flattered or horrified by what she saw in me.Without a word, she turned, beginning to wa
