I sit in the boardroom and look around at my men."We need to do something. Marco, the shipment has gone!" I glance at Arlo."We need confirmation first who took the diamonds, Arlo. Get the confirmation, and then we can do it." He stands up, hearing my words."It isn't just your shipment, Marco! That is mine!""Mine?" I rise up, looking at him. "Is it yours now, Arlo?" I step towards him calmly. "From where I am, it is not yours until it reaches your fucking hands, which it hasn't! If you want to claim it is yours, then half the cost from it going missing is yours."He shuffles slightly. "I didn't mean..."My hand flies up, cutting him off. "You did mean. If you remember Arlo, you wouldn't be doing business in this city without me. Now, whose items are they?""Yours, Marco.""I thought so. Considering it is me who runs everything and does all the work to get them here. You haven't even paid yet." I sit back down and glance across the desk. "How is CCTV coming along to see who took the
Last night burns through me as I wake and feel myself still in bed with Lucia. The reality hits fucking hard as I throw on my trousers and walk from her room.As I step outside I stop seeing Roxy glaring at me."I need the dress and necklace, Marco. There are offers put in for them."Oops. My mind goes back to last night. "There may be a slight issue with that. I ripped it." Her eyes widen at my words."Are you fucking joking?" She moves to Lucia's room, my hand stopping her."Don't you even fucking try to go in that room." I push her back. "You keep acting like you have a right here. You don't.""We're getting married, Marco! That gives me a fucking right to." I step closer, my body towering over hers."You know that you're wrong. You agreed that your life would be nothing more than what your mother’s was. This isn't a marriage, a commitment. You were told that, Roxy!" I stay leaning over her. "If you truly believe you're equal and worth half of this, you're in for a fucking shock. T
I wake alone, my mind instantly throwing abuse at me. What I did was wrong, I need to leave and walk away. Marco has no idea of my life before this.He knows Dan has the gun and no doubt he has been to collect it. So, now I should be allowed to leave. Climbing from the bed, I wrap the robe around me. Stepping forward, I winch slightly, feeling something stab into my foot. Sitting down, I pull out the small diamond.This makes me anxious. Roxy hates me, and I have a feeling that her destroyed dress will make that hate grow. Maybe I can fix it? Standing, I pick up the ripped fabric, slowly finding the small diamonds across the floor. Collecting them all, I place them in a pile.I'm still shocked by how little he cared about its worth. The fact it was covered in diamonds meant nothing to him at all. Even if they are his diamonds, it's still crazy. Walking to the door, I open it."Good morning, Miss Whitlock." Hugh nods and smiles at me. I need to see Marco and find out when I can leave.
I watch as she walks away from us, my eyes returning to her father."I'm a little confused. Lucia told me you were no longer in her life. You told her she wasn't your daughter, then walked?" I watch as he shifts uneasily."She is my daughter. I made a mistake. I refused to drive her mum that day. Lucia knows and blames me. Had I driven her, maybe she would still be alive."His words are lies. Even I can see that."How did her mother die?" I watch the slow roll of his throat as he pulls against the collar of his shirt."She drank too much. Had a seizure, I don't know, we just found her in the garden."Lies. I stare at him. "Seems weird. She had called Lucia and sounded fine, not even slightly tipsy." I lean forward more. "Did her mother ever mention Lucia's real father?""No, I only found out that day myself."Sighing, I lean back in my chair. He found out the truth: her mother died, then her sister and boyfriend? "You see, she put me in a difficult situation, Mr Whitlock.""I apologis
I find myself sitting with Iz and Felicity. They are friendly and welcoming, but I still do not know what is happening. I don't understand why Marco wants to keep me or what it means, as he's currently ready to be married for business reasons.I don't understand it. I don't know how Marco’s family can welcome me and not care that he is engaged to Roxy. They don't care about the circumstances in which I came to be here, either.Arms wrap around me, and I tense. "Welcome to the family, sis. It's good to see someone put him in his place and silence him." Dario beams at me as he slings himself on a chair beside me."I highly doubt I put him in his place." I know he is waiting for his moment to ensure I am back where he wants me. Following his orders."Considering he stood quietly, took it and then followed to apologise, he was put in his place." He laughs."As I said, you're good for him. He's no longer an emotionless rock." Lorenzo grins, and I cover my face."Does everyone know I called
I watch Lorenzo, each move, each kick, each jab. I'm proud of how fucking amazing he is doing. His eye is bleeding, but nothing major. His opponent, however, is sluggish. After that first jab that Lorenzo connected, he's slower. It's giving Lorenzo the chance he needs to get in the hits."Fucking fists up!" I turn to our father. "Lorenzo, move your feet." I nudge him."Aggression is great while training. He's doing well, be a bit nicer." I laugh, and he joins in but returns to his aggressive shouting as if he can't do it any other way. I see Lucia walking down the hall from the corner of my eye. My head snaps up as I see Hugh chasing after her. Lorenzo's gaze follows mine, and I close my eyes, watching him get hit.Shit. I stand still, fighting between going after Lucia and checking on Lorenzo."He will be fine, go." Dario pushes me. Rushing through the crowd, I reach the door. Walking out, Hugh is standing."Where the fuck is she?""There was a van." His words are quiet."What do you
I feel someone straddling me, my chest pinned against the floor of the van. Struggling against the grip, I get a hand free, rolling over and punching the person I try to break free.While they try to tie my arms together, I continue to fight."Someone fucking help." Moving, I kick out, catching him in the knee. As he falls, the door opens, and I find myself pinned down by more people. Fighting, I struggle to get free and feel the rope tying my hands and feet together.The van begins to move again, and I'm left with a guy sitting on my hips. His finger strokes down my body as I fight to break free. The van suddenly stopped, and I glanced around to see who it was, but everyone had their faces covered.I look at the building. It's an old bottling plant. Getting dragged in I notice the shattered windows and falling debris. The sound of pigeons flying makes me look up. The roof is partly gone.Surely there are other buildings close by? If I scream, will they hear?"About time, woman." I fr
I stand annoyed. The place is empty, so he's either run, or he is with Lucia. My body steps into a room; this is the room from the video."Take what is needed and burn this place down." Everyone stares at me."No rushed decisions, Marco. Let's find her first." Matteo states and walks into the room, my hand stopping him."Stay out of here." Nodding, he turns and walks away. I walk through the room. This used to be her room. I walk through, slowly checking everywhere for something. My body stops as I look at the bed."I know you don't like the thought of people seeing her shit, but maybe it's best as you're looking crazier by the second." My head shakes at Dario's words. I need to search. I need to see if there is anything anywhere that could lead us to where they took her."Got a hit on the van." Turning, I look at Mac. Leaving, we climb into the cars and head to the warehouses. "Someone is ensuring that the van doesn't leave." I nod at his words."No movement." I turn to Hugh. "Alex h
I'm so fucking happy. This is the best Christmas ever. She's pregnant, Alex is officially ours, and she's marrying me! Tonight! I left her for a bit. Her dad is here, so they are talking everything out. I wanted to be there but knew she needed space to do it herself. I look across the chairs and other things. She wanted to come outside, but we banned her. She can't see this, not until later. "It's looking good." Lorenzo smiles at me. "Have you considered this, Dario?" Marco looks at me. "She said yes! She said she would marry me." She said yes. "I know, but I mean the whole surprise wedding; she said yes, but that doesn't mean now." "Yes, it does!" She wouldn't say yes if she weren't ready now. She's ready. She will say yes. She will love this. "Okay, calm down, you're too high." Marco chuckles, but I can't. I feel amazing right now. "How is it going with her dad?" Matteo looks at me. "No idea. I gave her space." I'm giving her space. "Matteo, he's staying at your house toni
I walked out of the room feeling sickened. Not so much that he had slept with my mother, more he slept with me purely because I looked like her. Like in his mind, I was her. I need to check on Alex. Walking into his room he's sat up on the bed looking at the book. "Read it?" He holds out the book, and I laugh. "Move over." I climb onto the bed, and he cuddles into me as I read it to him. Today is Christmas. I didn't realise, but Lucia had the baby on Christmas day! It's nearly three. I read to him, watching as he fell asleep. Slowly, my eyes slip closed. I wake feeling someone wrap their arms around me. Glancing behind me, I see Dario. I open my mouth to talk, and he shakes his head. "No. Leave it, little rabbit. Let's just sleep for a couple of hours." He holds onto me, and I fall asleep, with him and Alex cuddling me. I need to get answers later. I wake up in bed alone. Neither Alex nor Dario are here. Climbing from the bed, I go to our room and begin to get ready. "Little ra
So far, this guy hasn't been forthcoming. It's Christmas, and we're wasting time on him. Sure, we could just forget him and go to bed for as few hours as possible before getting up, but he's a risk. Alice came to get the baby, and Lucia is currently resting. So this needs sorting now. He's not someone who can be trusted alone, even with soldiers. "I never would have hurt her." I look up, confused. "Evaline, my plan was never to touch her or harm her. Weirdly, she is just like her mother. She's amazing." "How did you meet her mum?" I want to get her answers. "I had just taken down a target and was ready to leave when I saw her. I was twenty-eight, and she was thirty-nine. She was so different. She was so amazing I just went over and said hi, which is how it began. At that point, Evaline was born." "Did you see Evaline?" "No!" His head shakes. "I never did; we had been sleeping together for years. She wouldn't let me see Evaline. She spoke of her. He found out about the affair and
I look at Marco. He's heard nothing. "It's Christmas. Maybe just leave it until after today?" Lorenzo looks at me. "I can't do much, Lorenzo." I can't do anything without information that we don't have. "This is your first official Christmas with Evaline, don't fuck it up." Our dad looks at me, and I know he's right. The gunshot has us all jump up and rush out. I watch as a window smashes and smoke begins to flood the hall. "Get the women and kids!" Marco screams, rushing upstairs; I grab Luciano, Lorenzo grabs Alice, and I see soldiers follow Marco up to Lucia and Evaline. Carrying Luciano down, I sit him in the safe room. Rushing up, I see someone carrying Alex. "Put it on." I see something throw a mask at me. Placing it on, I rush up and see Evaline fighting to get to Alex's room. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I watch as she disappears. Rushing through, I get to our room and see him. Throwing myself at him, someone grabs me and stops, and I watch them grab him. "D
I wake hearing a bang, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. I reach out to Dario, but he isn't there. The sound of gunshots has my body jump up and out of bed. Rushing, I get the gown and wrap it around my body as the windows in the room smash, and smoke begins to fill the room. I rush for the door and hear something. Turning, I look behind me and see someone jump through the window. Running out the door, I get grabbed. Screaming, I go to hit him. "Evaline, go with him!" Marco? I feel them pull me, but I try to get to Alex. I need to get Alex. Screaming, I fight against him. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I don't get a chance to respond. I'm just pulled further away. As we reach downstairs, I'm thrown into a room and the door locks. "Evaline, thank god you're okay!" Lucia rushes and hugs me. I look around, Alice, Lucia, Alex, and Luciano are in here, and I believe it's James. I'm not sure which soldier it is. "What is happening?" I look around us. This room has no windo
Dario's arms stay around me as we dance. He started out fine, but in the past week, he's been slowly drowning and getting lost in his mind. I know he's constantly overthinking what is happening. Everything I try fails. Sex works while we're having sex, and then he's back in his head. It's taking so much effort to keep him here and with us. The last thing we need is for something to happen and for him to slip away in his mind and not wait for answers. So, I need to keep his mind off Mad Hatter or Tim, as they haven't been able to find anything. Marco even tried to send a message out for my dad in the hope he would reply and give us something, but it's been silent. I lean up and kiss his lips. "We haven't spoken about how many kids you want." I smile, and he looks at me so damn confused. "Babies, Dario, how many do you want?" "I just want you." My eyes roll. "You have me. We have Alex. I want to know about us making babies. How many?" He seems to be considering it. "I would be hap
It's too quiet, and I don't like quiet, not in this way. Quiet in my head, fine, but this feels wrong. He's gone quiet. He's stopped sending messages out. He's ignoring us. He's planning, he's planning something, what is he planning? I pace the room. Today is Matteo's engagement party. Tomorrow is Christmas. It's too fucking quiet. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I turn, and Marco is staring at me. "You're singing." He holds out his hands. "We were waiting for you!" "I..." Something is wrong. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I glance at him. "Get out of your head, focus." I can't focus. It's too quiet. "Okay, tell me what is in your head. You keep singing quietly, quietly, so speak." "It's too quiet." It's too quiet. "Right, and I agree it is. It's unusual. He's gone quiet; he's not responding, but stay out of your head. It's been half an hour. How long have you been standing here pacing and singing in yo
I sit with Dario. His brothers and his dad are facing me. "You slept with him, just say." Marco laughs. "I did, but that isn't it. That time, I never returned; about a year into it, Dale had bought a holiday home. He sent me to it alone and told me not to leave as it wasn't safe. I stayed there for maybe six months. A few weeks after I got there, the guy showed up. He basically moved in with me." I see Carlos' mouth drop open. "He never stayed in one place!" "He stayed with me. Dale would send maybe one message a week saying I wasn't safe and to stay hidden. If I tried messaging him, it wouldn't go through. I told him I couldn't keep calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim for now. That wasn't his name, I don't think. He confided in me, told me about his childhood and things, and I know I should have said, but I saw him as a friend." Which was stupid. "And now you don't? Why?" Marco looks at me, waiting. "Because now I realise he was trying to get information from me.
Dario pushes me to sit in a seat and faces me. He's looking at me like I'm about to blow everything up. I feel like I am. I didn't tell him everything, not because I didn't want him to know, but because I had no idea how or if he would handle this. Then, I just figured out things while he was getting Alex in bed. "Little rabbit, please." He looks at me, almost begging. "I didn't tell you everything. I stayed at a small holiday home without Dale for about six months. I have no idea where he went. Tim, or Mad Hatter as we know him, stayed with me." "You knew his fucking name!" "No! I told him I felt awkward calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim, which could be his name for now. His name isn't Tim. It's just a name he said to call him, so I didn't have to call him Mad Hatter." "You don't know for sure, little rabbit, why the fuck did you live with him for six months!" "Dale was gone. I don't know where or why. He was just gone. Tim isn't a bad guy, or I thought. Dale h