Alora's POVMy mind was racing with questions—questions I didn’t know if I was ready to get the answers for.“Gianni?” I asked finally, after a long ten seconds of silence. “I don’t understand.”He turned to stare at me, a small smile appearing on his face. “What don’t you understand, Alora?”“Gianni, I don’t understand how you have proof against Bianca. Isn’t that... like, what proof do you have?” I asked, my confusion evident.“Well, it’s a long story,” he replied. “But I have proof, okay? And I think if Uncle Luca is as wise as he claims, he should have noticed it somewhere in the house by now. I kept it in his room so it would be safer there. Since he and Bianca hate each other’s guts, there’s no way she can get into his room.”My eyes widened. “Wait, you mean you really do have proof?”“Yes, I do have proof, Alora. Trust me, in less than no time, Bianca will be out of Dante’s—and our—lives for good. Then you and Dante can start your lovey-dovey acts.”“Gianni!” I shouted, making
Dante's POV"And are you sure they’ll be in this building?""Yes, this is the one," Marco replied, his tone firm. "If the picture sent to Alora was real, then we know who has her. And we know what they’re capable of. Fortunately, we’ve destroyed most of their hideouts, leaving only a few behind. They probably don’t even realize we know about this one, which makes it their most secure location for now.""Perfect," I muttered, studying the map in front of us. "We’ll attack from here, push through to this side, and surround these areas. Once we do, we’ll find them, explode the area, and get out. Let’s move!"As Marco, Vittoria, and I prepared for the mission, the door suddenly burst open, slamming hard against the wall. Luca’s panicked face appeared in the doorway."Dante, you have to see this.""What now, Luca?" I barked. "We’re about to move out and get Alora and Gianni back. I don’t have time for any of your nonsense.""Please, Dante," he insisted, stepping closer. "You really need to
Dante's POVI rushed towards Marco. "Give her to me.""No, Don. I think you should go in there. I've knocked some guys unconscious, but you should go get them."My eyes darkened, and I gave him my most blood-chilling glare. How dare he tell me what to do?"I want Alora, not those men. Give Alora to me, and you'll be in charge of them. Bring them to the dungeon at home, and then, Vittoria? Handle cleanup."They both glanced at each other. Vittoria shrugged, while Marco kept looking at her."Will you just fucking hand her to me right now so that I can be on my way?" I roared, my patience running thin.He quickly did, but the moment my hands touched her, she let out a blood-curdling scream and tried to drift away."What the?" I thought she was unconscious just now. Why did…Marco immediately took her back, and she stayed silent, resting her head further against his chest."What the hell? Did I have nails on my hands that pierced her?""Umm, Don. I think Marco should just take her home. I
Dante’s POVAfter dropping Gianni off in his room with a very reluctant Vittoria to care for him, Marco and I headed down to Bianca's room. Alexei and Luca met us on the stairs, and Luca looked the most excited. I couldn’t stop him, knowing how much he would love what was about to happen. Unfortunately for him, it wouldn’t end the way he hoped.I didn’t allow Vittoria to come because I knew her. She hates Bianca so much that she would have gone on a killing spree, and that’s the last thing I need—more problems with Bianca’s father.When we reached her room, I motioned to one of my guards, who knocked loudly on the door.Bianca’s shrill voice rang out from inside.“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you knocking on my door like that? Are you crazy?”Her voice grew closer as she pulled open the door. When she saw us all standing there, her irritation melted into a wide smile. She jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist and placing her head on my chest.“Baby, I’ve missed
Alora's POVI groaned as the light hit my eyes, making me squint. The familiar beige and white walls of the medical bay at Dante's mansion greeted me.My eyes widened, and I shot up from the bed with the speed of light. I shouldn’t have done that. The action sent a surge of pain rushing through my back as if someone had hit me a gazillion times with an iron rod.I screamed loudly as tears crinkled at the corners of my eyes. The door burst open, and two nurses, along with Dante’s doctor, rushed in, their eyes wide and weapons drawn.And no, I don’t mean syringes and stethoscopes—I mean guns. What the hell are nurses doing with guns?Seeing no danger, they withdrew their weapons, stared at each other for a few seconds, and then the doctor walked toward me with a small smile.“Miss Marino, we are happy to see you awake, ma’am. How do you feel?”I managed a small smile. “My back hurts like hell.”The doctor nodded. “Yeah, you took quite a hit on the back, but it’s nothing painkillers won’
Alora's POV“Well, are you going to say anything?” Dante’s deep voice increased the tension in the room. His piercing gaze locked onto mine as he stood directly in front of me.I cast a quick, panicked glance at Vittoria, hoping for assistance. She subtly shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. My brow furrowed in confusion as I stared at her. She seemed to be sending me a silent message, one I couldn’t quite understand.After a moment, her gestures started to make sense. She didn’t want me to deny Dante’s words.“I don’t know what you are talking about, Don Bellini,” I finally replied, pretending like I didn’t know.Vittoria gave me a small nod of approval, her lips curling into a faint smirk. I managed a small smile back before turning to face Dante’s towering, brooding figure again.“Alora, don’t act naïve,” Dante growled. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You said you didn’t want to see me but preferred Marco or Luca. Is that a lie?”“Well, I... I don’t know. It
Alora's POVDante took his time, wiping his mouth with a napkin before leaning back against his seat and tapping the wooden table gently. His eyes didn’t stray from mine for a second.Deciding to test the waters, I arched a brow at him. "Are you sure that I can ask what I need and you'll give me? Or are you pulling my leg?"“Alora, I am a man of my word. That’s one thing about the Mafia. We do not go back on our word.”Great. I smiled, feeling a sense of relief. “That means anything I ask, no matter what it is, you’ll give me?” I nodded, peering at him from under my lashes.Dante chuckled, his deep voice giving no hint of what emotion he was feeling. “Well, a man of my word doesn’t mean a fool. I won’t give you anything you ask. I’ll only give you what’s reasonable.”“Fair enough, because I could still ask you for something stupid.” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “So what I want is…”Dante raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for me to continue. I took a deep breath.“I just want a li
Alora's POVAlthough I froze, Dante didn’t stop. His lips kept moving against mine, building momentum. I placed my hand on his shoulder to push him away, but he gripped them firmly in his own, pressing me further against the wall and pressing his body against mine as his lips continued to devour mine.I couldn’t believe it. I was too dumbfounded to react. His lips tasted sweet, like pineapples, but there was a hint of alcohol in his breath. Was he drunk?After what felt like hours but was just a few seconds, I finally gathered the courage and pushed him off me. I turned on my heel and bolted into the bathroom, shutting the door quickly behind me. I leaned against it, my heart pounding wildly in my chest like it would burst out at any second.What the hell? I placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart, but nothing was working. I ran to the sink, turned on the tap, and splashed my face with cold water. What just happened?I scurried to the mirror. My lips and face were r
Alora's POV"You like her, don’t you?" I asked Luciano, diverting from the topic at hand."Get whatever is in your head out of the gutter. Vittoria and I were only talking about you. She just met me by chance the other day and told me to meet with her here."Yeah, could have fooled me. I don't know why they're hiding the fact that they like each other. There's nothing wrong with it. If anything, it makes me glad that my brother has found a woman he loves."Back to earth, Alora," Luce snapped his hands in my face, making me jolt.Ignoring my glare, he continued, "In the meantime, don’t tell anyone about our real identity, Alora. There is just too much at stake, which is why I can’t leave Dad and follow you."When he said that, I knew there was a secret they hadn’t told me yet. And they wouldn’t.Because that’s how my life has been now—just secretive people and hidden truths.But that doesn’t mean I won’t find out.Just like I found out about him and Vittoria here today, I believed I co
Alora's POVIf anything could have told me that Dante didn't like Anton, then the forced smile on his lips definitely did.Despite this, they gave each other a bro-hug."Man, you have been missing. Office duties?" Anton asked again."Yes, Anton. I have been very busy in the office managing a lot of things," Dante replied.If they were talking about the "office," it probably meant Anton didn't know Dante's true identity. Or maybe he thought I didn't know. Well, it was up to them.While I stood there, all I could feel were my nerves coiling at the thought of what Dante had in mind for me. Damn Luca—why hadn't he told me Dante had left the house? Or maybe Dante had caught on to us earlier than I thought, and there was really nothing we could do to escape it.The men kept discussing for a while as if I didn't exist, and I took that as my perfect opportunity to disappear. Slowly, I slipped down the hallway, moving silently like a pro.I was about two doors away from them when Dante, even w
Chapter 70Alora's POVI was doing it.I was succeeding.I had actually escaped the tight confines of the mafia mansion. My legs were hitting the pavement hard as I tried to get away.Nobody was chasing me. Yet.But even as I ran, I felt like someone was about to pounce on me and take me back to the mansion. The look of disappointment and rage on Dante's face propelled my legs forward until I finally spotted a cab.Hailing it, I told the driver to follow Vittoria to the place she had just gone to. The device in my hand was indicating not only her journey but the time it would take for me to meet her.“Right here, sir. Thank you very much,” I said, handing the driver his money. Yes, this time I brought money with me.Although I was doing something risky by being here, a thrill was coursing through me. For the first time in a long time, I felt alive. The desire to explore the city hit so hard that I almost forgot my mission—follow Vittoria, record her, and send it to Luca.I didn't know
Alora's POVI walked into the mansion on trembling feet, relieved that I had managed to fool Vittoria into thinking I was fine.Then again, I doubted she would have noticed anything was wrong. Her attention had been glued to her phone from the moment she saw me until we got into the cars and left the mall.Enough about Vittoria—the real issue was, how did he keep finding me?I checked my hands and neck, searching for any bracelet or jewelry that could have a tracker, but there was nothing. I would have to ask Gianni or Luca about the different ways the Mafia tracked people so easily.Unless… he wasn’t tracking me through something on my body at all.Which could only mean one thing—one of Dante’s men was working with my father.That possibility made too much sense. My father had been finding me at the most unexpected times, even knowing about my private date with Dante in the garden of his mansion. Something was definitely off, and we needed to get to the bottom of it.But now, he had
Dante's POVVittoria was a nervous wreck.Vittoria trembled.For the first time since I had become Don years ago and appointed her as Underboss, Vittoria trembled.It wasn’t something to take lightly because she was my Underboss—the person in whose hands I had placed my mafia.So what exactly was wrong with her? Why was she acting so off? Doing things she had never done before… going out at odd hours?I didn’t want to have her tailed. No.Loyalty was a very important aspect of trust and belief in my mafia. None of the top people were ever to be suspected.These were my family.But at this point, it seemed like I was going to have to go back on my word and send my men to find out what had Vittoria so occupied—occupied enough to be nervous when I called her to ask why she hadn’t been around much.The knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. I had been tapping my pen incessantly on my desk, my mind struggling to piece together what Vittoria was up to.“Hey.”Luca’s head popped in. “A
Alora's POVDante is onto me. My dad is onto me. It seems like the whole world is onto me at this point.What the hell am I supposed to do?Maybe I can find someone to confide in. Yes, that’s what I have to do, I thought to myself as I paced up and down in a room in the medical bay. The nurses were in the other area.They had asked me why I was here when I clearly wasn't working much anymore—thanks to Dante. I told them I needed to practice something small and for them to give me privacy, which they had done, thankfully. I wouldn’t want anyone to see me in this state.I thought I’d been masking it quite well—the fear in my eyes. But it seems like Dante noticed.What the hell? Just how does he notice everything about me?I didn’t want him to know. Dad said not to make anyone suspect.No. I was not obeying my dad. I was just scared of what the outcome would be. His words still rang in my head even today."You are going to act like my beautiful little spy in that mansion. Get me all the
Dante's POV"Where is Vittoria?" I asked two men who were in the gym. Normally, this was her gym time, as she didn’t train with everyone else."No idea, boss.""We don’t know, Don," they responded.This was the fifth time I had looked for her in the mansion. What is going on? Her movements had just been… weird and too frequent.The Vittoria I knew only went out when there was a mission. She didn’t even have much of a social life, had no female friends, or anyone she would want to hang out with. I know her first female friend is Alora, which is why she values their friendship so much.Maybe I could ask Alora about Vittoria? Girls gossip, right… so she’d know something.Who am I kidding? Both of them are the same. Ever since we came back from the date, Alora has been avoiding me. Now, I had taken it to heart. It is definitely my fault.What could I have said during the date that would make her so worried and scared of me? Damn it, I knew it. I shouldn’t have spoken so much. Now, I have
Alora's POVDespite all the pacing I had been doing up and down in my room, I still hadn't calmed down. The time was ticking by, and she was nowhere to be seen. I wonder what could be delaying her arrival.I don't know what’s wrong with this girl. She just seems a bit off these days. But that is beside the point now. I need to focus on this emergency, and then I was going to ask her what exactly had her so occupied that I barely saw her, even though we basically lived rooms apart from each other.Finally, after another excruciatingly long wait, I heard a knock on my door before she pushed it open, strolled into my room, and slumped down on the bed like she owned the place."Who dares summon her royal highness? How mayest I be of help to you low—""Vittoria, this is not the time for jokes, okay? We need to do something now.""Oh, Alora, I'm tired. I didn't sleep last night. I was out the whole time.""That is none of my business, Vittoria, okay? Get up. You need to help me out here. Co
Alora's POVMy laughter slowly died when I noticed that Dante was glaring at me. I scooted closer to Gianni, who wass justl staring at our exchange as though he was in the most boring moment of his life. How can this kid put on such a brave facade at such a tense moment when the Mafia Don's icy eyes are digging our graves already"Alora, for the last time, I'll ask-""Brother, I went out with Alora. You should also ask me where we were, right?" Gianni cut in, making my eyes widen.Is he having a death wish?"Gianni, stop!" I exclaimed, horrified at his nonchalance.But he just turned to me and rolled his eyes."I'll tell you where we were," he said to dabte, and my heart started thuddingng.Oh, shit. I just hope he doesn't throw me under the bus. We made an agreement That if I took him out, he was going to keep my own secret."Yes, I took him out. We went to see Cherry," . "I haven't seen her in a long time.abd I promised I'll pass by today," Gianni saids, confirming my words.Dante