EMILY’S POV I walked into Dominic's office and I found him seething as he was deep in thought. When he noticed me, his features softened a bit. “What's wrong?” I asked him as I took the chair opposite him. “First of all, when you're in a room with me, the only place you can sit is on my lap.” He said sternly. I moved to sit on his lap, more eager than I would have liked to show. It was like my body had a mind of its own. “Good girl.” He said and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I snaked my arms around his neck. “Now can you tell me what is wrong?” “I just got a call from Dino.” He said. “He's pissed and he threatened to kill me if I hurt a hair on his sister's head.” “And what did you tell him?” “I told him his sister is tied up in my basement, and if he wants her to keep being safe, then he must do as I say, or else, he'll have her back in a body bag.” He said darkly. I could see that the thought of it excited him. “Are you really going
SOFIA'S POVI opened my eyes slowly, and a sharp pain shot through my head. I groaned as I tried to make sense of everything that was happening. Everything was blurry, but I knew that I was not at my brother's house. I could make out that I was in a large bedroom, almost as large as my bedroom at home. The door knob twisted and then I heard footsteps walking into the room. When I turned to see who it was, I expected to see Dino, but the figure was much taller and larger than Dino. I could not make out his face, but I felt alarmed and I knew that I was in danger. “Finally, you are awake.” The strange man said. I tried to talk, but only a moan escaped my lips. “Don't worry, you are safe for now. The only thing I want from you is to give me any information you have about Dominic Moreno.” The man said. I had heard that name before countless times, my brother was obsessed with taking him down, but I didn't pay much attention to anything he had to say because I was not interested in all
EMILY’S POV I stood at the doorway, my gaze fixed on the woman in front of me who looked at me with widened eyes. Trying to see if I was a threat or not. Her dark hair was dishevelled, her dress was rumpled and she looked tired. But even in her discomfort, she carried herself with grace. I could tell that she had never been in a position like this before. She straightened, her hands gripping the silk beneath her. “Who are you?” She asked, her voice hoarse and dry. I made a mental note to ask someone to bring some water up to her. “I'm Emily. How about you?” I asked. I knew who she was but I wanted to hear her say it, maybe to be sure—I don't know. “You must already know who I am.” She told me with raised eyebrows. “I know, but I want to hear you say it by yourself,” I said, taking a few steps into the room. I closed the door behind me. I only had a few minutes to talk to her. Dominic did not want to disclose what room she was in, so I followed him discreetly to find out. “My n
DOMINIC'S POVI watched through the CCTV cameras as Emily left the room, my blood boiling with rage. There was a reason that I didn't want her going into that room; I didn't want her to become best friends with my hostage, and from what I could see, that had already happened. How did she even figure out where the room was? Any type of relationship between Emily and Sofia could be detrimental to my plans. It would make execution very hard for me if it was necessary. I stormed out of my office and went to my bedroom where I knew she would be. I walked into the room and saw her sitting at the edge of the bed and loosening her braids. She was so fucking graceful and beautiful; if I wasn't so angry at her, I'd have spread her legs and kissed the lips of her core. When she turned to look at me, I could tell that she knew exactly why I was angry, but she did not seem to care, which further infuriated me. “What the fuck were you doing in Sofia's room?” “I just wanted to talk to her.” She
EMILY’S POV I was filled with relief at Dominic's words, but it was only partial relief. I knew better than to believe Dominic fully. He was a man of contradictions and he could easily go back on his words. He could be sweet and tender one moment, but when it came to his enemies he could be ruthless. There was no doubt that if Sofia became more trouble than he bargained for, he would not hesitate to end her. I needed to make sure that didn't happen. Dominic moved closer to me; his eyes were still burning with frustration, and he narrowed his eyes at me as though telling me that he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I don't want to hear anything about this from you again. You will stay out of this. I have given you two things that you want. You can't make any requests anymore.” I stared at him defiantly and I crossed my arms, refusing to be intimidated by him. “I didn't say I wanted you to spare her life. I said you had to keep her safe. There is a difference.” He clenched his jaw
SOFIA'S POV I woke up to the sound of someone opening the door. The heavy metal door made a creaking sound, announcing the arrival of someone. My body tensed instinctively, my heart was racing very fast. The room was dimly lit with the sunlight filtering through the window. I turned to see Emily stepping into the room. Her gaze met mine and she gave me a small smile. I could see hesitation in her movements as she approached me. “Good morning.” She said softly. She closed the door behind her. I mumbled a response. I was still drowsy, and I still wasn't sure if I could trust her, even though she seemed different from the rest of them, and she made an effort to try to talk to me. She didn't seem cold like Dominic, there was a warmth to her. She could not hide that she was not born into this world. It made me curious to know more about her. Where did she come from? How did she end up here? “I brought you some fresh clothes. I thought you would like to come out of that dress. It looks
SOFIA'S POV As soon as Dominic left, the tension in the room decreased, but it still lingered. My heart was still racing from his presence. The way he had looked at me like he was trying to find out what was going on in my head. I'd heard my father and Dino talk about him and how he was one of the most feared Capos in the world, seeing him made me understand why. Dominic was cold when I looked into his eyes; they looked hollow and void of emotion—except when he looked at Emily. Emily exhaled, massaging her forehead in a bid to calm down. “I am sorry about that.” She said softly. I looked at her with suspicion. “Are you really sorry? Are you really trying to help me or are you just trying to make things easier for Dominic? You may disapprove of his methods, but you're still working with him.” “I don't think you understand. Dominic is not always like this… he's a very complicated man.” She tried to explain. “Yeah, right. Let me guess, he's actually a really sweet guy and he's misun
EMILY’S POVMy breath hitched as Dominic inched closer to me, closing the distance between us. His movements were slow and deliberate, showing that he was in control of the situation—of everything. His presence was domineering; they radiated with the power that he exhumed, which both intrigued me and made me feel nervous. I held my ground, refusing to see how much he affected me. I didn't want him to know that my heart was beating wildly in my chest—whether from excitement or from fear, I could not tell. “And how do you intend on making me pay?” I said, making sure my voice did not shake. “Oh, Emily.” He whispered as he traced my jawline with his finger, then he cupped my chin and pulled my face close to him. “I think you already know the answer to that.” His hands went down to my neck and he wrapped his fingers around my neck and pulled me closer to him. He pressed a kiss to my lips, it was not a passionate kiss, it was a punishing kiss. He used his tongue to get back at me for d
EMILY’S POVVictoria held me in her arms as I broke down in tears. Just hearing his voice had shattered me. I knew he was sorry, I knew he was scared, but I didn't know how to forgive him. I'd always trusted Dominic not to hurt me and he did just that. He broke my heart into a million pieces, and I did not know how to trust him again or move past the pain. Especially now with the girls being held captive by people that could kill them. I felt like the new life I'd built for myself was slowly crashing down and I didn't know how to stop it. “I'm proud of you for standing your ground. You needed to let him know how much his actions had hurt you and you were right to ask for space.” Victoria assured me that she knew I felt guilty. I felt like maybe I'd been too hard on him. “I know, but why doesn't it feel that way. It feels…painful.” I told her, pulling away from her. “Because you love him, and you trusted him and he hurt you.” “I know,” I said quietly. She was right. I love him but
DOMINIC'S POVI looked at my phone like it was about to explode after Victor left. "Call her". His words kept ringing over and over again in my head. The way he looked at me, I knew he meant it. It had been almost a week since I last heard her voice. I made the painful decision of putting a wedge between us even though I knew it was totally wrong to do so—even though I knew that it would hurt her. I wanted to protect her from myself. I meant what I said to Victor. I didn't know how to be there for her in her grief while dealing with mine and also trying to get the girls back. Now I knew I had to call her, but I was scared that I'd hurt her so much that she wouldn't be mine. I was scared that I'd messed everything up with the distance to the point that she would never forgive me. I was scared of what she'd say, how she'd react. But the truth was that I missed her—I missed her terribly. Her voice, her laughter, her comforting touch. The way she made me feel like I wasn't the monster
EMILY’S POV Waiting was gruesome. It had been two days and I had not heard a word from any of them. Not even from Victor. I was constantly nervous, not getting enough sleep because I could not sleep, and when I did, I got nightmares. Victoria had not left the house since and it was nice to have someone around. We talked and we got to know each other better. It helped us to keep our minds off everything. I was grateful for her; she was the only thing keeping me a bit sane. I tried not to think about Dominic so much, cause thinking about him made me sad. No matter how much I tried to understand, I could not help the feeling of hurt that came as a result of his abandonment. We'd always gone through everything together, so why did it have to be different now? I missed him, but I was angry with him. After I called him two days back and he didn't respond, I promised myself not to try to contact him again. If he wanted to be away from me, then so be it. I would not beg him anymore. If
DOMINIC'S POV The warehouse looked like a haunted house. It was an old abandoned building. It was filled with silence and darkness except for the flickering security lights. My fingers clenched as I looked at the building that held the possibility that my daughter was in there. We were parked a safe distance from the location. This was not an attack, it was a stakeout, but everything in my body screamed for a shootout, but not with the girls in there. Lorenzo slid into the backseat. “I did another scan on the property and found that there was movement in the building. There are a few people on there, probably a way to reduce activity and take attention away from the building.” I was about to respond when my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who was calling. Emily. I allowed the phone to finish ringing before putting it back in my pocket. I looked up to find Victor shaking his head at me in disappointment. My heart sank. I knew it wasn't fair for me to kee
DOMINIC'S POV Victor pulled me aside after I was done talking to everybody with a serious expression on his face. “You need to talk to Emily.” He said simply. I let out a shaky breath as I ran my fingers through my hair. “I can't talk to her right now, Victor. She's counting on me for something that I can't give her right now and that I'd comfort. I'm a mess. My daughter is in the hands of my enemy and all I can think about is that I need to save her so I don't lose her.” “She's not asking you for comfort, Dominic. She just wants you to know that you are both in this together. If anything, she wants to comfort you. You can't let this whole thing tear you apart, that's how Damien will win.” I didn't respond. I knew he was right, but right now I could not give her what she was asking. I needed to handle this on my own. It was better she stayed away from the entire case. I could not handle emotions right now, it was for the best. I was about to respond when Lorenzo rushed bac
SOFIA'S POV I woke up covered in sweat, my wrist hurt from where they were bound. My mouth hurt from the gag and every single inch of my body hurt. The room was dark and damp and the smell of blood hung in the air. My head throbbed from when they'd delivered a blow to my head when I had tried to resist them. I had no idea how long I'd been out, but judging by how much my body hurt and the dried-up blood on Anita's head, I knew it had been a while. Anita was beside me; she was not moving, but I could hear her shallow breathing—thank God. Daniella was on my other side, she was bruised and very weak, but she still had a look of determination that I envied. I was just glad that we were all alive… for now. Slow and deliberate footsteps approached the space where we were kept. I winced as the door cracked open, casting light into the dark room. A man walked into the room. I gasped. He looked just like Dominic, just a bit older. He was put together, wore an expensive suit and everythi
EMILY’S POV I felt like I could not breathe as I paced up and down the length of my room. Dominic had left hours ago without so much as a word to me. I had not heard anything from them about the situation over there. I tried to call Dominic but he wasn't answering. I hated not knowing, I hated that this was happening. We'd don't everything to make sure that Damien did not find out about where they were. Everything to protect their location, but nothing has worked. Damien had still been able to get his hands on them. I imagined Anita and Daniella, terrified and Sofia too. It was ironic that the last time this had happened, it was Sofia's father who had taken them. Finally, unable to take the lack of information anymore, I called Victor. He answered immediately and I was relieved, but it also meant that Dominic was deliberately avoiding talking to me, which made me feel alone. “Emily?” “Hey, Victor. How are things over there?” There was a pause at the end of the line before
DOMINIC'S POV We got to Sydney at dawn. The air was thick with heat and tension as we drove through the street to my estate. When we got there, the place looked normal from the outside. I felt like I'd not been there in forever. The gate was still intact, so I knew that they didn't force themselves into the property. The cameras in front of the gate were still blinking rapidly. They had not been tampered with. All five of us—myself, Dino, Victor, Barry, and Ezra—walked into the house to inspect it. Lorenzo greeted us at the entrance, and he could not look me in the eye. That was good. I left him in charge, trusted him to take care of the girls, and he'd disappointed me. Even though I knew it wasn't really his fault. Damien and his men had bested him, but I needed someone to blame. “Walk us through what happened,” Victor told Lorenzo as we walked through the house. I'd asked that nothing be touched or cleaned until I came. I wanted to see everything for myself. “They came in s
EMILY’S POV “How did that even happen? The house is supposed to be very secure, and how did he even find out where they were?” The questions rushed out of me before I could stop them. The tears were flowing freely from my eyes, and I felt shattered. I'd spoken to Anita only some hours ago, and she sounded okay. She told me everything was fine. How could that have changed in only a short period? “I know as much as you do, Emily. I'm waiting for feedback from Lorenzo. I might have to make the trip down there.” Dominic said, sitting in the corner. Beside him were Victor, Barry, and Ezra, who were trying to console the both of us. “I'm going with you,” I told him. “You are not going with me.” He said quietly, shaking his head. “But—” I started to say, but he cut me off. “My decision has been made, and that is final. I am leaving before noon today, and you will stay here. I can't risk anything happening to you either.” He told me strongly. His tone left no room for argument, bu