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 POVDominic's words made me stop. I looked at him and he looked just as shocked as I was by his words. I could not have ever expected those words to leave Dominic's mouth. Love was not something men like Dominic gave freely. They dominated, they controlled—but they did not love. “You think you love me?” It was more of a question to myself than it was to him. I wanted to scoff and tell him that he was lying. That he was only saying it because of the heat of the moment. I wanted to tell him that he would take it back before the day was over. He grabbed a hold of my waist and pulled me close to him, so close that I could feel his hot breath on my face. “That's the only explanation that makes sense.” He said, a serious expression on his face as he looked me deeply into my eyes. “Explanation to w…what?” I stuttered, trying to control my voice. “To why I feel this way… to why I feel like I need you and I can't breathe without you. Why I want to protect you and never let you go.
DOMINIC'S POV As though he could listen to my thoughts, my phone began to vibrate again. I didn't even have to look at the phone to know that it was Dino who was calling me. I declined the call and switched off. These days, the only person I hoped to call me was the mystery caller. The fact that I still did not know who it was from, was driving me crazy. A knock sounded on my door, disrupting my thoughts. “Come in,” I said. Barry walked into my office, looking calm and in control as always. I missed the days when I was just as stoic as Barry before Emily came and flipped my world upside down. “What is it?” I demanded. I wanted to be alone and his presence was not welcomed. Unfazed, Barry said, “Dino has been spotted near the warehouse in Italy. He's getting really desperate.” “Let him wait. I like how restless he is.” I said. “He will soon break and when that happens, he will give me whatever I want.” “And what about Sofia? How long do you plan on keeping her here?” He asked. “
EMILY’S POV I walked into Sofia's room to find her with a book in her hand. She looked up from the pages when I walked in. It was odd watching her sit in my clothes when we were the direct opposite of each other. My clothes were a little too small on her because she was taller than me, but she still made it work. I did not think that a woman like Sofia could ever look bad in anything. “Hey,” I told her softly. She set the book aside. “Hello.” “How'd you get the book?” I asked her curiously. “I asked the maid that brings me food if she can get me one. I assumed that there would be no problem with it; I am a guest, after all.” I heard the sarcasm dripping heavily from her voice. I sighed. I understood that it was hard for her to trust me or anybody in the house, but I hated how she treated me like the enemy when all I was trying to do was help her. She did not know the plans that Dominic had in store for her. The more she resisted my help, the more she gave reason for Dominic to r
DINO'S POV “We've searched all of Italy for him. He is not in this country, and nobody seems to know where he is.” Max, my cousin told me. It had been over a week since Sofia had been kidnapped by that bastard, and I could not find him anywhere. I hated the fact that he always seemed to be one step ahead of me. Dominic Moreno was a virus, the kind that had no cure and you could never get rid of him. When my father was alive, he had an obsession with overthrowing Dominic and taking over his empire, but he was not able to. He made me promise that if anything ever happened to him, I would take care of Dominic by myself. The more I went into this, the more it looked like I could never take the asshole down, but I would not give up; this was a fight to the death. “Where could he be? Sofi is in danger and we need to find a way to rescue her. This is my mess, she has nothing to do with this.” “We can keep looking, but I cannot promise that we will find anything. Sofia is a strong gi
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
DOMINIC'S POV The silence in the room was very heavy. The only sound in the room was of Emily clicking away on the laptop. She was so engrossed in the work, in trying to find anything that would help us take Crowley and Damien back. She spent the whole day on the encrypted server. “I can't really find anything more on him,” Emily said frustration filling her voice. I put my hand over hers and soothed my thumb over it. “Don't be too hard on yourself. Just take a break, and we can continue later. It's already getting dark. I think we should take a shower and sleep.” I told her. With a resolved sigh, she nodded her head, and I helped her up with my good arm. The pain from my injury was still very bad, but Emily disinfected it every night and dressed it. It was beginning to heal, but not as fast, and I could like it. Damien could strike at any time, and I needed to be ready. I could not do that with an injured shoulder. I hoped they would hold up any future attacks until I was
EMILY’S POV Dominic sat on the bed, still looking at the file. His jaw was clenched and I could see the calculating fury in his eyes. The way he went quiet when he was angry would be terrifyingly for somebody else, but not for me. It looked like a storm was brewing on the surface, and it was about to erupt and cause destruction. “This changes everything.” He told me, not looking away from the screen. He began to rub his temples with his good hand and I could tell that he was getting stressed. I moved to stand behind him, and I began to rub his back softly, which seemed to reduce the tension in his body. “We were focusing so much on Damien.” He said. “Trying to take him down, but all this while we were chasing the shadows. Damien is my brother; that much is true, and I think Crowley found that out and used what my father did to get in his head.” I nodded, releasing a slow breath and coming to sit beside him. “And if what the files say is true—and I believe it is, then we hav