Adriana made a mistake by trading love for security leaving Rafael behind to marry a man who could give her everything he couldn’t. But five years later, that dream shattered when her husband divorced her leaving her with nothing but a sick daughter and a desperation she never imagined. Stripping was supposed to be a one-time thing. Just enough to survive. But Rafael was watching and decided it was time to step in. He was the highschool sweetheart she abandoned who is now the most dangerous man in the city and when he sees her on that stage, he doesn’t hesitate to step in. She belonged to him before and she will belong to him now. Trapped in his world of power and revenge, Adriana knows she can’t escape. But there’s one secret Rafael doesn’t know… he has a daughter. And if he finds out, she might lose everything she’s been fighting for.
Lihat lebih banyakRafael’s POVThe moment the first shot rang out everything shifted. Chaos erupted in the club AND people scrambling for cover along with the bodies pressing against each other in a frenzied panic while drinks are spilling and tables overturning. The scent of sweat and alcohol and gunpowder thickened the air clashing with the heavy bass that still thumped through the speakers, oblivious to the mayhem breaking out. My instincts kicked in immediately, one hand reaching for my gun as I scanned the dimly lit space for the source of the attack, my mind already calculating the angles and the possible positions of the shoote followed by the exitsa nd the threats. And then I saw Adriana. She wasn’t running. Wasn’t ducking for cover like any sane person would. She was moving toward Nathan. A sharp slicing fury cut through me as cold and swift as a blade. What the hell was she thinking? The idiot wasn’t even trying to protect herself and wasn’t thinking about the consequences of throwing he
Adriana’s POVThe world was dark. Thick and suffocating like an endless void that stretched on with no sense of time witj no sound and no thought. Just emptiness. It felt like I was floating all weightless yet at the same time something anchored me down, something heavy pressing against my chest, pinning me to a reality I couldn’t quite grasp yet. My mind drifted in a sluggish and unfocused way that was trapped in a haze that refused to let me surface. Then, a voice that was sharp and furious reached me dragginv me up and yanking me out of the abyss with a force that sent a violent jolt through my entire body. “Adriana!” A white hot bolt of agony that tore through my shoulder ripping a strangled gasp from my lips. It wasn’t just my shoulder anymore but it was everywhere. A raw and pulsing fire radiating outward burning through my limbs and curling deep into my bones making every shallow breath feel like I was inhaling shards of glass. My body felt too heavy like lead had been po
Adriana’s POVThe moment Nathan disappeared down the stairs the tension in my chest coiled so tight it was suffocating. My hands were clammy and my heartbeat slamming against my ribs like a warning drum. The corridor around me felt eerily quiet despite the distant murmur of voices downstairs. Every second that passed only made the unease in my stomach twist deepe and I knew— I couldn’t stay here and do nothing. Fuck what Nathan said. Ugh I’m not a martyr but I hate when I’m not in the show either. I edged away from the marble pillar pressing my back against the cold wall as I listened for any movement. Nothing. Not yet. But I wasn’t stupid enough to believe I had time. The men I overheard weren’t hesitating and if I stood here, waiting like some helpless fool I might as well have pulled the trigger on Rafael myself. I forced my legs to move with each step ligh and carefully controlled. My bare feet barely made a sound against the polished floors as I crept forward inching toward
Adriana’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I stirred was the smell of old paper and polished wood was thick in the air and mixed with something richer. Leather, aged whiskey and a faint trace of cigar smoke clung to the atmosphere like a second skin. My eyelids were heavy my my head pounding with a dull, relentless ache as if someone had cracked my skull open and stuffed it with cotton. Everything felt off and so freaking unfamiliar. My body was sluggish and my limbs weighed down by exhaustion and remnants of alcohol. Where the hell was I?Blinking against the dim glow of a single antique lamp, I forced myself to sit up groaning as a fresh wave of dizziness hit me. The room around me was large lined with towering bookshelves that stretched high toward the ceiling and each packed with thick, leather bound books that looked expensive. But never read. Aesthetic much. A heavy wooden desk stood near the window with papers stacked in neat piles and a crystal decanter of dark liquor sitt
Rafael’s POVThe room was thick with the scent of cigar smoke and the quiet simmering tension that always lingered when the Brotherhood gathered. The low amber glow of the chandelier casting eerie silhouettes over the faces of men who had built empires on blood and fear and unwavering loyalty. I sat at my usual spot at the long mahogany table with fingers drumming idly against the polished surface my gaze locked on Don Vittorio Romano. The man with a similar last name to mine but we still don’t share a single thing. The Capo dei Capi. The man who despite his failing health still had the audacity to challenge me. He leaned heavier in his chair than usual with the weight of his illness pressing into his bones but the bastard still had fire in his eyes. A lesser man would have taken his condition as a sign to keep his mouth shut and to pick his battles wisely but Vittorio had never been a lesser man. He was a relic of an older time and stubborn in his ways and perhaps that was why
Adriana’s POVThe weight of the room settled heavily on my shoulders thick with cigar smoke and the scent of expensive whiskey. The men around Rafael weren’t just powerful but they were dangerous in a way that made my skin crawl and their presence filling every inch of space with something coldu. Anthony had told me their names earlier but now, standing here I could put faces to them. I had expected them to be closer to Rafael’s age all young and ruthless but I quickly realized that most of them were older and seasoned in their brutality strike wickedness. These weren’t men who had stumbled into power but they they had built it, brick by bloody brick through years of survival, deception, manipulation and violence. The Capo dei Capi was still lounging in his seat like a king surveying his court as he had introduced them with a lazy flick of his fingers as if they were nothing more than pieces on a chessboard. First, there was Vincent Bianchi an older man with silver hair and sharp
Adriana’s POVThe air inside the place was thick with smoke and power and the kind of power that wasn’t flaunted with empty arrogance but carried with lethal assurances. These men didn’t need to boast about what they had done to get here and the way the world bent around them spoke loudly enough. The weight of their presence alone demanded submission. Not the same as the men around Marco.I could feel it pressing against my skin like an invisible forve reminding me that I didn’t belong here and that I was an outsider in a room full of men who thrived in shadows. The club itself was exclusive and far removed from the kind of places Marco used to take me to. This wasn’t a playground for wealthy businessmen or politicians pretending to be untouchable. This was something else entirely like a den of wolves. The music was a deep and pulsing thrum in the background but it did nothing to dull the tension crackling in the air. The lighting was dim, casting long shadows across the room amd m
Adriana’s POV I stepped out of the room my silve heels clicking softly against the marble floor as I made my way down the grand staircase. The air felt heavier snd thick with something unspoken. Eyes followed me belonging to the men stationed at every corner of Rafael’s estate. Some in suits and others in more casual clothing but all of them radiating dominance. They watched me witg their gazes lingering for a split second too long before they quickly lowered their heads in submission. Not to me of course but to the man I was walking toward. Rafael stood at the bottom of the staircase his back partially turned to me as he spoke to Nathan in hushed tones. His posture was rigid wrh one hand in his pocket and the other gesturing slightly as he spoke. Whatever they were discussing was important. Serious. But the moment I reached the halfway mark of the staircase, Rafael’s head lifted his sharp and penetrating gaze locking onto me. There was a predatory kind of silence filled the s
Adriana’s POVFor the next week, I was on edge jumping at the sound of Rafael’s name or at the thought of him or at the mere whisper of his presence in the house. Every time footsteps echoed down the hall, I felt my breath hitch and my stomach clench m my pulse hammering like a guilty secret trying to escape. But Rafael never called me to his room again. Not once. At first I told myself I was relieved. I convinced myself that it was better this way and that it meant I could breathe, that I wasn’t constantly caught in the pull of his presence and the gravity of his control. But relief didn’t explain the hollow ache sitting deep in my chest and the way my body felt coiled tight with an anticipation that nevre found release. He was barely home. I would catch glimpses of him sometimes moving through the house like a shadow always dressed in sharep immaculate suits, always with his phone pressed to his ear and always speaking in clipped decisive tones. He moved with the controlled move
Adriana’s POVThe neon sign outside the club flickered casting a dull red glow on the wet pavement. I stood beneath it, breathing in the thick and smoky air with my arms wrapped around myself as if that would somehow make this easier. But nothing about tonight was easy which is something I have been thinking about for weeks. The bass from the music inside thumped through the walls with that kind of deep pulse that settled in your bones. Or maybe it’s because of what I’m about to do. It is also the kind that made men loosen their ties and women forget they had limits. I know cause I’ve seen it. The kind of music that turned this place into an escape or some sort fantasy for some. Except for me, this wasn’t a fantasy and it has never been for the past six months. It is a place I have to come to so I’ll be able to keep food on the table. This was my last option because there are no other options in the first place. I adjusted my thin jacket, barely feeling the cold anymore. I canno...
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