Adriana’s POV
The dressing room was suffocating and filled with thick clouds of cheap perfume and sweat with the overhead lights casting harsh glow on the women thattmoved around me with practiced ease. My hands trembled as I adjusted the thin straps of the red lace lingerie the club provided, tugging at the hem as if that would make a difference. It didn’t. Nothing could hide how exposed I felt. "You'll get used to it." a voice said from beside me and I startled at the sound of it. It’s definitely feminine but it’s also husky like she’s been smoking for a while. I turned to see a blonde adjusting her lipstick in the mirror. She was beautiful in a way that made me instantly aware of how out of place I was. Her confidence and the way she owned her barely-there outfit was effortless. Meanwhile, I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror without cringing seven ways to Sunday. "V said to make sure you’re ready and told me to help you out since today is your first day.” She continued in that husky voice, her eyes flicking to my reflection as if assessing me if I was with her time. I swallowe at what she said. Wince had fucking stared at me like I was a piece of meat when I asked him if I could dance for one night. He hadn’t hesitated to say yes but there was an underlying threat in his words. If this worked, I wouldn’t be allowed to stop. I’d become a regular like this girl whoever she is. "Any tips before I go out there?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady when I’m trembling all over. I’m not saying stripping is a bad thing but it’s just not for someone like me. How the mighty have fallen. "Don’t fall in love with the money too fast. And don’t make eye contact with the ones who think they own you. They take that as an invitation to do more." She smirked, capping her lipstick before tossing it into her bag carelessly. She’s an expert. I gave a tight nod, ignoring the way my stomach twisted. The door to the dressing room swung open and the music from the main floor pulsed into the space like a second heartbeat. Someone called my name. And he had the nerve to fucking name me Ginger as a stage name. Fucking James. Well It was time. With a final breath, i stepped out into the blinding lights of the club. The heat of the room hit me first. The scent of alcohol and expensive cologne mixed together and clinging to my skin as I walked toward the stage. I’m very sure there are many husbands who abandoned their wives to come here and unwind. I know because my husband used to be ones of them. My red heels clicked against the floor, my legs shaky despite the hours I had spent practicing. I forced myself to keep going while gripping the pole with clammy fingers as the music changed to something slow and sultry. I used to dance like this in highschool and that is how i attracted my… i stopped the thought instantly. And then I moved. I arched my back while rolling my hips in time with the beat and letting the music dictate my movements. The first few seconds were the hardest as I was forcing my body to keep going, ignoring the way the men leaned forward with their gazes predatory and assessing. I shut them out. I had to. The money started coming in, tossed carelessly onto the stage like water. Some bills fluttering against my ankle before settling on the ground. It was working faster than i had imagined. It wasn’t much but it was something. I could do this. This is my first night, I’m sure I’ll make more before the end of the week. But then, reality crashed back right before I started thinking about how to use the money. A hand grabbed my thigh so suddenly and shockingly that I didn’t even see it coming from the dark audience. I was watching anyone like my coach had asked me not to so I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. I jolted, my entire body stiffening at the unexpected touch. The man smirked with his fingers tracing higher like he had every right to. My stomach twisted but I forced myself to move out of reach. His grip tightened around my thighs instead and fear started in my throat. "Relax, Ginger sweetheart. You’re on the wrong stage if you don’t want to be touched." he murmured or more like slurred because voice thick with alcohol. The expensive kind I used to serve at the bar. His friends chuckled from their seats while watching like this was a game. I pushed at his hand but another one grabbed my wrist, yanking me forward. A gasp ripped from my throat as I stumbled into his lap my heart hammering in my chest. What the fuck? This is my first freaking night. "Stay right here and make me feel good. We’re just getting started." He said again with his breath hot and disgusting against my ear. Panic flooded my veins and my skin felt like something was crawling on it. The rules here were different. There were no boundaries and no security guards rushing in to stop him. I realized too late that strippers weren’t untouchable in this club. I hadn’t asked that piece of information. No. I couldn’t do this. I felt him hardness beneath my butt and more panic almost made me hyperventilate. My elbow shot back catching him in the ribs. It wasn’t much but it was enough. His grip loosened for half a second and I yanked myself free, stumbling off his lap and onto shaky legs and those fucking heels. The room was still spinning as I scrambled off the stage but I made a wise decision even though my hands were shaking, I still snatched a few crumpled bills from the floor. I didn’t care how much it was. I just needed enough to cover Isabella’s next round of medication and find another freaking job. Ignoring the eyes on me as tears rushed down my face, I rushed toward the back, my breath coming in uneven gasps as I shoved through the dressing room doors. I had made a mistake. A terrible, irreversible mistake. And I didn’t know how to fix it. Then I heard the commotion and stepped out to check. It was Vince striding towards me without his usual confidence. He looks like he is about to drop dead in front of me and looks like he had seen a ghost at the same time. I have never seen him looking this petrified the whole six months I’ve been working here. He is always smug and annoying. “Someone wants to see you in the VIP room.” He said like a robot. He wasn’t even really seeing me with the way his eyes are unfocused. “I’m not going to any VIP room. I never agreed to give special service and after what happened at the stage? I don’t think I want this job any more.” I ground out through gritted teeth while hiding the hundred dollar bills behind me. “Listen here Adriana, you have no other fucking choice because if you don’t come with me right now he will send his guards and they are not friendly at all. He is the owner of the fucking club.” He snapped finally returning his focused eyes on me. I don’t care who he is. But Before I could argue some more, Vince is already dragging me down the hall to the VIP section of the club. I tried to claw away from him. I didn’t ask for this. Am I going to be forced to give a special service even though I said no? Then I’m going to quit cause no one is going to do this to me. We made it outside a door and instead of entering with me, he pushed me inside. I fell on my knees as he closed the door behind him firmly. I wince before slowly raising my head realizing it wasn’t one person in the room. There are two huge men standing by the door and true to Vince’s words, they don’t look friendly at all. My eyes trailed to the shoes in front of me up to the face of the man wearing a tailored expensive suit. My breath catches as A shiver ran down my spine as the face started to register in my face then I saw the trace of that tattoo he did years ago in highschool peeking through his unbuttoned shirt. It was the tattoo of my eyes. Rafael Romano… my highschool boyfriend that I dumped for his rival and the father of my daughter. Those gray eyes that used to stare at me like I was the center of his world are now dark, emotionless and dispassionate. The boy that used to wear cheap clothes is wearing a suit that could pay my daughter’s entire hospital bills. Like I said, karma. I turned my head to the side and gasped when I saw the man that was trying to grope me earlier all bloody. The other men that stood by the side were like robots. I have a bad feeling that I know what this looks like but I don’t want to believe Rafael became that kind of person. He was a sweet boy helping his aunt back then even though the bitch never deserved him. And I never deserved him either. I trampled over what we had and killed the boy that only wanted to love me. Right now, that boy seem to have never existed. What does he want with me now?Rafael’s POVI leaned back in the leather chair my fingers drumming against the armrest as I stared at the screen in front of me. It was the club’s security footage played in real time, every camera feeding into the private VIP suite where I sat. It was a habit I had developed over the years of watching, controlling and ensuring nothing happened in my domain without my knowledge. The last thing I cared about at this stage of my life is how a club I own is going. I have so many of them and this one isn’t even the best I’ve got. I barely spend time here watching this. But tonight was different in every shape and form. I hadn’t expected to see her here. The woman I once loved with every fucking feelings I have been hiding. The same woman I worshipped the literal ground she walks on. The woman who had ripped my heart out and left me to bleed for her own selfish benefit. She never turned back to see how I was faring after she had left. She moved across the stage with hesitant moves, he
Adriana’s POVThe gunshot still rang in my ears. It was a sharp and deafening sound that didn’t just echo through the club but through my entire body. My knees buckled before I could stop them sending me crashing to the floor in a gracelesd heap. But I barely felt the impact. All I could do was stare. The body lay crumpled and lifeless. Blood seeped across the marble floor all dark and damning and the scent thick in the air. I swallowed hard as bile rise in my throat. He had a family. A wife and kids maybe. Someone who would wait for him to come home tonight. Someone who wouldn’t know that his last moments were spent groping me which he died for. . And Rafael had killed him just like that. Like he didn’t mean anything to the world. My Rafael. Except he wasn’t mine. Not anymore. The boy I once knew and the one who used to whisper my name like it was the most sacred thing in the world, the one who held me like I was something precious and fragile. That Rafael was gone. And in his
Rafael’s POVAdriana knelt in the middle of the room shivering. her once vibrant eyes were now hollow and distant. Her cheeks were streaked with dried tears but there was no emotion left in them. Nothing. She just stared unblinking as the strippers’ hands roamed over me with their touch meant to entice, to seduce and yet none of it mattered. Not to me. Not to her. She was empty. A shell of the girl I once knew. The Adriana I remembered was always full of life and was always wearing that radiant smile., always laughing and always promising me things that never meant a damn thing. But now? Now, she was lifeless and cold, a ghost of the woman she used to be. And it wasn’t hard to guess why. Being married to Marco Marcini did that to a person. I almost pitied her. And the key word here is fucking almost. Then I remembered everything like a scene that wouldn’t leave my head. It keeps replaying time and again. I remembered how she had walked away from me without a second glance. How sh
Adriana’s POV The room felt eerily silent after the strippers left leaving the lingering scent of cheap perfume and sweat clinging to the air like an unwanted memory. My eyes followed them as they strutted out with their hips swaying in exaggerated movements all traces of their earlier hostility (of course towards me) disappearing the moment the guard slipped them their payment. They giggled whilst whispering to each other as they disappeared through the door not sparing me another glance. Just another job for them, another night of easy money. Something I wanted to try but didn’t have the confidence to go through. I, however, couldn’t move from the floor. My body refused to cooperate. I remained kneeling in the middle of the cold floor with my hands clenched so tightly in my lap that my knuckles had turned ghostly white. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there staring down at my trembling fingers but the weight in my chest grew heavier with every passing second. I guess The shock
Adriana’s POVThe guard's grip on my wrist was unforgiving with his fingers digging into my skin as he dragged me forward without a word. He didn’t spare me a glance or acknowledge the way my legs stumbled to keep up with his brutal pace. There was no hesitation and no care just relentless force like I was nothing more than cargo being transported. The hallway blurred past me, my mind racing as I struggled to make sense of why they wouldn’t even let me see where I was being taken. What the hell is Rafael playing at? What kind of game is this? I wasn’t told about any of this. The muffled pulse of the club’s music faded and then we wree swallowed by eerie silence. The further we walked, the more the world I knew disappeared and is replaced by something darker and shadier than I’d expected. Was this not just about revenge? Was I not just an old wound he wanted to reopen for the sake of making me suffer? Because this felt like something else entirely. Then suddenly the dragging stopped
Adriana’s POVThe grip on my wrist was merciless as if the guard was dragging along something less than human. He didn’t look at me and didn’t acknowledge the way my feet stumbled against the polished marble floors. He simply moved forward knowing I had no choice but to follow. His silence was unsettling. No threats, no taunts just a firm hand that refused to let me go while guiding me deeper into a world I had no business being in. As we stepped inside the grand estate I felt the shift immediately. This wasn’t just a house. It was a darn fucking fortress. A kingdom where Rafael ruled with an iron fist from the looks of thinsg. The air itself seemed heavier and thick with something unseen but deeply felt. The guards stationed around the entryway barely flicked their eyes toward the one leading me but they acknowledged him in small ways by straightening their backs or nodding in respect or stepping aside with silent obedience. They didn’t just respect him but they knew him. He was
Adriana’s POVI clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to stand my ground. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was rattling my ribs but I refused to let Rafael see an ounce of fear. He would suck me in like the cruel man he has become. “You need to let me go. I have somewhere important I need to be reight now.” I demanded my voice steady even with the chaos in my chest. I need to do this for my daughter. His lips twisted into something cruel and mocking and before I could react, his hand shot out. A gasp slipped past my lips as his fingers curled around my jaw, not squeezing but firm enough to remind me that he could. That he was stronger, that he was in control. He tilted my face up toward him, his grip was forceful as he studied me with those cold, merciless eyes. "Let you go? You think I would do that?" He echoed with wicked amusement laced with venom. “Why? What’s waiting for you out there?” “I have…” I started but he didn’t even allow
Adriana’s POVSix years ago…I left the house as soon as the sun crept over the horizon with the weight of last night’s revelation pressing heavily on my chest. I barely slept, tossing and turning as my hands unconsciously drifted to my stomach as if trying to feel for something or some kind of proof that my world had truly changed. Marco had already been up when I slipped out of bed, working on his laptop in the dim light of our shared bedroom. His brow furrowed in deep concentration, jaw locked and fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. He had barely looked up when I murmured that I had errands to run, only nodding absently. He was too preoccupied with proving himself to his father. I knew how much pressure he was under. His father was a cold and ruthless businessman and never saw him as capable enough to take over the company. The only reason Marco was even in consideration was because of me. Because I had convinced his father that he was competent enough to be the next CEO.
Rafael’s POVI stood at the edge of the bed watching the slow rise and fall of Adriana’s chest and making sure she was still breathing. The bandages on her shoulder were clean, the color returning to her face little by little but she still looked so fucking fragile and too pale against the dark sheets. A part of me hated seeing her like this all weak and vulnerable. Another part of me hated that I cared enough to stay here and that I did what I did. It’s just that the thought f someone hurting her that wasn’t me didn’t seat well with me. Nathan hovered by the doorway with arms crossed and his jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grinding. He hadn’t spoken much since I brought Adriana back but his eyes had said enough. “She’s stable. There is nothing more you can do for her now.” I said in a firm but low voice knowing I had to keep it down. “She almost died.” His fingers curled into fists at his sides. I think he has repeated that for the billionth time now. “I fucking kn
Adriana’s POVThe first thing I felt was pain. A deep throbbing ache that pulsed through my entire body but especially in my shoulder, where fire seemed to have lodged itself beneath my skin. I tried to mov but even the smallest shift sent sharp, biting agony through my limbs. A groan slipped past my lips before I could stop it. Where the hell was I? I forced my heavy eyelids open blinking against the dim lighting. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, all dark wood and old-fashioned molding. The bed beneath me was softer than I expected witg the sheets cool against my overheated skin. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air mixing with something darker and something unmistakably metallic. My blood. Memories crashed over me in waves. Starting from the party. The Brotherhood. The secret meeting. The gunshot. And nathan. I had thrown myself in front of him. Why? That question lodged itself in my mind, refusing to leave. Why the hell had I moved? Why had I risked my own life
Rafael’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