The AftermathBain returned to his estate, blood still staining his knuckles. The world had shifted in the span of a single night. He had made his statement. There was no more questioning who was the most feared man in the world.Even Viktor—who had seen and done it all—stood before Bain the next day, shaking his head in disbelief.“You’re a monster,” Viktor muttered. “And you know what’s worse? I think I’m afraid of you now.”Bain smirked. “Good.”He had always been dangerous. But now, he was untouchable.And the world would never forget it.The air inside Bain’s office was suffocating, thick with the scent of cigars and tension. Every man seated at the long mahogany table knew one thing—tonight would determine the future of the mafia underworld.THE MEETING Bain sat at the head of the table, exuding a deadly calm. His tailored black suit fit like armor, his piercing eyes scanning the room with a cold, calculating precision. Across from him, Lorenzo sat stiffly, barely masking the f
THE ENCOUNTERThey were stepping out of a boutique when the air shifted.Cassiopeia stopped mid-step. Her pulse spiked as she saw the man leaning against a sleek black car, arms crossed, eyes locked onto her like a predator.Elijah.Her stepfather. The man who had sold her to Bain.Luca noticed the change in her posture instantly. “What’s wrong?”But before she could answer, Elijah pushed off the car and approached, a sick smile on his lips. “Cassiopeia,” he drawled, eyes dark with something sinister. “Fancy seeing you here.”She clenched her fists, her breath uneven. “What do you want?”Elijah’s gaze flicked to Luca, his smirk deepening. “Looks like you’ve been making new friends.”Luca, sensing the tension, stepped in. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m guessing you’re not wanted here.”Elijah chuckled, unbothered. “You must be one of Bain’s little men. How cute.” Then, he turned back to Cassiopeia, his smile vanishing. “You think Bain’s protection makes you untouchable? You think yo
Chapter 13The scent of blood clung to Bain as he stepped inside the mansion, the dim glow of the chandelier casting long shadows across his face. His shirt was torn, soaked in sweat and streaked with red—none of it his. Every muscle in his body was tense, his knuckles raw from the brutal fight he had just endured.Cassiopeia stood at the top of the grand staircase, her breath catching at the sight of him. She had been pacing for hours, anxiety clawing at her stomach, but nothing prepared her for this. Bain looked like he had just walked out of hell.She hurried down the steps. “Bain…”He didn’t respond, just ran a hand through his blood-matted hair and strode toward the liquor cabinet. He poured himself a drink, his jaw tight, his movements stiff. Cassie followed, hovering just a few feet away.“You’re hurt.”Bain let out a low chuckle, though there was no humor in it. “This?” He gestured to himself. “This isn’t hurt.”Her eyes flicked to his torn shirt, to the bruises forming along h
Chapter 14The scent of cigar smoke hung heavy in the air, swirling through the dimly lit room like a ghostly warning. The long mahogany table was surrounded by men whose hands were stained with blood and whose names inspired fear across continents. At the head of the table sat Bain Blackwood, calm, composed, lethal.Across from him, Dmitry Moretti leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, an amused smirk playing on his lips. He was older than Bain by a few years, built like a man who had survived too many wars and thrived on every single one. His tailored suit did little to hide the scars beneath, and his dark eyes held the gleam of a man who thought he was untouchable.Bain studied him with the patience of a predator before a kill. The silence was thick, pressing, waiting to be broken.“You’ve been stepping on my territory,” Bain finally said, his voice quiet but cutting like a blade. “Making moves that don’t belong to you.”Dmitry’s smirk widened. “And you’ve been acting like you own
Chapter 16The room was dimly lit, the air thick with cigar smoke and tension. Bain leaned against his desk, his sharp eyes scanning the men in front of him—Viktor and Luca. Both sat in the plush chairs across from him, waiting for him to speak. The weight of what was coming pressed against Bain’s chest, but his expression remained unreadable.“Before we go after Dmitry, you need to understand why he’s coming for us,” Bain said, his voice low and measured.Luca crossed his arms, his jaw tight. “Because you killed Lorenzo and Randish. That’s enough reason for war.”Bain exhaled, a dark smirk playing on his lips. “No, this goes back years. Long before Cassie. Long before you were even involved, Luca.”Viktor leaned forward, interest flashing in his cold blue eyes. “Then tell us.”Bain’s fingers tapped against the mahogany desk as he stared at a distant point in the room, lost in memory.“Years ago, Dmitry wasn’t the enemy. He was a business partner—one of the few men I trusted in this w
The aftermath of Dmitry’s death rippled through the underworld like a stone dropped into still water. His empire, though powerful, was built on alliances that now fractured, crumbling under the weight of Bain Blackwood’s wrath. Fear spread like wildfire. The name Blackwood became synonymous with death itself.Bain sat in his office, nursing a glass of whiskey, his mind already three steps ahead. Dmitry had been a threat, but he wasn’t the last. There was always another enemy waiting in the shadows.Luca and Viktor entered without knocking. Bain barely glanced up.“It’s done,” Viktor said, tossing a bloodstained handkerchief onto the desk.Bain smirked. “I didn’t doubt you.”Luca poured himself a drink, shaking his head. “You should have seen them, Bain. They didn’t even fight back. The moment Dmitry went down, they scattered like roaches.”“Of course they did,” Bain muttered. “They know what happens to those who stand against me.”Viktor sat across from him, leaning forward. “But you k
Ghosts of the PastBain had always been a man in control—of his business, his empire, and his emotions. But leaving Cassie behind while he handled high-stakes business deals across the country unsettled him in a way he couldn’t explain. He’d made sure she was guarded, that Luca and Viktor kept watch, but something gnawed at him.He pushed the thought aside, focusing on the men in front of him—investors, criminals, and politicians who understood that Bain Blackwood wasn’t a man to be crossed. The meeting was about expanding his operations, but halfway through, Viktor’s number flashed across his screen. Bain rarely answered calls in the middle of negotiations, but instinct told him to pick up.The second he did, his blood ran cold.“Bain, it’s Cassie. She was attacked.”The world around him blurred.“Where is she?”“Hospital. Ryder got hurt trying to stop them.”Bain didn’t need to hear more. He was already out the door.⸻The AftermathCassie was in a hospital bed, an IV in her arm, bru
Bain sat in his study, the low hum of classical music playing in the background. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the mahogany desk as he reviewed documents outlining his next strategic move. His name carried weight in the underworld—feared, respected, and whispered in the shadows. But now, something far more personal was at stake.Cassiopeia.She had nearly been taken from him. Elijah’s botched attempt at selling her to an old enemy had ignited a rage within Bain he hadn’t felt in years. And now, as he uncovered more details about the man behind it—Aleksander volkov job, the very man who had his parents executed—his fury burned like an inferno.Luca entered without knocking, his expression unusually grim.“We have a problem,” he said, tossing a folder onto Bain’s desk.Bain opened it. Inside were surveillance images of volkov’s men moving through the city. They weren’t just watching—they were planning.“They’re testing you,” Luca said. “Seeing how far they can push before you
Valeria was losing patience.The black coin had already been delivered. Not just to a market. Not to a warehouse or a street-run crew. No—this time, she’d sent it straight to the gates of his fortress.Bain Blackwood’s compound.A bold move. A declaration of war.And yet… nothing.No retaliation. No reply. No counterstrike.She paced the dark loft of her hideout, the sharp clack of her heels against marble echoing like gunshots. Kain leaned against the wall behind her, arms crossed, expression blank. The assassin was a brutal storm in a quiet sky—always still before the kill. She trusted him more than most, which said very little. But even he looked slightly on edge now.“He’s waiting,” Valeria muttered, more to herself than anyone else. “Watching. Calculating. That’s what he does. But the longer he waits, the more dangerous he becomes.”Kain said nothing.Valeria spun toward one of her lieutenants, a wiry man with a split lip and trembling fingers. “What are the latest movements?”He
The SUV growled as it tore down the midnight streets of the city, its windows tinted, its driver silent. Bain Blackwood sat in the back seat, a storm barely contained beneath his skin. His eyes burned with fury, his hand resting on the pistol strapped to his thigh—not because he needed it, but because control was becoming a fragile thing.The massacre had happened less than an hour ago. One of his oldest markets—gone. Burned. Every man inside executed. It wasn’t just a message.It was a declaration.And left behind, in the middle of the bloodstained floor, was a single black coin.The same kind Bain once used as a symbol of finality.But this coin… wasn’t his.It bore no insignia. No carving. Just black, polished steel. Cold and silent.Valeria’s signature.She was playing his own game now.Viktor’s voice echoed in his mind from the call minutes earlier. “We cleared the scene. No witnesses. It was surgical, Bain. She didn’t just hit it to provoke you—she studied our rotation, our resp
The sky over New York bled gray as the first whispers of morning slithered through the city’s alleys. But in the heart of the Blackwood estate, there was no sunrise—only smoke.Bain stood in the center of the war room, eyes locked on the tablet in Viktor’s hands. The footage was grainy, taken from one of his security drones. What remained of one of his black market hubs looked like a warzone. Bodies scattered like discarded dolls. Fire licking the bones of steel scaffolding. Blood painted across concrete.And in the center, placed delicately atop a broken crate—A single obsidian coin.Unmarked. Untraceable. But he knew what it meant.Valeria.Viktor’s voice was like gravel. “They were tortured before they were killed. The cameras were disabled thirty seconds before the attack. Whoever did this knew the layout like the back of their hand.”Bain didn’t blink. “Someone gave her intel.”“They didn’t just hit the market, Bain. They destroyed it. This was a message.”Bain’s jaw clenched, h
The day broke with the scent of ash.Bain Blackwood stood on the balcony outside his office, the city sprawled out before him like a kingdom on the edge of a storm. A single call had shattered the early morning calm—a call from one of his lieutenants on the east side.The moment he answered, he felt it in his bones.“There’s been an attack.”The voice was tight, urgent. “Market district. One of ours. Ten men dead. Burned. And they left something behind.”Bain’s voice dropped, razor sharp. “What?”A beat.“A coin. Black. Right in the center of the carnage.”Bain didn’t speak. Didn’t blink. Just stared out at the skyline as the wind picked up around him.It wasn’t just an attack.It was a message.—Inside the mansion, the warmth of their new life still clung to the walls. Cassie padded through the hallway barefoot, their son tucked gently in her arms. She paused by the nursery window, catching the flicker of tension in Bain’s frame as he stood alone outside, the breeze ruffling his shi
Bain sat in the quiet of the nursery, his son cradled in his arms, his gaze softened as he watched the tiny life in his hands. The baby’s breath was even and gentle, completely unaware of the storm that was brewing just outside the walls of their peaceful sanctuary.He let out a breath, steadying himself. The weight of responsibility was different now. It wasn’t just power or violence that he had to protect—it was love. It was family. And the past, in all its ugly, blood-soaked glory, had returned to remind him just how fragile that could be.His phone buzzed again—an encrypted video call from Petrov and SokolovWithout hesitation, Bain swiped the screen, the familiar faces of his sworn brothers appearing on the screen. They both smiled when they saw him, a moment of genuine warmth breaking through the tension that had lingered in Bain’s chest since Viktor’s news.Petrov, as always, looked like a man who had stepped out of a warzone—and Sokolov, ever the strategist, gave a sharp nod as
The scent of blood and expensive perfume hung in the air like smoke.Valeria lounged on a velvet chaise in her private suite, the lighting dim, casting shadows that danced like old ghosts on the walls. A glass of red wine swirled in her hand, the liquid as dark as her thoughts. She wore silk—crimson, like fresh blood—and nothing else. The room around her looked like the den of a queen from some violent fairytale: gold-dusted mirrors, antique weapons mounted beside oil paintings, and a wall-length map of New York City dotted with pins and notes in sharp, angry handwriting.Her lips curved into a lazy smile as she lifted the glass to her mouth.“He’s scared,” she murmured. “I can feel it.”Across the room, her informant shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t one of her usual playthings—too tense, too serious—but his intel was valuable. And she had a taste for useful men, even if they bored her.“You asked for a full report,” he said, straightening. “And you need to hear it before you make ano
The sun poured softly through the tall windows of the Blackwood estate, golden light draping over the polished marble floors and velvet curtains. For once, silence didn’t mean tension—it meant peace.Cassie sat curled up in the nursery, her newborn son nestled against her chest. He was small, warm, and impossibly perfect. His little fingers clutched at the lace of her robe as he slept, his breathing soft and steady.Bain stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his broad chest, watching her with a look that no one else ever got to see—soft, reverent, protective. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Everything was right, at last.Luca wandered past behind him, cradling a mug of coffee, still shirtless, clearly making himself at home. Ryder trailed after him, yawning and muttering something about needing better espresso. They’d both moved in after the chaos had ended, claiming the guest wing. Family. Finally.For the first time in their violent, b
The night air was thick with smoke and the metallic scent of blood. The abandoned fortress outside Prague burned in the distance, casting a hellish glow over the field where it all came to an end.Bain stood at the center of the battlefield, his black coat soaked in blood—his and his enemies’. His breath came in ragged bursts. His knuckles were raw, his jaw bruised. But his eyes burned with vengeance.Volkov was still standing too, blood streaming from a gash over his eye, his lip split, one arm hanging limp from a dislocated shoulder. Around them, bodies littered the ground—Volkov’s men, torn apart by Bain’s soldiers and the loyal Bratva.Petrov and Sokolov had arrived like thunder, their forces crashing down in a synchronized assault. The Russians fought with brutal efficiency, honoring Bain’s loyalty with bloodshed and power. Gunfire echoed, men screamed, but Bain heard none of it.He saw only Volkov.“You came all this way,” Volkov spat, staggering to his feet, “for a girl.”Bain’s
The days passed in a blur for Cassie. Life in the farmhouse had become a strange sort of calm. The couple who had taken her in, Mary and George, treated her with nothing but kindness. They provided a safe refuge for her and her unborn child, but Cassie could never shake the feeling that the storm was still brewing, just waiting to crash down.Her belly had grown more prominent in the past few months. At seven months pregnant, every movement was a reminder of the life she carried inside her, a life that had kept her grounded, kept her going. She tried to stay positive, to focus on the moments of peace she found in the farmhouse, but her thoughts were constantly drawn to Bain.She missed him, more than she cared to admit. His absence left a hole in her chest, a constant ache that never quite went away. The uncertainty of what had happened to him—where he was, if he was okay—kept her awake at night, staring out at the horizon, hoping that one day he would come for her. She had faith. She