All Chapters of CEO'S AFFAIR: MAFIA'S OBSESSION: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Chapter 1 The neon lights outside flickered, casting a cold, harsh glow on the small diner’s windows. The hum of the refrigerator and the clinking of plates created a dull backdrop to the quiet desperation that weighed heavily on Isabella "Izzy" Romano. She had always prided herself on keeping her head down and her heart even lower, but tonight, her world felt like it was about to crumble into pieces. Behind the counter, the bill for her daughter’s medical treatment sat like an anchor in her pocket—an unyielding reminder of the life she couldn’t escape. Maya, her four-year-old daughter, needed a series of tests and treatments that Izzy could barely afford, no matter how many hours she worked. The insurance didn’t cover it. The world didn’t care. Izzy had hoped this job at Caruso’s, a greasy spoon diner tucked away on the edge of town, would be temporary. A few extra shifts, maybe—just enough to make it through the week. But as the days turned into weeks, the mounting pressure made

Chapter 3Izzy’s heart raced in her chest, a drumbeat that drowned out everything around her. The air felt too thick, pressing against her lungs, and for a split second, she thought she might choke on it. She locked eyes with Dante again, desperate to hold onto the remnants of herself that still fought against him. But the truth clawed at her from the inside out—he was right. There was no escaping him, no outrunning the shadow of his world.She had learned that the hard way.The hand that hovered near her shoulder, the one from the man in the suit who had grabbed her arm, made her flinch. His grip was firm, cold, and impersonal, but Dante’s eyes were what held her still. His gaze was like a brand, searing through her defenses, making her feel small, insignificant. She wanted to scream, to throw herself against the walls of the diner, to tear out of the suffocating grip of this moment, but her body betrayed her. It wouldn’t move.She couldn’t let him see her weakness, not now. Not ever

Chapter 5The silence in the room was suffocating, thick with unspoken threats and tension that felt like it might shatter at any moment. Dante stood there, just a few feet away from her, his presence as commanding as ever. Every inch of him screamed control, the power he wielded not just over people, but over the very air between them.Izzy fought to steady her breathing, to push past the panic clawing at her chest. Her fists were still clenched at her sides, her nails digging into her palms as if the pain could ground her, could keep her from losing herself to the fear, the helplessness. She wasn’t going to let him see how much he affected her—she couldn’t.“I didn’t ask for this,” she said, the words sharp, though they faltered when she spoke them. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.Dante’s gaze softened just a fraction, though it did nothing to lessen the intensity. It was as if he could read her, see the turmoil inside, and i

Chapter 7The night stretched on like a living thing, its darkness wrapping around him with the weight of everything he was about to do. The moment Izzy stepped into his world again, everything shifted. He felt it like a shift in the air, a delicate tension that hummed beneath his skin, gnawing at him. Her presence, her defiance, was both maddening and intoxicating. But it wasn’t her resistance that drove him. It was the idea of her resistance—the way she fought against him as though she could outrun fate.She wouldn’t.Dante leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming against the polished wood of the desk, his gaze fixed on the sprawling view outside. The lights of the city twinkled below like an endless sea, but in his mind, there was only one thing—Izzy.The woman who’d slipped through his fingers once before. And now, she was back. The weight of her absence had been heavy enough to drown him in his own thoughts for years, but this? This was different. This time, he would hold on. H

Chapter 9Izzy’s heart thudded in her chest, her breath quickening as she clung to the window ledge. Her mind raced, calculating her next move, but she had no time to think—only to act.The shadow below didn’t move, didn’t give any indication of whether it was friend or foe. But instinct told her it was the latter. Whoever it was had been waiting. They knew she would try to escape.Her gaze flickered back to the dark interior of the room, where the door stood ajar. The guards were supposed to be on watch, but the silence in the house was deafening. Had they been distracted? Or worse, had they been compromised?She took a shaky breath, forcing herself to think. There was no going back inside, no safety in hiding. If they wanted her, they would find her.Her fingers tightened around the window frame. The drop was far, too far. It wasn’t a choice she wanted to make. But Izzy had no other option.Just as she prepared to climb down, a voice sliced through the night, low and menacing.“Goin