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Ch. 23 – The Aftershock

Author: Pauline Maxwell
last update publish date: 2025-12-07 01:25:09

The mansion was quiet—too quiet.

Long after the medic finished, long after the guards took their posts again, long after Ethan’s echoing threat dissolved into the night, Mia sat beside Mark’s bed with her knees pulled to her chest, refusing to move.

A lamp glowed softly in the corner of the room, casting warm light across Mark’s sleeping form. He looked nothing like the fearsome mafia enforcer the world whispered about. Not like the cold, unreadable man who had stood at her side during dinners
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  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 140

    The words still echoed through the Romano mansion.No one questioned Mia.No one tried to comfort her.The bloodstained watch rested in her hand, its cracked face reflecting the chandelier above.Mark had worn it every day since she gave it to him.Now it was all she had.For now.The war room filled within minutes.Captains, advisors, and security chiefs took their places around the long table.Don Romano sat at the head.His expression was unreadable.Luca stood beside the map board.Marco carried the latest reports.Valentina spread photographs and intelligence files across the table.Every eye turned toward Mia as she walked in.She didn't look broken.She looked focused.Don Romano spoke first."We wait."The room remained silent."We gather intelligence. We identify where they're holding Mark. Then we strike."Mia slowly looked at him."No."The single word cut through the room.The Don's eyes narrowed."No?""We've already waited."She placed Mark's watch on the table."They to

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 139

    Rain poured over the abandoned docks.Smoke drifted through the shipping yard.The ground was littered with shell casings, broken concrete, and abandoned weapons.The Romano convoy had been scattered.Some men had escaped.Others were still fighting.Mark wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.His breathing remained steady.He counted the footsteps around him.Eight.No...Ten.He picked up another magazine from a fallen attacker and reloaded without hesitation."They're closing in!"Marco shouted from behind a steel container."I know."The next wave came.Mark stepped forward.His movements were precise.Every strike had purpose.Every shot found its target.The narrow alley between the containers became a battlefield.One attacker fell.Then another.Then another.The remaining men hesitated.None of them wanted to be the first to charge him.One of Moretti's lieutenants swallowed nervously."Why won't he stay down?"Moretti watched from a distance, completely calm."Because

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 138

    The explosion shook the docks like an earthquake.Fire erupted behind the convoy.The first armored vehicle lifted off the ground before crashing onto its side.Metal screamed.Glass shattered.Smoke swallowed the night."Ambush!"Marco shouted."Take cover!"Gunfire erupted from every direction.Bullets tore through the warehouse walls.The enemy had never been inside.They had been waiting outside all along.Mark grabbed Moretti's collar, but the rival leader only smiled."You were looking at the wrong building."He slammed a smoke grenade onto the floor.A thick cloud burst between them.By the time it cleared...Moretti was gone."Move!"Mark ordered.His men fought their way toward the exits.Another explosion rocked the loading yard.The warehouse doors burst open.Outside, the docks had become a battlefield.At the Romano mansion...Luca leaned over the communications desk.Static filled the speakers.Marco's voice crackled for less than a second."...under atta—"The transmiss

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 137

    The words echoed in the abandoned warehouse long after Moretti walked away.Enzo remained tied to the chair.Bruised.Exhausted.But unbroken.He knew Mark would come looking.He only prayed it wouldn't be too late.The following morning, the Romano mansion was restless.Every corridor buzzed with rumors.The missing guard.The suspected leak.The unanswered questions.No one trusted silence anymore.Mark was in the war room when Marco entered with a sealed envelope."It arrived ten minutes ago.""No sender?"Marco shook his head."It was left at the front gate."Mark opened it.Inside was a map.A warehouse on the eastern docks was circled in red.Beneath it, a single sentence was written.Tonight. All three rival captains will be there.Luca frowned."That's convenient."Valentina took the note from Mark.She studied the handwriting.Then the map.Then the ink."I don't like it.""Why?"Mark asked."Because it's exactly the kind of information we'd want."She placed the paper on the

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 136

    Valentina's words stayed with Luca long after she walked away.For the first time in months, he didn't have a joke.Only unease.By dawn, the Romano mansion was already awake.Security teams reported early.Vehicles were inspected.Every entrance was checked twice.After the recent attacks, no one took chances anymore.Marco, the head of security, stood in the courtyard with a clipboard.He frowned."Where's Enzo?"A young guard looked up."He should've reported for the morning shift an hour ago."Marco checked the roster again.Enzo Morelli.Never late.Not once in seven years."Call him."The guard dialed immediately.The phone rang.Then went to voicemail.Again.And again.Marco's expression hardened."Search the grounds."Within minutes, guards spread across the estate.The gardens.The garages.The armory.Nothing.Mark arrived just as the search expanded beyond the mansion gates."What happened?"Marco handed him the report."Enzo is missing."Mark looked up."Any signs of a st

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 135

    The next morning, the silver promise ring still rested on Mia's finger.She turned it absentmindedly as she stood by the bedroom window.It was simple.Quiet.Yet every time she looked at it, she remembered Mark's words.Choose me.She already had.After breakfast, Mark found her in the training room.She was throwing punches at the heavy bag.Again.And again.Each hit harder than the last."You'll break your wrist."She didn't stop."I'll be fine."The bag swung violently.Mark watched in silence.He knew this wasn't training.She was trying to outrun something.Finally, he stepped forward and caught the bag before it swung back."Mia."She lowered her fists.Her breathing was uneven."I'm okay.""No."His voice was calm."You're pretending to be."She looked away.For several seconds, neither of them spoke.Then she whispered,"I still see his face."Mark didn't ask whose.He already knew."The man..."Her voice cracked."The one I killed."She closed her eyes."Sometimes I wake up

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 6 – The Warning

    The Romano estate was quiet again that night, but Mia could feel the weight of the world pressing down on her chest. The corridors, normally elegant and orderly, felt like a labyrinth designed to trap her. Every polished surface reflected her conflicted expression, every flickering candle seemed to

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 26 – The Dinner of Pretenses

    The Romano dining hall was built to intimidate—long marble floors, chandeliers like frozen storms hanging overhead, and a massive table carved from centuries-old oak. Fifty chairs lined each side, each one ready for another powerful ally, another dangerous enemy dressed as a guest.Tonight, the tab

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 5 – First Clash

    The Romano estate was quiet that evening, but the tension inside Mia’s suite was anything but.She was rifling through drawers, packing a small bag. Clothes. Essentials. Anything she could grab in case she decided she’d had enough of this life—the life her father had forced her into.A soft knock a

  • Enemies At The Altar    Chapter 4 – Separate Rooms

    The Romano mansion was quiet now, the echoes of the wedding day long gone. The opulent halls, lined with polished marble and crystal chandeliers, seemed almost oppressive in the stillness of the night. Mia’s heels clicked softly against the floors as she made her way to her suite, every step a decl

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