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Chapter 10: Stolen Vault
تاريخ النشر:
2026-06-23 22:14:34
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OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 25 — THE PRICE OF A SOUL
POV: VinicioI didn't drive to the warehouse. I carved a path to it. Every turn I took was fueled by a rage so pure it didn't even feel like anger anymore—it felt like hunger. The warehouse was a massive, rusting skeleton hunkered down near the industrial edge of the city. No lights. No cars. Just the sound of the wind whistling through corrugated metal, mocking me.I walked through the front entrance, my hands empty, my jacket open to show I wasn't carrying a hidden piece. I was alone. Just like she wanted."I'm here!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the rafters. "Teresa! Show your face!"The silence was thick, heavy with the stench of oil and damp concrete. I walked deeper into the dark, my boots crunching on broken glass. I didn't care if they had snipers in the rafters. I didn't care if they had a dozen guns pointed at my head. The only thing that mattered was the space between me and my family."Come out," I roared, the sound vibrating in my chest.Then, a light clicked on. A single, h
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 24 — THE EMPTY CRADLE
POV:VinicioThe air at the North Pier was stagnant, thick with the stench of dead fish, brine, and rotting seaweed. My men were ghost-thin shadows among the shipping containers, their silhouettes barely visible under the weak dock lights. Everything was perfectly staged. The news of my son’s birth had been leaked precisely as planned. The trap at the warehouse was laid, baited with the promise of a vulnerable Rossini heir. I was supposed to be the grieving father, the distracted kingpin, easy prey for Teresa’s final play.But as I stood behind a rusted shipping container, eyes fixed on the warehouse door, a sharp vibration cut through my pocket. Not from the pier’s surveillance feeds. This was different.It was from the house.A single ping from the estate’s security system—a silent code-red alarm that bypassed every secondary protocol.My heart stopped. Literally stopped for one agonizing beat.Then the blackout hit.The tablet in my hand flickered. Every feed from the estate went dark in
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 23 — THE GAME WE PLAY
POV: VinicioI walked back into the hospital room, my blood still boiling. I'd been on the phone with every contact from there to the coast, and I still had nothing. No location. No envelope. Just a house full of snakes and a wife who was fighting for her life in a bed that felt way too small for the war we were in.I pushed the door open, ready to tell Laurabeth to lock the doors and not speak to a soul, but I stopped dead.Felicia was there. On her knees.The air in the room turned into liquid lead. My hand went to the weapon tucked at my hip before I even thought about it."Get away from her," I growled, my voice coming out like a low, lethal warning.Laurabeth's head snapped toward me. She wasn't crying anymore. She looked... different. Harder. She held up a hand, a gesture that told me to back off, but her eyes were locked on mine with a fire that sent a jolt through my chest."Put it away, Vinicio," she said.I blinked. "She's the mole, Laurabeth. She opened the gates. She's the reason
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 22 — THE PRICE OF A PROMISE
POV: LaurabethThe hospital air tasted like old metal and dying flowers. It was quiet in there, the kind of quiet that felt like it was waiting for something bad to happen. My chest felt tight, not just from the baby, but from the weight of the letter tucked under my pillow. It was a messy, tear-stained thing, but it was the only part of me that was still honest.Vinicio was out in the hallway. I could hear him, his voice low and jagged, snapping at his security men like a whip. He was furious. He was terrified. He was the most powerful man I had ever known, and yet, right then, he sounded like he was losing his grip on the only thing that kept his heart beating.I stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles until my vision blurred. I had chosen this. I had chosen this life, this danger, this man who would burn the world down just to keep me warm. And now, I was choosing our son. If it came down to a heartbeat—mine or his—I had already made my peace with the ending.The door handle turned.
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 21: Choose
Vinicio POVThe hospital room closed in tighter with every beep of the monitors. I stood beside Laurabeth's bed like a sentinel refusing to move. Her hand felt small and fragile in mine as another contraction built. She cried out gripping me harder. Sweat dampened her brown hair and her face twisted in pain. I hated every second of this helplessness. My power, my money, my reputation meant nothing against the battle raging inside her body."Breathe pumpkin," I commanded softly. My voice stayed low and rough. "I am right here. Feel me. Let my strength flow into you. You are not doing this alone."The doctor returned with two specialists I had demanded flown in immediately. They checked readings, adjusted drips and spoke in hushed urgent tones. I pulled the lead doctor aside again, my grip on his arm like iron. "Tell me the truth. What are her chances?"He hesitated. "Mr. Rossini we are doing everything possible but the placenta is detaching further. If another major wave hits we may ha
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 20: Too Early
Vinicio POVThe hospital room felt like a cage closing in around us. I stood by Laurabeth's bed, my hand gripping hers so tightly I feared I might break her fingers. The machines beeped in a steady mocking rhythm. Her face was pale with sweat beading on her forehead. Another contraction hit her and she cried out arching against the pain. I felt helpless for the first time in my life. All my money and all my power meant nothing against this."Stay with me pumpkin," I growled leaning close. My voice stayed rough and commanding. "You are strong. Our son is strong. Breathe through it. I am right here and I am not going anywhere."The doctor had injected more medication to stop the labor but the contractions kept coming. Laurabeth squeezed my hand, her nails digging into my skin. "It hurts Vinicio. It is too soon. He is not ready.""I know," I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. "But you fight. You fight for him. For us. I will bring the best specialists in the world. Private jets are
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 4: THE PRICE OF SILENCE
VINICIO POV“Are you alright?” I finally broke the tension immediately we got to the car. I knew how to handle boardrooms and blood-feuds, and a part of me wanted to simply crush whatever was eating her up so I could have my wife back to her normal self.“Yes-”“No. You’re not coming out of this ca
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 3: CONTROL
VINICIO POVI knew striking a deal with this delicate young girl was a bad idea but she was fiery, as expected, as her father warned me two years back, in a party at her house, I guess she doesn’t recognize me. However, I was out of time and options; I needed to be able to access my inheritance and
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 2: WEDDING NIGHT
LAURABETHThe moment he shut the door with his foot, he dropped me like frilled lace onto the bed; carefully, as though I were fragile. My thoughts were interrupted by the beige coloration of the room. It made the dim light from the window reflect effortlessly against a large portrait of Vinicio ha
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 1: WEDDING
ELARA“Do you take Vinicio Teo Rossini as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health?”I stared wordlessly at the priest, lost in thought. How did I get here?I felt my heart burst in pain when I found our belongings piled outside the doorpost; my mother clinging t
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