LOGINElena POVI was still feeling that warm, lazy afterglow from the morning when one of the maids knocked softly on the bedroom door.She looked nervous, shifting from foot to foot as she held out a small package wrapped in plain brown paper. No name. No return address. Nothing. Just a simple box tied with string. The second I saw it, my stomach dropped. I knew. I didn’t know how, but I knew exactly who it was from.I took it from her without saying thank you. My fingers already felt cold even though the room was warm. I closed the door behind her, locked it, and carried the package over to the bed like it was something that might explode if I moved too fast.For a long time I just sat there on the edge of the mattress, staring at it. My heart was already beating faster than normal. Part of me wanted to put it aside and wait for Dante to let him open it. To let him deal with whatever poison was inside. But I was tired of that. Tired of always being the one who needed someone else to stan
Elena POVI stood under the hot water for a long time, letting it beat against my sore muscles. Dante had already showered and was getting dressed when I finally stepped out. He glanced at me as I wrapped a towel around myself, his eyes darkening again when they landed on the marks he’d left on my neck and hips. For a second I thought he might drag me back to bed, but he just clenched his jaw and looked away.“We can’t keep Luca waiting too long,” he said, pulling on a black shirt. His voice was back to that controlled tone he used when business was calling.I nodded and started drying off. My body still felt him everywhere — the pleasant ache between my legs, the tenderness on my skin, the way my lips felt slightly swollen from kissing. Last night and this morning felt like a fever dream. Part of me wanted to crawl back under the covers and pretend the outside world didn’t exist. The other part knew that was impossible.I chose simple clothes. Black pants and a soft sweater. Nothing
Elena POV I woke up with Dante’s heavy arm wrapped around my waist, his body pressed tight against my back. Our legs were tangled together under the sheets, skin sticky with sweat and other things. For a moment, everything felt warm and heavy and almost safe. Then reality hit me like a slap. Last night. My father's death. The way Dante had fucked me so hard I still felt it hours later. The way I had clung to him, moaning, begging, completely lost in it while my father’s blood was probably still drying somewhere in this house. My stomach twisted. I stared at the wall, barely breathing. My thighs were sticky. There was a deep ache between my legs and faint bruises on my hips where his fingers had dug in. I should’ve felt disgusted with myself. Instead, I felt… alive. Wanted. Owned. Dante shifted behind me, pulling me tighter against his chest. His hand rested heavy on my stomach, fingers spread like he needed to feel I was still here. His breath was warm on the back of my neck.
Elena POVDante’s hand was still on my face, his thumb grazing my cheekbone. My father’s blood was drying on the desk just feet away, the metallic scent thick in the air, but all I could focus on was him — his heat, his breathing, the solid wall of his body keeping me from falling apart.“You’re all I have left,” I whispered, fingers curling into his shirt. “If I lose you too… I’m done.”His grip on the back of my neck tightened. “You aren’t going to lose me, Elena. You’re mine. I don’t let go of what belongs to me.”I didn’t care about pride or fear anymore. I just needed to feel alive.I kissed him first — hard, messy, desperate. Dante growled low in his throat and slammed me back against the edge of the desk. The wood dug into my ass, but the pain felt good. Real good. His hands were everywhere at once, fisting my hair, gripping my waist so hard I knew I’d have marks tomorrow, dragging my hips forward until I could feel how hard he already was.For once he wasn’t in control. I c
Elena POV I stood at the top of the stairs, my hand gripping the railing so tight my knuckles hurt, and felt a chill crawl up my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. I was halfway down when Luca appeared at the bottom. He didn’t say anything, and that was what scared me most. Luca always had something to say, even if it was a simple order or a warning. But now he just stood there, looking up at me with an expression that made my stomach do a slow, sick roll. “What is it?” I asked. My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. He didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked over me like he was trying to figure out how hard this was going to hit before he let it go. “Elena,” he said finally. The way he said my name made my blood turn to ice. It wasn’t an order. It was a warning. “What happened?” I asked again, my voice echoing off the high ceilings. I didn’t want the silence anymore, but I was terrified of what would br
Third Person POV Joseph Rossi didn’t have a hard time finding the place. That was the first thing that made his stomach twist into knots. He stood outside the old building for a long moment, just breathing in the damp night air. His chest felt tight, like something heavy was sitting on his ribs and refusing to move. It wasn’t the walk that made him feel tired, It was the feeling that his body already knew what was coming. This was the end of the road he had been running from for years. He took one last slow breath, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. It was too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the kind where you know someone is watching you from the shadows, waiting. Every step he took echoed back at him, loud and accusing. He didn’t call out her name. He didn’t have to. She was already there. Isabella was leaning against a table at the back of the room, arms loosely crossed, looking bored. Like she had all the time in the world and nowhere better to be. Jose
No one slept that night. Not really. The house was too quiet, too… watchful. It wasn’t the kind of silence that brought peace. It was the kind that made you feel like someone was always standing behind you—even when you were alone.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the door. Dante’s words ech
By nightfall, it had transformed into something else…something alive in a way that made my chest feel tight every time I took a breath. Men moved with purpose, weapons I hadn’t noticed before were suddenly everywhere. Even the silence felt… strategic. Like every second mattered. Like something was
War. The word didn’t leave me even after he walked away. It stayed echoing in my head like something alive. Growing. Spreading. I stood there long after Dante disappeared down the hallway, my body still, but my mind racing. It didn't mean business. Not conflict. But war. Which meant enemies. Whi
Something had changed. I felt it before I understood it.The house looked the same—the same polished floors, the same quiet halls, the same guards stationed like statues in every corner, but the air… the air was different. Heavier.Like it was holding its breath.I stood in the middle of my room, s







