LOGINA single betrayal brings down a feared drug empire… When secrets leak from inside a ruthless cartel, a loyal man is framed, drugged, and executed for treason he never committed. His bloodline is erased in fire, all except one girl. She is taken alive, stripped of her name, and forced into the home of her enemy where she becomes a slave in the house of the devil himself; Luciano Cortez, heir to an empire built on lies and blood. Cold. Merciless, until the quiet girl he owns crawls beneath his skin and one forbidden night binds them in ways neither can escape. Desire turns to trust. Trust turns to love, and buried truths find their way back to the surface. The real traitor was never dead. He was closer than anyone dared to suspect. Now the daughter of a murdered man stands at the crossroads of fate. Will she burn the empire from within… or rise as its queen and rule it in fire and blood?
View MoreAria’s POV
“Move!” “Walk faster!” One of the men barked the orders behind me. I looked down at my torn boho skirt. It barely covered my thighs. My top was worse; transparent, clinging to my skin, soaked with sweat and tears. My nipples showed clearly through the thin fabric, and I hated that I couldn’t hide them. We reached the huge iron gates. The last time I walked through these gates, I was with my father. Free. Safe and proud with my heads high. That day, I had followed him here while he submitted his daily financial reports to the cartel. I remembered holding his hand, feeling important, feeling protected. Now, I walked through the same gates in chains. No longer free. The hallway was long and cold. My bare feet pressed against the marble floor as I counted my breaths, trying not to break. Then another shout came. “Walk faster!” The fat man snarled again. “Don Cortez hates to be delayed.” My chest tightened. The fat man stopped a woman ahead of us, short, stout, with kind eyes worn down by years of silence. She wore a simple uniform. I knew instantly she was the housekeeper. They spoke in low voices, but I heard everything. Living with my father had given me that gift to have sharp ears, a careful mind. “Where is the Don?” the man asked. “At the private strip club with Carmen,” the woman replied. “He said you should bring the girl there once you arrive.” My stomach dropped. We turned toward the parking lot and he shoved me into a car. The road was unfamiliar. Long. Dark. My heart beat louder with every mile we passed. Then we arrived at the strip club. Red and blue lights flickered outside the strip club. The smell of expensive drinks, strong perfumes and smoke filled the air. Loud music pounded through my skull. Men with tattoos sat everywhere, naked girls draped over them like decorations. I knew instantly these were the dangerous mafia men. Just then I saw a girl in one corner of the room with a man. She looked about my age and she was being groped by a man covered in ugly ink. He squeezed her breasts and slapped her bare ass while she forced a smile. My body shook. This is my life now, I thought. The man who brought me scanned the room. The Don wasn’t there. He walked up to a scarred man near the bar. “Where is Don Cortez?” “He got an urgent call from the port,” the man replied. “He’ll be back soon.” “We’ll wait.” The man signaled for me to sit. My chains were removed by him. My wrists burned as the metal slipped off. I barely sat down before a fierce voice cut through the noise. “You! Come here!” I froze, pretending it wasn’t me. “Are you deaf?” he thundered. “I said come here!” I turned slowly. “Aren’t you Aria?” he sneered. “Simone’s little cunt. The slave meant for the Cortez house.” His eyes dropped to my chest. “Come here, you little slut.” I didn’t know who he was. When my father was alive, we only met the late Don at the mansion. I knew he had children, a son and a daughter but they lived in the States since they were young. I had never seen them. This man looked too old to be the new Don. I stood up, covering my chest with my hands, and walked toward him. “Slut,” he muttered. He waved the girls at his feet away. They scattered in fear. Something twisted inside me, the feeling of fear mixed with the deep terror of bondage. “Do you know what we do to slaves like you here?” he whispered, leaning close. His breath reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. “ Every day, we bring you here in chains, spread your legs, chain you down, and let strong men take turns on you until you forget your own name.” “I bet this will be a great scene in hell. Your father will enjoy the scene” He laughed wickedly then spat near my feet. “Remove your hands.” I obeyed. Tears streamed down my face. My body trembled violently as my worst fears closed in around me. He grabbed my arm and raised it high. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, “this little slut is the daughter of the traitor who betrayed our former Don.” Shouts erupted. “Kill her!” “No, fuck her!” “Make her scream!” “Suck her clits till she runs out of juice” My heart pounded so hard I thought I would collapse. I couldn’t understand how humans could say such things like they had no wives or female children at home. He silenced them with one hand and tightened his grip on my throat. “I’ll enjoy her until she can’t feel her legs anymore.” He laughed. His hand squeezed harder. I choked, struggling for air as he lifted me by my neck. My nails clawed at his arms, but he only laughed louder. “I love stubborn sluts,” he growled. “It makes me hard.” And all of a sudden, from the far end of the room, a voice cut through the chaos. Strong. Deep. Deadly. Dangerous. “Put her down!.” The entire room froze and fell silent. The fat man who had brought me, upon hearing the voice, ran out of the inner room, zipping his trousers in the process. “Simone’s daughter belongs to me,” the voice continued. “No one touches what is mine.” Silence engulfed the club again. The man holding me dropped me instantly. I turned around to see who it was and I gasped. My eyes widened in shock as the recognition of who it was hit me. I froze. It was him.AriaThe phone slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the stone floor of the chapel. Valerie’s whimpers still echoed in my ears, raw and terrified, begging for someone who wasn’t there. I dropped to my knees, forehead pressed against the cold floor, the taste of salt on my lips from tears I hadn’t realized were falling.Valerie. My brave, loyal Valerie.She had only been trying to help me. Following Isabella like I asked. Now Ricardo had her. The monster who had burned me, framed my father, and torn this family apart now held the one person who had become like a sister to me.I stayed there on the floor until my knees ached and the nuns’ soft footsteps moved around me like gentle ghosts. Father Miguel eventually knelt beside me, his old hand resting lightly on my back.“Child,” he murmured, “breathe. God sees. God hears.”But God felt very far away right now.I called Rosa next. Her voice cracked the moment she heard me.“Aria… Valerie didn’t come home last night. She told me she
AriaThe church bells rang softly at dawn, pulling me from a restless sleep. I lay still for a moment, listening to the low murmur of prayers from the chapel. The thin blanket smelled of lavender and old wood. For the first time in days, I didn’t wake up wondering if guards were coming to drag me back to Elena’s mercy. It felt like a relief far from troubles only that it may not last forever.Sister Samantha found me in the small courtyard later that morning. She handed me a cup of weak tea and sat beside me on the stone bench.“You carry heavy things in your eyes,” she said gently. “Would you like to pray with us?”I nodded. Words felt too heavy, so I followed her into the chapel to pray. The nuns knelt in quiet rows, their heads bowed. I joined them, closing my eyes, but my mind refused to settle. Instead of peace, I saw Luciano’s face, the way he had looked at me the last time we touched, the guilt and hunger mixed together.I shake the thoughts off my mind then I tried to concen
AriaThe days blurred into one long ache. I kept calling Luciano’s number until my thumb went numb, and all was to no avail as his numbers kept ending in the same cold voicemail. There was no answer, no text to acknowledge the missed calls . Nothing. The silence gnawed at me like hunger. I told myself it was just business. He was in San Francisco, dealing with dangerous men and even more dangerous shipments. But the fear wouldn’t leave. It sat heavy in my chest, whispering that something was terribly wrong.Elena’s grip on the mansion tightened with every passing hour. New guards patrolled the grounds, hard-faced men who answered only to her. Luciano’s loyal men were slowly pushed out or replaced. The house no longer felt like home. It felt like a prison with a new warden.Valerie’s call came late one afternoon while I sat on the edge of the narrow bunk, staring at the wooden beams above me.“Aria,” she whispered, voice thick with tears. “Isabella still hasn’t come back. And Elena… s
AriaThe iron gates of the old church creaked open under my trembling hands, and for the first time in hours, I breathed without looking over my shoulder. The night had been endless with every rustle in the bushes, every distant car engine, a potential threat. My feet ached and my mind spun. But here, beneath the faded cross above the entrance, something inside me unclenched just a little.I slipped inside. The air smelled of old wood, incense, and candle wax. It was quiet and sacred. Far away, Father Miguel knelt at the altar, head bowed in prayer, his white hair glowing softly in the candlelight. I remembered him from years ago, he was the kind man who had given me sweets after confession with my father. He looked older now, frailer, but the same gentle presence remained.I sat in the back pew, knees weak, and waited for him to be done. The silence wrapped around me like a blanket I hadn’t earned, and my eyes grew heavy with fear, exhaustion, and the weight of everything Elena had d
Luciano POV By the time I reached the hospital, my heart was beating so hard it felt like it might tear through my chest.I hurried down the hallway, my footsteps echoing sharply against the polished floor. Nurses and patients turned their heads as I passed, but I didn’t notice them. All I could h
Aria’s POV The rain started just after midnight. I couldn’t sleep, and I just kept tossing here and there, scared of the lighting and thunderstorm. On occasions when the lighting flashed, I hugged my sheets tightly and buried my face on the pillow. I was still wide awake when a sharp knock sounded
Aria’s POV “They want you upstairs.” Rosa’s voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it froze me where I stood. In this house, upstairs meant only one thing. Luciano Cortez. My fingers tightened around the damp rag in my hand until my knuckles burned. Soapy water dripped onto the tiled floor
Aria’s POV My fingers tightened around the dirty clothes I was holding. They were still warm from the laundry room, damp with soap and heat, but my hands were cold. Shaking. I forced myself to breathe the way my father had taught me years ago. Slow breath in. Slower breath out. Control the body
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