All Chapters of His Arranged Protection: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

66 Chapters

A DANGEROUS TRAIL

~~NICCOLÒ~~"Fuck."The curse escaped my lips the moment the office door closed behind Lena.For several seconds, I remained seated, staring at the empty doorway long after she had disappeared from view. I should not have allowed her to walk out of this room—not while she was still keeping secrets from me.Leaning back in my chair, I rubbed a hand across my face and exhaled slowly. Everything about this situation was becoming increasingly complicated.She was hiding something. That much was obvious. Under normal circumstances, I would have forced the truth out of anyone withholding information from me. In my world, secrets carried consequences, and people who refused to cooperate usually found themselves in uncomfortable situations until they reconsidered.Unfortunately, she was not one of my men.She was Lena.And she possessed an infuriating tendency to react badly whenever she believed I was attempting to control her.Ordinarily, I would not have cared. People accused me of being c

LEARN YOUR LIMITS

~~LENA~~I eventually couldn't bring myself to ask the question.It wasn't because I didn't want to. At that point, I wanted answers so badly that I was willing to question almost anyone who had spent enough time around the Santoros.The problem was Doctor Lorenzo himself.The man was a complete blabbermouth. In less than twenty minutes, he had somehow managed to give me a detailed account of nearly his entire fifty years of existence."And then," he said while carefully cleaning the cut on my cheek, "my second wife decided she wanted to become a yoga instructor."I blinked. "Second wife?""Yes." He sighed dramatically. "A terrible decision. Not the marriage. But the yoga. She became unbearable afterward."I stared at him.Doctor Lorenzo continued as though we had known each other for years. "Every disagreement suddenly became an issue with my chakras."I frowned. "Your what?""My chakras.""I don't even know what those are.""Exactly!" he exclaimed, pointing a cotton swab at me. "Tha

CHOOSING SIDES

~~LENA~~Out of everyone I had expected to appear behind me, Sofia had not even crossed my mind.She stood a few feet away with her hands folded neatly in front of her apron, looking exactly like the composed maid everyone in the mansion knew her to be. Her expression was calm, respectful, and almost gentle.Yet something about her was different.For the first time since I had met her, I noticed an unusual firmness in her eyes. Bianca noticed it too."What are you doing here?" Bianca asked coldly.Sofia inclined her head politely. "My apologies for interrupting, Signorina Bianca, but the master instructed that Madam Lena be brought upstairs for her bath."I blinked.My bath?I had completely forgotten about that. Bianca's expression hardened immediately. "I am in the middle of a conversation."Sofia smiled politely. "Yes, Signorina. I noticed.""Then you should have waited.""I'm afraid I cannot do that."A brief silence settled between them, and I could practically feel the tension b

THE NAME THEY FEARED

I pulled up several buildings away from the port.Night had fully settled over the waterfront, casting long shadows across the district and wrapping everything in an uneasy silence. The occasional sounds of cargo machinery and distant ship horns drifted through the air, but even those familiar noises failed to make the place feel alive.Something about tonight felt wrong.The port had always been busy. At any hour, trucks usually moved in and out, workers shouted orders, and cargo changed hands without pause. Yet tonight, the entire district felt unusually tense.Perhaps it was because of what Matteo had told me. Two men had attempted to kill Lena and somehow found their way here.I switched off the engine but remained seated for several seconds, staring through the windshield. The thought of Lena lying on the floor of that abandoned school while bullets tore through the walls still angered me.Someone had wanted her dead.That alone guaranteed that I would not be sleeping tonight. I

NAMES WRITTEN IN BLOOD

~~NICCOLÒ~~The man's muffled screams echoed throughout the warehouse the moment I stepped closer. Even through the gag, the panic in his voice was unmistakable. And I could see it just as clearly.His entire body trembled violently against the restraints as he desperately tried to force his chair backward. The metal legs scraped loudly across the concrete floor, producing a harsh, irritating sound that reverberated through the otherwise silent warehouse.He was trying to intimidate me. Trying to make himself appear stronger than he was. Under different circumstances, I might have found it amusing. Unfortunately for him, I had never been particularly sympathetic toward cowards.Men like him had always irritated me. They were loud when surrounded by allies. And issued threats when they believed they held power. Yet the moment the advantage shifted, they became frightened animals, begging for mercy from the very people they had intended to destroy.I despised men like that.One of my g

THE OFFER

~~NICCOLÒ~~Blood dripped slowly from my chin onto the warehouse floor.I did not bother wiping it away.Instead, I stood perfectly still, staring at the dead man slumped in the chair before me. His eyes remained open, forever frozen in terror, while blood continued to spill from the wound in his neck and pool beneath him.I had given him my word. I’d promised him that if he spoke, nothing would happen to him. Less than a minute later, he was dead.My jaw tightened.There were many things in this world that I despised, but very few angered me as much as outright defiance. In my world, a man's word meant something. Promises and authority carried weight.Tonight, both had been challenged. Inside my warehouse. By people who clearly believed they could play games with me.Slowly, I shifted my attention to the remaining prisoner. The fear that had consumed him earlier was gone. In its place sat something far more irr

MY MOTHER'S VOICE

~~LENA~~The bath was exactly what I needed.By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, I finally felt almost human again. The hot water had done very little for the bruises covering my body, but it had eased some of the tension that had settled into my muscles after the attack. My cheek still stung where the stitches pulled against my skin, and every step reminded me that my legs had not fully recovered, but at least I could breathe without feeling as though I had just survived a battlefield.Wrapped in a thick white bathrobe, I sat in front of the dressing mirror and slowly brushed my damp hair. For a long moment, I simply stared at my reflection.I looked different.The change wasn't dramatic, and most people probably wouldn't notice it immediately, but I noticed it.My skin had grown slightly darker from the amount of time I had spent outdoors over the past few weeks. There was also a subtle definition in my arms that definitely hadn't existed before.Curious, I flexed one arm."

MY MOTHER’S MESSAGE

~~LENA~~The last thing I expected to hear was my own name.For several seconds, I sat frozen in front of the cassette player. I couldn't breathe nor move. I simply stared at the old machine as though it might suddenly explain how any of this was possible."Lena, this is your mother."My mother's voice.I had heard recordings of her before. My father used to keep old family videos of birthday celebrations, holiday gatherings, and short messages she had recorded for me when I was little. However, those recordings had always felt distant, like memories preserved from another lifetime.This was different.This recording had been made specifically for me. Slowly, I lowered myself into Niccolò's chair because my knees no longer felt strong enough to support me."Mom?" I whispered unconsciously. The room remained silent except for the faint hum of the cassette player.I closed my eyes.For a brief moment, I could almost picture her standing in front of the recorder. I imagined her adjusting

AN ENEMY WITHIN

~~NICCOLÒ~~By the time I returned home, it was already late and the night felt heavier than usual.The drive back from the port had been quiet, and for once I appreciated the silence. My head throbbed and the warehouse kept replaying in my mind, each image darkening my mood a little more. I stepped out of the car and adjusted the cuffs of my shirt as if the small motion could steady me.A guard approached without hesitation. "Boss."I told him to increase perimeter security for the night. He straightened, attentive. "Understood.""Double the patrol rotation. Nobody enters or leaves this estate without authorization." He acknowledged the order with another crisp "Yes, Boss."Matteo fell into step beside me as we walked toward the mansion. "I have a feeling things will get unpleasant in the next few days," I said, trying to make my concern sound like a strategy.He glanced at me. "You think they'll retaliate?""I think they're already moving," I said.He was silent for a beat. The dea

THE NAME ON THE LIST

~~NICCOLÒ~~The first thing I did was curse, and I did it loudly enough for the word to echo throughout my room. The outburst was sharp enough that I heard someone pause outside my door before quickly continuing down the corridor.Matteo remained standing in front of me, looking entirely unsurprised by my reaction."Check the security cameras again," I ordered immediately."We already did.""Check them a third time.""They've been wiped."I stared at him in disbelief. "Wiped?"Matteo nodded grimly. "Every single feed connected to the morgue during the relevant time frame was erased. Whoever did it knew exactly where to look and precisely what to remove."I sat heavily on the edge of my bed, gripping the wooden frame so tightly that my forearms tensed. "Restore the footage.""We've tried.""And?""There was nothing left to restore."My eyes narrowed. "You're telling me

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