Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Donna’s Final Gift: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

The secure line clicked open after one ring."Well, well. Finally ready to ditch your precious Don?"Nikolai Costa's voice came through. Low, dangerous, with a thick Russian accent. Dripping with a gritty, obsessed kind of madness.The absolute Grim Reaper of the North American underworld. He had chased me for seven solid years.If Cassius hadn't proposed three years ago, I might have gone to this dark-eyed man who always looked at me like he owned me."He doesn't give a damn if you live or die. Are you still keeping that pathetic vow for him?" Nikolai pushed, blunt as ever.I gripped the phone, suddenly embarrassed."If you don't want to... forget it." I looked down, my voice shaking a bit. "Pretend I never called."Smack!The sharp, heavy thud of a solid gold lighter slamming against a desk echoed through the receiver."Camilla!" His voice spiked, then dropped into a deadly whisper. "What do you think I am? Some grunt you can mess with when you're bored and kick to the curb when you'

The second I stumbled into the VIP lounge, I started shaking uncontrollably.The cramps got tighter and tighter, like bloody razors slicing up my insides.I leaned against the cold marble sink, gasping for air, cold sweat beading on my forehead.I needed to leave. Go to a hospital. Now.Forcing myself up, I dragged my bad leg and limped toward the door.I grabbed the handle and yanked.Locked tight.I froze, then yanked harder. The door was practically welded shut, deadbolted from the outside."Open the door!" I pounded on the heavy soundproof wood. "Is anyone out there?""Save your breath, sweetie."A sweet but venomous voice drifted through the door. It was Bianca."You could scream your lungs out in there, the Dons partying outside won't hear a damn thing. This club has top-tier soundproofing."Her voice reeked of sickening triumph and mockery."Bianca, open up. I'm sick." I ground my teeth, fighting the dragging pain."Sick? Or just hurting from what Cassius said?" She chuckled, th

“Severe dehydration from four days without food or water, combined with the extreme trauma of confinement… the fetus didn't survive.”In the underground clinic, Victor, the black-market surgeon, pulled off his blood-stained gloves, his tone heavy with regret.“Mrs. Marino, you’ve had a miscarriage. Your body has been pushed beyond its absolute limit. You need at least three days of strict bed rest before you can even think about standing.”I stared numbly at the stark white ceiling.My hand slowly moved to cover my flat stomach. A silent tear slipped down my temple.Three days. Just enough time to wait for Nikolai’s men to come get me.“Seal this medical file. Keep it strictly confidential. Don’t breathe a single word of this to anyone,” I ordered. My voice was hoarse, but dripping with an icy clarity.The doctor had barely nodded and stepped back when—BANG!—the clinic door was violently shoved open.Cassius stormed in, radiating a dark, lethal fury.Bianca was clinging right behind hi

Camilla’s POVMorning light streamed through the bulletproof glass, warming the carpet.I sat on the sofa by the window, holding a steaming mug of tea Nikolai had just made for me.Even though I’d escaped that cold prison, just thinking about the past brought a wave of exhaustion to my eyes.Nikolai sat down next to me, his big frame casting a comforting shadow.His deep gaze rested on my face, as if he could see right through to the secrets I kept locked away.“Camilla,” he said, his voice low and rich. “You let Cassius break you for years because you thought you owed him your life. Didn't you?”My hand tightened around the mug.He had just touched my oldest, deepest scar.I looked down, my voice shaking. “When I was fifteen, our family was hit by a rival gang. I was bait. Left to kneel by a frozen lake in a blizzard. I was freezing to death. I thought that was it for me.”I took a shaky breath, swallowing the lump in my throat. “The second before I passed out, Cassius was the one who

Camilla’s POVThe next morning.Sunlight streamed through the bulletproof glass, falling on the soft bed.I was leaning against Nikolai’s broad, warm chest, breathing in his scent of cedar and gunpowder. It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a decade.Suddenly, the secure phone on the nightstand buzzed harshly.I picked it up. It was a command from the DeLuca family’s highest channel.From my father. His tone was as arrogant as ever, ordering me back to the estate immediately.I frowned. Cassius had obviously kept our divorce quiet. My father must have heard rumors and was getting ready to lecture me about “family interests,” to force me to go back and beg.I started to get up, but a strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back down.Nikolai opened his piercing blue eyes, glanced at my phone screen, and let out a cold, contemptuous sneer.He knew exactly what kind of humiliation I had endured in that family.He threw back the covers and got out of bed. Bare-chested, his muscl