All Chapters of 365 days to love the devil : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

PrologueSicily, 2020The meeting was set for midnight on the rooftop of an old villa on the island’s east side. Lothaire Cingretti arrived with his father and three of their men. The other group was already waiting.They got through the usual greetings, then down to business. Lothaire listened as they talked about shipping routes and percentages. Standard stuff. Then the leader leaned forward.“There’s a new opportunity. Big money. We need your routes.”“For what?” Lothaire’s father asked.“Girls. Young ones. We bring them in from Eastern Europe, North Africa. Sell them, put them to work. You provide the routes, you get thirty percent.”“It’s simple logistics,” Lothaire looked at his father. “No,” Lothaire said.The merchandise is excellent, a real bargain, easier than anything you’re running now.Think about it”“I said no. We don’t traffic people.”The man’s expression changed. “That’s unfortunate.”It happened fast. Someone pulled a gun. His men pulled theirs. Shots fired.Then hi

Birds were chirping somewhere outside. Emily heard them before she opened her eyes. Loud, insistent. The kind of sound that dragged you out of sleep whether you wanted it or not.She blinked. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, cutting across the room in a sharp line. She turned her head on the pillow, squinting against the light.This wasn’t her hotel room.Emily sat up slowly. Her head felt heavy, like she’d been hit with something. Her mouth was dry. She looked around, trying to make sense of where she was.The bed was huge. King-sized, maybe bigger. The sheets were expensive, soft in a way that hotel sheets never were. The room was painted gray. All of it. Walls, ceiling. The furniture was either stark white or black. Minimalist. Cold. This was undoubtedly a man’s house.She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet hit the floor. Barefoot. Where were her shoes?She stood up, her legs shaky beneath her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to think. The

Lothaire walked out of the sitting room, leaving Emily with the guards. His jaw was tight, his hands flexed at his sides. He needed air. Needed space.His uncle was waiting in the hallway. Dante. The man who’d raised him after his father died. Taught him everything. How to lead. How to survive. How to kill when necessary.“The delivery is in the basement,” Dante said, his voice low.Lothaire nodded. He’d been expecting this. Dreading it, but expecting it.He made his way through the house, down a set of stairs that led to the lower level. The basement wasn’t like the rest of the estate. No marble floors. No polished surfaces. Just concrete and shadows. This was where they handled business. The kind of business that didn’t happen in boardrooms.The hallway was narrow, lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. His footsteps echoed as he walked. At the end of the hall was a heavy steel door. He pushed it open.The room inside was cold. Damp. The smell of sweat and blood hung in the