Novels by ikeh Chimzaram

POV: AriaThe safe house balcony overlooks the city. Lights stretch to the horizon, a sea of illumination in the darkness.I grip the railing, watching the world below. Somewhere out there, the captains are gathering. Tomorrow they'll vote. Tomorrow they'll decide if a twenty-four-year-old woman can lead the most powerful criminal empire in the city.Tomorrow I either make history or become it."You're going to wear a hole in that railing."I turn. Luca stands in the doorway, barefoot, shirtless, concern etched on his face."Can't sleep," I say."I noticed." He moves beside me, his warmth cutting through the night chill. "Want to talk about it?""What if they don't choose me?" The words tumble out. "What if I'm not strong enough? Not smart enough? What if Viktor's right and I'm just a child playing at being a gangster?"Luca is quiet for a moment. Then he turns me to face him, hands gentle on my shoulders."You escaped my torture chamber," he says. "Remember that? You were terrified,

POV: AriaThe gunshot echoes across the pier. Dante falls, blood blooming across his back. Luca catches him, dragging him behind a concrete barrier."SNIPER!" Luca shouts.I'm already moving, running toward them. Another shot hits the ground where I was standing a second ago."Aria, get back!" Luca yells.I ignore him, diving behind the barrier beside them. Dante is gasping, his face pale."How bad?" I ask."Bad enough." Luca presses his hand against the wound. Blood seeps between his fingers. "We need to move. We're sitting ducks here."Another shot. Then another. Different angles.My blood runs cold. "There's more than one.""At least three," Luca confirms. "Calabrese family. Has to be.""They waited for you both to be here. Together.""Smart." Dante coughs, blood on his lips. "Bastards are smart."More gunfire. The concrete barrier cracks under the assault. We're pinned down.I pull out my phone, calling Marco."Boss is under fire," I say the moment he answers. "Pier 12. Multiple s

POV: LucaI can't breathe. My father killed Dante's sister. Murdered an innocent woman to send a message.I sit in the hospital bed, staring at nothing, Dante's words echoing in my head."Your father ordered the hit."After everyone leaves, I force myself out of bed. Dr. Russo protests, but I ignore her. I need to know. Need to see the truth for myself.Marco drives me to the secondary mansion, the one that survived when Viktor's men burned the main estate. My father's office is here, preserved exactly as he left it when he died.I haven't been in this room in three years.The desk is mahogany, massive, imported from Italy. The shelves line the walls, filled with ledgers and records dating back thirty years.I start searching.It takes two hours, but I find it. A leather-bound ledger from five years ago. Handwritten entries in my father's precise script."March 15. Sophia Caruso becoming a problem. Meeting with federal investigators about shipping operations. Must be handled permanent

POV: AriaI stare at Viktor across the church pews, my heart pounding so hard I'm sure he can hear it.My mother's final words. A video I never knew existed."You're lying," I say, but my voice wavers.Viktor smiles. He knows he's got me."Am I?" He taps his tablet again. "Watch."The screen lights up. My mother's face fills the frame, and my breath catches in my throat.I was five when she died. My memories of her are fragments, pieces of a puzzle that never quite fit together. Her perfume. The sound of her laugh. The way she brushed my hair before bed.But her face? I only know it from photographs.Now she's moving, breathing, alive on this screen."My darling Aria," she says, tears streaming down her face. "If you're seeing this, it means Viktor Russo has won. It means I'm gone. But I need you to know..."Viktor pauses the video."No!" I lunge forward before I can stop myself. "Play the rest!""Help me first."I sink back into the pew, hands shaking. "How do I know that's real? Tha

POV: LucaPain wakes me before consciousness does. My chest burns like someone's driven hot coals under my skin. My shoulder throbs with each heartbeat. Everything hurts.But I'm alive. I force my eyes open. White ceiling. Fluorescent lights. The steady beep of monitors.Dr. Russo's clinic.Memory comes in flashes. Viktor's compound. The firefight. Aria chained to a wall. The gun pointed at her head.Me throwing myself in front of the bullet."Aria," I try to say, but my throat is raw, the word coming out as a croak.Movement to my left. Dr. Russo appears, checking the monitors."Mr. Moretti. Welcome back.""Aria," I say again, clearer this time. "Where is she?""Safe. She's been by your side for three days straight."Three days?"What happened?""The antidote worked. Slowly, but it worked. I had to put you in a medically induced coma to give your body time to process the toxin and heal from the trauma." She adjusts my IV. "You're going to survive, though you'll need extensive recover

POV: AriaDay one.Luca lies in the hospital bed, pale as death, machines breathing for him. Dr. Russo induced the coma to give his body time to heal. The antidote is working, she says, but slowly. Too slowly.I sit in the chair beside his bed, holding his hand. It's warm, at least. Alive."You have to wake up," I tell him. "I can't do this without you."The machines beep their steady rhythm. No response.I don't leave.Elena brings me food. I push it away.Marco comes with reports. Territory disputes. Money transfers. Questions that need answers."They can wait," I say."Aria, they can't. The Bratva is moving on our eastern holdings. The Calabrese remnants are talking to the Chinese. If we don't respond now...""Then respond. You know what Luca would do."Marco shifts uncomfortably. "I need authorization. Signed orders. You're his wife. That makes you...""Makes me what?""Acting head of the family. Until he wakes up."The words hit me like a physical blow. Acting head. Of a criminal