Chapter: Chapter Seventy Six: LeaveAlessandroWeeks had passed. Months. And still no sign of her.My men had searched every corner of Italy. They had turned over every stone. They had questioned everyone who might have seen anything. But nothing. She had vanished like smoke.My men advised me to give up. They came to me one by one, their faces tired and defeated, and they told me it was hopeless."Pakhan," one of them said, "we have searched everywhere. She is gone. We cannot find her.""Then search harder," I said."There is nowhere left to search.""Then find somewhere!"They left with their tails between their legs.Even Lucas advised me to give up. He came to my study, his face calm, his eyes steady. "Alessandro," he said, "you need to stop.""I need to find her.""She does not want to be found. She ran for a reason. Let her go."I slammed my fist on the desk. "I cannot let her go! She is my wife! She is my property! She is mine!""She was never yours, Alessandro. You bought her body, but you never had her heart. A
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Seventy Five: I need Some AirElenaI did not respond. I wanted to, but I couldn't. The words were stuck in my throat, choked by the shock of her presence.The woman walked closer to me. Her heels clicked on the marble floor, each step deliberate and confident. She stopped in front of me, her sharp eyes scanning my face, my dress, my bare feet. I felt like I was being measured. Judged. Found wanting."Who are you?" she asked again. Her voice was cold and sharp, like a blade.I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.Who could have thought that a person's presence could make you stunned? I had faced Alessandro De Vercelli at his worst. I had stood in front of the Devil himself and survived. But this woman, this beautiful, elegant, terrifying woman, had rendered me speechless.The woman turned to the guards. They had been standing at attention, their heads bowed, their faces respectful."Who is she?" she demanded.The guard with the scarred face stepped forward. "She is Don Lucas's guest, Signora Bianchi."The woman's ey
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Seventy Four: And I Didn't CareAlessandroWith each passing day, my rage intensified. It was no longer about finding her. It was now about my ego and my name. The news was already spreading. People were already talking, mocking me, saying a maid had escaped from me and I couldn't find her. Saying I was incompetent. Saying I was no longer the Devil of Vercelli whom nothing escaped, not even an ant.The whispers followed me everywhere. At my casinos. At my meetings. At my own dinner table. My men looked at me with pity in their eyes. My enemies looked at me with glee. The Devil had fallen. The Devil had lost his touch.And I, I was no longer in a stable mental health. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think of anything except her. The ordinary slave who had gotten under my skin this much. The girl who had made me feel something I had never felt before. The wife who had run away from me.I swore if I found her, I would make her an example. I would lock her in a dungeon for the rest of her life. I would make
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Seventy Three: Who Are You?ElenaWeeks passed. I was being taken care of. I lacked nothing. The maids brought me food three times a day, delicious meals that I could never finish. The guards respected me, bowing their heads whenever I walked past. I had clothes and books and everything I could possibly need.But strangely, I didn't feel comfortable.I sat by the window every day, looking out at the endless lake, and I thought about Lucas. How did he have so much wealth? How did he own a villa like this, a palace that rivaled Alessandro's? And why had he reduced himself to being Alessandro's right hand man, taking orders and getting beaten, if he had all of this?I didn't think Lucas was up to something. He was too good to be into something shady. Maybe because of the oath, he was loyal to Alessandro. Maybe he was just biding his time. Maybe he had his reasons.I trusted him. I had to trust him. He was the only one who had ever shown me kindness. He was the only one who had ever treated me like a human being.I
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Seventy Two: I Saw You!AlessandroIn the midst of my chaos, I saw Lucas's lips curl into a smirk.The sight of it made my blood boil. I had just ordered my men to turn Italy upside down. I had just threatened to kill anyone who stood in my way. And Lucas, my brother, my right hand, my most trusted man, was smirking at me.I didn't call him. I didn't speak. I just moved.My hand shot out and grabbed the back of his neck. My fingers dug into his flesh as I dragged him across the room. He didn't resist. He never did. He never questioned whatever I did to him. That was what made it worse. That was what made me want to break his face.I shoved him through the door of my study and slammed it shut behind us. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.Then I grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall.His back hit the plaster with a sickening crack. Pictures rattled and fell. A vase shattered on the floor. The sound of breaking glass filled the air."Why?" I roared, my face inches from his. My
Last Updated: 2026-08-03
Chapter: Chapter Seventy One: Who Was Lucas Then?ElenaThe car drove on for what felt like hours. The city lights faded behind us and the darkness of the countryside swallowed us whole. I sat in the back seat, pressed against the leather, my hands trembling in my lap. The men around me were silent, their faces hard and unreadable.I turned to the bulky scary looking guy beside me. He had a scar running down his cheek and his eyes were cold and empty. "Where are you taking me?" I asked, my voice shaking.He looked at me and his expression softened slightly. "To a safe place, miss. Somewhere no one will find you.""A safe place? Whose safe place?""You will see when we get there."I wanted to ask more questions but the words died in my throat. I was too tired, too scared, too confused to think clearly. I leaned my head against the window and watched the world blur past.I still found it strange. The respect they gave me. The way they bowed their heads when they spoke to me. The way they called me "miss" like I was someone important. I
Last Updated: 2026-08-03
Chapter: Chapter Thirty Nine:DorianI woke up the next morning with the key still in my pocket.I had fallen asleep on the couch with Ivy beside me and I had not moved all night. My neck was stiff and my back ached but I did not care. I had slept for the first time in days and I felt almost human.Ivy was still asleep and her head was on my chest and her hand was on my arm. She looked peaceful and I did not want to wake her.But I had work to do.I carefully moved her head onto a pillow and stood up. I stretched my arms and my back and walked to the kitchen.Marcus was there and he was drinking coffee and reading a newspaper."Morning," he said."Morning."He looked at me and asked if I slept."A little," I said and poured myself a cup of coffee."The key," he said. "Did it lead anywhere?"I shook my head and told him it was just a cabinet in Mrs Chen's room with old photographs and letters and a bracelet.Marcus raised an eyebrow and asked if that was it."That was it," I said. "Nothing more."He nodded and did
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Thirty Eight: A Dead EndIvyWe drove back to the estate in silence and the key sat heavy in Dorian's hand.He stared at it the whole way home and did not say a word. I watched him from the corner of my eye and saw the tension in his jaw and the tightness in his shoulders. He was holding on to hope and I did not know if that hope would be rewarded or crushed.When we arrived, Dorian walked straight to Mrs Chen's room and I followed close behind.He went to the small cabinet in the corner, the one that had always been locked, and knelt down in front of it. He inserted the key and turned it and the lock clicked open.He pulled the door open and inside were old photographs and letters and small trinkets. He reached in and pulled out a photograph of two young girls standing in front of a crumbling building. They were smiling and holding hands and their faces were full of hope."That is her," Dorian said. "That is Clara. And that is my mother."I looked at the photograph and saw Mrs Chen's face, young and unmarked
Last Updated: 2026-08-06
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Seven: Search EverythingDorianThe hospital administrator was a small man with a nervous twitch and he met us in his office with shaking hands and darting eyes."Mr. Vale," he said. "I apologize for the confusion. We had no idea Clara had any family.""She has family now," I said. "Where is she?"The administrator shifted in his chair and said she was transferred to St Mary's which was a smaller and less expensive facility."Less expensive?" I asked and he said her bills were not being paid so they could not keep her there."I will pay the bills and pay for everything," I said. "Just tell me where she is."The administrator nodded and said St Mary's was on the other side of the city."Call them and tell them I am coming," I said and he picked up the phone.I walked out of the office and Ivy was waiting in the hallway and she asked what happened."She was transferred to a cheaper hospital because the bills were not being paid," I said and Ivy's face went pale.I told her I needed to find her and bring her bac
Last Updated: 2026-08-03
Chapter: Chapter Thirty Six: I Am Her NephewIvyI found Marcus in the kitchen at 7 AM and he was holding a folder and a photograph with tired eyes that told me he had not slept."Marcus," I said and he looked up at me with dark eyes."The woman in the photograph," he said. "I found her."I walked toward him and asked who she was."Her name is Clara Matthews," he said and set the folder on the table. "She is Mrs Chen's younger sister."I stared at him and asked if Mrs Chen had a sister."Not biological," he said. "They grew up together in an orphanage, same home and same room. They were close like real sisters."I sat down at the table and asked what happened to them.Marcus opened the folder and inside were newspaper clippings that were old and yellowed and faded."The orphanage caught fire thirty years ago," he said. "Mrs Chen was rescued but Clara was not. She was trapped inside and when they found her she was burned beyond recognition."I covered my mouth with my hand and said oh my God."She survived barely," he said. "But
Last Updated: 2026-08-03
Chapter: Chapter Thirty Five: The First ClueDorianI woke up at 4 AM.Ivy was asleep beside me. Her hair was spread across the pillow. Her face was soft. Peaceful. She looked like she had not a care in the world.I wished I could feel that way.I got out of bed and walked to my study. The journal was still on my desk. I had read it three times. Every word. Every line. Every confession.But I was missing something. I could feel it. There was a piece of the puzzle that did not fit. A detail I had overlooked.I started reading again."I have done terrible things," Mrs Chen had written. "Things I cannot take back. But I did them for him. For my son. For the only person I have ever loved."That part I understood. She loved me. She was obsessed with me. She killed for me."He thinks the brides were all I did. He does not know about the others. The ones who came before."I knew about the others now. My father. My fake mother. She had killed them too.But then there was the last entry."I am scared. I thought I was in control. But I wa
Last Updated: 2026-07-31
Chapter: Chapter Thirty Four: The BurialIvyDorian sat in his study for three hours after we returned from the prison. He did not move. Did not speak. Did not eat. He just sat there with the journal in his hands, staring at the wall.I sat with him. I did not speak either. There was nothing to say. Nothing that would make this better. Nothing that would bring her back.At noon, I stood up."Dorian."He did not look at me."We need to collect her body. We need to bury her."He finally looked up. His eyes were red. His face was hollow."Bury her?""She was your mother. She deserves a proper burial.""She killed twelve women. She tried to kill you.""I know. But she was still your mother."He stared at me for a long moment. Then he nodded."Okay," he said. "Okay."I called Marcus. He made the arrangements. The prison released her body that afternoon. Dorian did not go to collect it. He could not. So I went with Marcus.The funeral home was quiet and cold. Mrs Chen looked peaceful in the casket. Her silver hair was pinned up. H
Last Updated: 2026-07-31
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