LOGINSister in CrossfireThe car moved fast through the late-night streets.Sandro sat in the back with Elena. Dante drove. Rocco rode in the front passenger seat with a phone to his ear.āTalk to me,ā Sandro said.Rocco listened, then answered. āThree men made it onto the floor. Two of ours are down but alive. Claireās room is sealed. Theyāre trying to hold the hallway.āElenaās hands were cold in her lap. āHow close are they to her?āāClose enough,ā Sandro said. He looked at Dante. āFaster.āThe hospital came into view within minutes. Extra security vehicles were already outside. Flashing lights reflected off the glass doors. Sandro was out of the car before it fully stopped. Elena followed close behind.Inside, the private wing was controlled chaos. Guards in dark clothes lined the corridor. A doctor tried to speak and was waved aside. Two nurses stood against the wall, faces pale. Sandro walked straight toward Claireās room. His men stepped out of the way without being told.āStay behi
Torn AllegianceSandro watched her from the couch.āWeāre not done,ā he said again.Elena sat across from him. The full file on her father still sat open on the laptop in the study. The names of the dead men kept turning in her head. One of them had a child. Another had been family to Luca. The weight of it made it hard to sit still.āI need time,ā she said.āTime for what?āāTo think.āSandro leaned forward, elbows on his knees. āAbout Luca.āShe didnāt deny it. āHe admitted he went to Vittorio. He said it was for the family. He thinks youāre changing too much because of me and Claire.āSandroās jaw tightened. āAnd you believe him?āāI believe heās scared. I believe he thinks heās right. That doesnāt make it okay.āāWhat did he offer you before?āElena looked down at her hands. The diamond ring felt heavier than usual. āA way out. New identities. Money. Protection for Claire. He said he could get us clear of all of this.āāAnd now?āāNow I donāt know who to trust. Juliette sold me ou
Fatherās Full SinSandro stood in the kitchen doorway, waiting.āElena. Why are you acting strange?āShe looked at him for a long second. The conversation with Luca still sat in her chest like a stone. She could have told him everything right then, the admission, the divided loyalty, the way Luca had spoken about her as a weakness. Instead she shook her head once.āNot here,ā she said. āNot yet.āSandroās eyes narrowed, but he didnāt push. āThen come with me.āHe led her to the study. The laptop was already open on the desk. A new secure file waited on the screen. The subject line was short: Full Archive ā Brooks / Conti Collaboration ā Confirmed.Sandro turned the laptop toward her.āThis came in twenty minutes ago,ā he said. āComplete file. Everything they could recover.āElena sat down. Her hands felt cold as she began to read.The documents were clear and brutal. Bank transfers under false names. Meeting notes dated years earlier. Photos of her father with known Conti intermediari
Luca ExposedElena left the bedroom and walked toward the kitchen.The hallway felt longer than usual. Two guards stood at the far end near the elevator. Another was posted outside the study. They watched her pass but said nothing. The paranoia from the last two days still sat over the penthouse like a second ceiling. Every quiet step sounded too loud. Every closed door felt like it was listening.She needed air. She needed answers.Luca was already in the kitchen when she got there. He stood at the counter with a cup of coffee, looking at his phone. The only light came from the under-cabinet strips. The rest of the room stayed in shadow. He looked up when she entered.āElena.āāWe need to talk.āHe set the phone down slowly. āAbout what?āāDonāt.ā She pushed the kitchen door most of the way closed. The soft click felt final. āI know about Stefano. I know you sent him to meet Vittorio.āLucaās face didnāt change much, but his shoulders shifted under his shirt. āSandro showed you the
Leaking ShipSandro stared at the screen for a long time.The footage of Stefano and Vittorio played once more, then he closed it.āDante,ā he said into the phone. āGet in here. Bring Rocco.āElena stood near the desk, arms crossed. āWhat are you going to do?āāFind every leak. Starting now.āDante and Rocco arrived within minutes. Sandro turned the laptop toward them.āWatch.āThey did. When the clip ended, Danteās face was tight. Rocco said nothing.āStefano meets my father. Luca arranges it. I want to know who else is talking,ā Sandro said. āPull every log from the last two weeks. Phone records. Camera gaps. Money movements. No one is clean until I say they are.āāIncluding us?ā Rocco asked.Sandro looked at him. āIncluding everyone.āThe two men left to start the work.Elena stayed. āYouāre turning on your own people.āāThey turned first.ā He closed the laptop. āThis place stays locked. No one leaves without me knowing. No private calls. No closed doors I canāt open.āāThatās not
Mirror ConfessionThe drive to the hospital was fast and silent.Sandro sat beside Elena in the back seat, phone pressed to his ear the entire way. Dante drove. Rocco rode in the front.āStatus,ā Sandro said into the phone.Elena heard the reply only in pieces. Two men down. Floor cleared. Claire unharmed.When they reached the private wing, security was already thick. Sandroās men lined the hallway. A doctor met them at the door.āSheās safe,ā the doctor said. āSedated for the night after the noise. No injuries.āElena pushed past and went into the room. Claire slept in the bed, small under the blankets. Elena sat beside her and held her hand for a long time. Sandro stood in the doorway, speaking quietly with Dante.After twenty minutes he touched Elenaās shoulder.āWe need to go. Sheās protected. More men are coming.āElena kissed Claireās forehead and stood. āIāll be back tomorrow.āThey returned to the penthouse under heavier guard. The city lights blurred past the tinted windows.
The Glass TowerElena stood on the sidewalk across from Rossi Tower, clutching the black business card so tightly the edges bit into her palm. The skyscraper stabbed into the gray New York sky like a blade made of glass and arrogance. People in expensive coats hurried past her, heads down, voices c
The Debt CollectorElena Brooks wiped the steam from the cracked bathroom mirror and stared at the stranger looking back at her. Dark circles. Tangled braids she hadnāt had time to retwist. Twenty-three years old and already exhausted by a life that refused to give her a break.āEllie?ā Claireās sm
The Point of No ReturnElena barely remembered how she got home. The city lights blurred past the taxi window as her mind replayed every second in Sandroās office. His dark eyes tracing her body, the heat of his fingers brushing her neck, the way her traitorous body had responded with slick heat be
The Rules of HellElenaās fingers tightened around the thick folder until the edges dug into her palms as she stormed out of the elevator and into the cold evening air outside Rossi Tower. The city noise hit her like a slap. Honking cars, rushing pedestrians, the distant wail of a siren, but none o







