Mag-log inAurora POVI sit in the lecture hall with my notebook open and my pen resting uselessly between my fingers.The professor’s voice washes over me without meaning. Words drift past but my gaze keeps sliding to the window toward the outside world where everything that matters is happening without me.D
My chest tightens.“There you are,” he says as his gaze instantly finds me.“Here I am,” I smile as I cross the room to him, feeling drab in my school clothes next to him. “Where else would I be?”His hand comes to my waist like it belongs there—because it does. When he looks at me, the weight of ev
Aurora POV The hotel room smells faintly of oud and sandalwood, the most trendy and expensive perfume of the moment. This is the kind of place that knows it’s expensive and doesn’t let you forget it.I sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed in jeans and a sweatshirt, my dress hung carefully so it
Aurora POVThe coffeehouse smells like burnt espresso and pastries, like safety in the form of routine.I sit in my usual corner between classes, my back to the brick wall, the small round table pressed close enough that no one, not even my usual friends, can slide in uninvited. I am too distracted
Then she looks past Dominic and the body to the other older man standing waiting, his face full of resigned dignity so unlike what had been Francesco’s final moments.“Can Gianna’s father live?” she asks hoarsely, her soft voice barely reaching him across the empty space of the warehouse.The words
Aurora POVGianna is finally still.The pill I offered her dissolved beneath her tongue, and within minutes the sharp edges of her panic soften. Her lashes flutter as she slumps against the pillow, breath evening out, the fight draining from her limbs.I brush her hair back from her face with shakin
Dominic POVDominic does not do this alone anymore.He has always had a small, loyal group, but now it’s tripled in size. There are more headlights behind him turning into the Caruso estate than there used to be, more engines idling in the driveway, more men stepping out, their movements efficient,
But tonight, drugged, exhausted, and still with my dignity intact, I let those walls crack.A muscle in Dominic’s jaw tightens, but he still says nothing.Just holds me close as I drift off to sleep again.***I barely register the words of another man when I come to again, only half aware of the co
Leonardo sighed, rubbing his temple. “Come here.”Theo obeyed immediately, stepping forward. “Boss, I—”Leonardo raised a hand, shutting him up instantly. There was a long pause while his father took in the ugly sight of the beating that had taken place, a slight curl to his lips as he fought the sc
Aurora POVI know I shouldn’t be doing this.I know that if Dominic or Leonardo or anyone found out, it would mean trouble, but now that I’ve gone this far, I can’t stop. Not when the truth is just out of reach.The weight of my own ignorance is suffocating me, pressing down on me until it wakes me







