LOGINTHREE YEARS LATERGrace's Pov “Aria! Axel!” I shouted, looking everywhere for two mischievous kids who had gone silent suddenly in the house. I walked down the hall and heard them chuckling at themselves. I entered the room and saw them eating the cake I had kept on the kitchen counter before going to freshen up. “You two rascals,” I said and they sprinted when they saw me. I ran after them but their tiny legs were faster. They entered Silvano's office room and I ran after them. Silvano was talking to Luca and Antonio in his office but when the two rascals entered the office their focus shifted to them.Immediately Aria ran to Silvano while Axel ran to Luca, who carried him up immediately.I entered the room and glared at both of them. “Daddy, please save us from mummy,” Aria, a miniature version of Silvano with her dark, fierce eyes, immediately began wiping her sticky hands on the pristine silk of his trousers.Silvano didn’t flinch, he just smiled and scooped her up.“Oh no.
LAST CHAPTER TWO MONTHS LASTERON THEIR WEDDING DAYThe air was thick with the scent of white roses and orange blossoms, a delicate, hopeful perfume that finally managed to eclipse the stale, metallic smell of old secrets and conflict. Grace stood before a floor-to-ceiling arched window, the Italian sun streaming through the sheer curtains, turning the room into a soft, golden blur.Two months. Two months of silence, therapy, honest confessions, and painstaking rebuilding had led her here.Her dress was simple, ivory silk that flowed like water, a deliberate choice over the extravagant gown Silvano's world might have demanded. She didn't want a show of power; she wanted a vow of love. Between the both of them.The door opened, and her mother, Anastasia, stepped in. She didn't rush. She just stood there, her eyes shining with a mix of joy and the quiet, deep understanding that only a mother can have.“You look beautiful, my Grace,” her mother whispered, finally crossing the room to
Grace's Pov Silvano's jaw was clenched so tight I could hear the grinding of his teeth. His hand moved slowly, almost imperceptibly, toward the inside of his jacket.“She is not yours. She is not a property to claim. Let her go and face me.”Giovanni chuckled. “I am facing you. This is also about you. How I am going to rip everything from you. Your kingdom, your love and your life.”“You think a key is enough for a rule kingdom?” Silvano’s voice was lethal, dripping with contempt. “It takes blood. It takes loyalty. And you have neither.”“Oh, I have loyalty,” Giovanni sneered, his smile widening. “Just not to you. And I am about to have your blood, too.” He nodded sharply toward the back of my head. The man with the pistol pressed the cold steel harder against my skull.“Don’t you dare, Giovanni,” Silvano warned, freezing his hand halfway to his weapon.“Touch the gun, and the girl dies,” Giovanni stated simply, his triumph complete. He had him. He had his Don, his best friend, utter
Grace's Pov “You-”“Why are you doing this?” I asked him. “You are Silvano's best friend.” “Oh my dear. That is where you are wrong. He isn't my best friend. Maybe I might be his but he would never be mine,” he snarled. “Why? Why are you doing this?” I asked, again. I couldn't believe it was Giovanni all along. I just can't. Giovanni was good. He was a good man. Wasn't he?My phone went off on the table and Silvano's name flashed on the screen. “Answer it. Tell me I am here,” he smirked. With shaky hands, I picked the call and put it against my ear. “Thank God you are fine. Don't leave the house and don't open the door for anyone. We found the mole. It was Giovanni all along. He would try to get you but don't open the door for anyone or go anywhere. I am coming now.” I heard the speed of the car. He was driving.“Silvano.” I called his name, to stop him from talking. “He is here. He is here with Noah and I at the cafe near my house. Please hurry,”“Shit,” I heard him cuss befor
Grace's Pov The small café was a short walk from my house, a cozy spot with mismatched chairs and the lingering smell of roasted coffee beans. It was busy enough that no one would notice a tear-stained, agitated woman slipping into a corner booth far from people's attention.Noah was already there, hunched over a laptop, his usual relaxed posture replaced with a rigid tension that sent a fresh wave of dread through me. He looked up the moment I slid into the seat opposite him. His eyes, the same shade of worried blue as my mother's, scanned my face.“You look like hell, Grace,” he said, not as an insult, but a statement of pure fact.I ignored his comment. “What is it? What was so urgent you couldn’t tell me at home and you had to call me down to this cafe?”He closed the laptop with a decisive snap. The sound was too loud in the background chatter. He leaned forward, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It is about Dad.”My heart, already a mess of betrayal and heartach
Grace's PovI was tired of bowling my eyes out and I eventually left my bed to get water from the kitchen because the one by my bed side has finished.I found my mum making food and I was about to turn back before she saw me but she beat me to it. “Don't leave. Get whatever you want,” she said and I entered the kitchen and fetched the jug of water. I was about to leave when she spoke. “I found Silvano waiting outside the door. He said you didn't open the door for him.” I heard him. I heard him call my name, telling me he wanted to talk. Even begging me to open the door for him but I didn't.I didn't feel like talking to him. “Okay,” I said and was about to go when she spoke. “I don't know what happened between you two but you should both talk it out. You are not Grace I know. You are not happy and the last time we talked, you were happy. Talk to him and resolve your issue,” mum said and I nodded. “Mum, did you ever know what dad did exactly? Like his place of work?” I asked her
Silvano's Pov I watched the CCTV camera around the hospital for the ninth time, trying to find something that would give the people who took her away, but there was nothing. Except for the car the hooded man who knocked her out and carried her away used. One of the car plate numbers was covered,
Silvano's PovBEEPPPThe beeping sound was the first thing I heard. “Salvatore,” I whispered but I got no reply.I tried opening my eyes but they felt heavy like they had been closed for days.I tried moving my hands but it hurts. My whole body hurts like I have been hit by a truck. Then I rememb
Grace's Pov “I don’t have anything to say to you,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.He let out a short, humorless chuckle and crouched down to my level, his eyes sharp like glass cutting into my skin.“Oh, but you will. In fact, we have a lot to say,” he said. “You see, your silence won’t protec
Silvano's Pov The sound bounced back from the wall. I stood still for a second, staring at the closed door before moving my eyes to Elisabetta. She was still holding my trousers while her eyes were on the door. “Give me that,” I said, with my voice low.She handed them over without a word and ste







