LOGINAXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.A black SUV was outside the building when I walked out of the room. I’d left Ian’s body on the floor, and threw his phone into my pocket.The keys I’d found on him surprisingly opened the car, and I drove straight to the address that was in the text he’d received.He was supposed to meet someone there—the sender of the text.I couldn’t recall the last time I prayed for anything. But with my hands tightened around that steering wheel, I prayed for Olivia’s safety.Because I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her, neither would I fight to stay alive anymore.Thirty-three minutes later, the automated voice in the car alerted me that I’d gotten to the destination.My eyes stared out of the car, and I saw a huge building that didn’t look suspicious for a hideout.Staring back at the phone to confirm the address, I turned off the car and heard footsteps running from the building.“Come back here!” Another loud voice yelled. It sounded familiar, and when I g
OLIVIA“Isabella,” I sobbed, dropping on my knees in front of her body. “Isabella, please don’t leave me.”She was fighting to stay alive. Her eyes were slowly closing, and her lips quivered as she tried to say something.“G-Go.”I shook my head vehemently. “No. No, I won’t.”How could I leave her to die there?She was bleeding from her right thigh and her shoulder. Nelly had shot her twice, and her clothes were already soaked with blood.Tears poured down my cheeks as I raised her head slowly. I didn’t want her to leave me just like that. Not now, not ever.She tried to say something else, but the pain took over. Her eyes began to close, and I snapped my head at Nelly.“What have you done?” I sobbed, gently standing up to face her. “You shot my sister.”She cackled like a lunatic, and raised the gun again, fixing it intently to my face.“You’re next.”“Shoot me,” I said firmly. “Do it.”I didn’t care anymore. My sister was half-dead, and nothing else mattered to me at that point.Nel
OLIVIA“Put the gun down, Isa.”Nelly tried to get Isabella to lower her gun, but she refused. I stood there, dazed and confused about everything that was going on.I hadn’t expected Isabella to turn against Nelly and their plans. But her actions proved that she’d found out the entire truth, and maybe…Just maybe… she was willing to let go of her trauma, and the resentment she’d carried for years.“You’re going to take your hands off my sister, or I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”Nelly’s fingers reluctantly moved away from my arm before she retreated. I gulped down a hard swallow and glanced at the key in my hand again.I had the chance to reunite with my baby, but my sister had to pay the price for it.“You’re making a very big mistake, Isabella,” Nelly snarled. “Don’t forget what you signed up for. You can’t walk out of this alive.”My sister remained unshaken. Her eyes flashed with fear for a brief second before settling into defiance.“Stay back,” she muttered. “You’re not goin
OLIVIA “Where the fuck are you hiding my baby?!” I screeched. “Where’s Alix?” I’d been yelling at Nelly for over thirty minutes, yet she refused to say anything about Alix’s whereabouts.She was already bleeding from her forehead, but she’d refused to say anything. Nelly laughed bitterly, her voice sounded shrill in my ears as I pinned her neck against the wall.“Find him yourself.”My irritation grew. I slapped her hard across her right cheek, and she spat out blood.“Talk now, Nelly. Where is he?”She refused to say anything else and kept laughing. I was frustrated, mad with anger, but couldn’t force the words out of her mouth.So, I kept hitting her, hoping she’d change her mind and spill the truth after the excruciating pain from my fist.But Nelly was strong-headed.The door creaked open after the sound of jingling keys outside. I turned in the direction without taking my hands off Nelly’s neck.She was choking and trying to slap my hands off her, but it was a fruitless effort
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSIIsabella shot me. She aimed straight at my arm, but it was grazed. Blood soaked my sleeves immediately, and I groaned not from the pain, but at the sight.“A fucking graze?” I scoffed, staggering backwards. “That’s all you could do?”She lowered her gun, walked slowly towards me, and slammed her fists against the arm she’d shot.My face twisted in anguish, but I was determined to keep her annoyed with my words and reaction.“Next time? Your fucking head gets the bullet.”Then she turned back around and walked straight to Leonardo. He laughed at me, clapping his hands delightfully.“This is a great show,” he scorned. “It’s too bad she missed.”Isabella pulled out a drawer and retrieved the keys that were in there. She straightened her shoulders as her lips parted to speak.“I’m heading over there. Make sure he doesn’t try to escape.”My throat tightened. I stepped forward immediately, desperate to know about Olivia’s whereabouts.“I need to see Olivia,” I demanded
OLIVIA“You’re crazy,” I snarled at Nelly. “Why would you want to claim my baby as yours?”I didn’t believe she’d want Alix as hers. Wanting Axel was understandable, but my baby?The same one she’d tried to take out against my will?She snickered. “Call me whatever you want, but I’ve got Alix. And he’s mine now.”I struggled with the ropes. “Get your hands off my baby. Where is he? I want to see him. Now!”She approached me swiftly, yanked my hair and slapped me hard across my cheeks. I groaned frustratingly, but it didn’t hurt as much as I wanted to see my baby.“Consider yourself as a surrogate mother,” she sneered. “You just helped me carry him, and now?” She grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it tightly. “Watch me take over everything you’ve ever owned.”She pushed me back against the wall with both hands gripping the chair tightly. It felt like history was repeating itself all over again.Like we were back in the room of her father’s hotel.Except that this time, I wasn’t ac
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.Three days.Three fucking days, and all Olivia had done was ignore me like the plague. She’d locked herself in the room repeatedly in a row, a streak she diligently kept going.I’d turned into a shadow of myself, always in the council room, holding a bottle of drink in my gras
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.I didn’t know what my Kitty had done to me. But—a question burned within me.What spell had my Kitty cast?It wasn’t just desire she’d awakened; she’d chipped away at my iron will, leaving me undone.And for the first time in my life, I craved to be hers.Which felt… rare.It
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“My eyes!”Olivia screamed, her voice coming out in a throaty gasp. I rushed towards her after seeing the horrifying sight—she had splatters of the hot sauce on her face.Panic began to set in as I desperately tried to find a way out of her pain. My ears picked up the clicking
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“I’m not done talking to you!”“You said you wouldn’t hurt him!” She yelled back at me, her eyes a bright red after she’d swerved around. “Yet, look what you did to him.”I tightened my jaw, not understanding why she was acting up about that idiot commoner.We were back in the







