ANMELDENOLIVIAI wasn’t thinking straight. Watching Darren raise his gun to Axel made me devise a plan quickly.I bought myself time by getting into that car, and Alix was the perfect escape I could use.Also, I needed a little moment with my baby too.Darren and Nelly were arguing and I tried to think of something fast before the time passed. I knew Nelly would want to follow me. My heart raced at a breakneck pace. I patted Alix gently, making sure his cries died down while I thought harder.It was frustrating that nothing could pop up in my head. My mind was blank.“Think fast, Olivia.” Five minutes. That was all I had.My gaze swept frantically around the vehicle. The seats. The dashboard. The doors.Nothing.Every second that passed felt like another step closer to Axel’s death.Then something metallic caught my eye.I saw the sharp edge of a knife that was on the floorboards, and wasted no time in picking it up. That was what caught my attention in the first place.The reason why I’d i
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI“Darren, please…”I hated that Olivia was begging him. And I hated more than anything, that she was the one trying to protect me.When it was supposed to be the other way around. Yet somehow, I didn’t think he’d be bold enough to do anything.Because deep down, he cared for Olivia. And the last thing he’d do was something that would make her hate him more than she already did.Leonardo pressed his foot tightly on my chest, and I forced myself to breathe properly. His gun was directly on my face, and I caught the sneer that danced in his voice.“Plead harder,” he told Olivia. “Maybe I might be considerate.”I grunted heavily. “O-Olivia, don’t.”“Let him go, Darren,” she sobbed, struggling with Nelly as she held her down. “Please, I… I’ll do whatever you want.”She shouldn’t have said that. This man was manipulative, and he could take advantage of her vulnerability.His face flashed with anger, and his countenance shifted immediately he heard her say that. Leonardo
OLIVIAEverything happened so fast. I lost my control, my mind, and shock enveloped me even after the whole accident had ended.I heard Alix’s cries echoing through the car, but I was too shocked to move. I remained in that seat, my fingers loose around the wheels as I stared at the black SUV.I thought it was someone else— a man working for Nelly. But it turned out to be him… “Axel…” I was relieved and scared at the same time. His car was only three feet away from the cliff, and I couldn’t stop panicking because a single mistake could cost him his life.Our cars were compressed into each other. The glasses had shattered, and he was bleeding from the side of his head.It was an awful sight. Axel looked different, weak, and I sobbed again, realizing he’d taken such a risk to stop the car from falling off that cliff.Something that would have taken his life if one mistake had occurred.I tried to get out, but the door was pressed into the chair, and my arm was broken. Alix continued c
AXEL 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
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“What the fuck—”I didn’t finish the sentence. My fists were already moving before I could control myself.The man closest to me barely had time to turn before my knuckles collided with his throat. He went down choking, scrambling across the floor like an animal. I stepped ov
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“What?” Her eyes widened. “You can’t call off the wedding?”Yes, I could. And I already did.I stepped closer, approaching her with slow, deliberate steps. Nelly locked her eyes onto me, watching every move. My feet walked towards the broken shards, threw my cigarette down, a
OLIVIA“You’d better eat before you starve.”Like anyone really cared. The guard muttered to me, pushing a tray of food towards me with a long stick they’d constantly used to hit me.I didn’t even take a look at it. One glance and I knew I’d puke into the disgusting food.I was tired. Weak. Worst
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.Two days later…“Sei pronto?” [Are you ready?]Viper asked me, peeking in from the door.Was I ready? Maybe. I wasn’t sure anymore.I stared at the mirror for what felt like the thousandth time, and for the first time since I could remember—I prayed.Nothing much, just a littl







