تسجيل الدخولEmilia POV
I was twenty-six weeks pregnant, and the physical toll was constant. My belly was huge, my back ached, and I felt a heavy, sinking feeling in my chest. Axel was distant, more than usual. I knew he was hiding something, and Isabella felt it too."Dante seems different lately," Isabella said while we had tea. "More secretive. Tense.""He's the Don," I replied, trying to brush it off."This is different. I heard from a guard that he visited someone upstate last weeEmilia POVI was twenty-six weeks pregnant, and the physical toll was constant. My belly was huge, my back ached, and I felt a heavy, sinking feeling in my chest. Axel was distant, more than usual. I knew he was hiding something, and Isabella felt it too."Dante seems different lately," Isabella said while we had tea. "More secretive. Tense.""He's the Don," I replied, trying to brush it off."This is different. I heard from a guard that he visited someone upstate last week. At the federal prison."My blood froze. Vincent was in that prison. I begged Isabella to find out for sure. An hour later, she returned with a grim face. It was true. Axel had spent an hour with Vincent last Tuesday. Pure rage took over. When Axel came home at nine PM, I didn't wait."Did you visit Vincent?" I demanded.He froze. The guilt was written all over his face. "Yes," he finally admitted.I shattered a water glass against the wall. "YOU PROMISED! You swore no more
Axel POV"What do we do about the DeLuca family?" I asked, looking around the mahogany table at my captains.Ricci didn't hesitate. "Hit them back. Hard.""That starts a war, Ricci," I countered."We're already in a war. They just haven't made it official yet.""There has to be another way," I argued, but the room was silent."There isn't," Ricci said. "Not with families like the DeLucas. They only understand strength. They want our territory. Period."The DeLuca problem escalated. They wanted our Brooklyn territory, claiming Vincent had stolen it years ago. I had inherited a mess I didn't create, and now their crew was harassing our businesses and scaring off customers.I was stuck. I had no good options: violence or surrender. Both were unacceptable."Vincent dealt with the DeLucas for twenty years," another captain said. "He kept them in line.""How?" I asked."Leverage. He had something on the old Don. Something that kept th
EMILIA POVI heard voices drifting from the living room, the low, jagged rumble of Axel’s voice and a softer, melodic tone that felt like a ghost from my past. Getting out of bed at twenty-two weeks was no longer a simple movement; it was a feat of engineering. I rolled to my side, pushed off the mattress, and felt the familiar, heavy pressure in my lower back. My skin felt tight, stretched to its limit by the life growing inside me.I waddled toward the living room, my hand instinctively supporting the weight of my bump. When I turned the corner, I stopped dead.Isabella.She looked thinner, her face etched with a new exhaustion, and a jagged scar traced a path across her neck. But her eyes were the same."Isabella?" My voice cracked.She turned, and for a second, her stoic mask shattered. A weak, tearful smile broke through. "Hello, Emilia."I moved as fast as my swollen ankles allowed and pulled her into a hug. She gasped, wincing as her s
Axel POV"The terms are simple," I said into the phone, leaning back in the leather chair. "You use our trucks, and your cargo is guaranteed to reach the border. My men handle the checkpoints. In return, you pay the ten percent loyalty tax. Do we have a deal?"The business partner on the other end hesitated, the silence stretching across the line before he finally agreed. I hung up, feeling the heavy weight of the mahogany desk in front of me. Three months as Don felt like three years. I was surrounded by blood money and the constant, suffocating pressure of maintaining the Moretti empire. Every decision felt like a step further away from the man I used to be.Captain Ricci sat across from me, his face a mask of stone. Two other captains, Moretti and Gallo, stood by his side like shadows, their presence making the room feel smaller.
Emilia's POVThe meeting was set for noon at a restaurant in Little Italy, deep in Moretti territory. Angelo drove us there, offering last-minute advice to Axel."Remember," Angelo warned. "You’re Carlo’s son. Act like it. Be confident and strong. These men only respect power.""I’m nothing like my father," Axel snapped."For today, you have to be. At least on the surface."We arrived to find the restaurant closed for a private event. The street was crawling with guards and men in suits, all watching us as we walked inside. Twenty men sat at a long table, the captains and underbosses of the Moretti hierarchy. They stood when Axel entered, though I couldn't tell if it was out of genuine respect or just to size him up."Gentlemen," Angelo announced. "Dante Moretti. Carlo’s son. Your new Don."Silence gripped the room until an older man spoke. It was Captain Ricci, the former second-in-command to Vincent. He had gray hair, sharp eyes, and a dangerous aura."Dante," Ricci said. "We heard
AXEL POVThree weeks of playing Vincent's obedient heir.Three weeks of hell.But Angelo's plan was ready.Marcus and Rafe had arrived in New York two days ago.Vincent's men caught them.Threw them in the basement cells.They thought I killed Marco.Hated me.I couldn't risk telling them the truth.Not with Vincent's surveillance everywhere.Tonight, everything changed.Angelo called at 10 PM."It's happening. FBI moves at midnight. Be ready.""Ready for what?""Chaos. When they raid, get Em and run. East exit. My car will be waiting.""What about Marcus and Rafe?""My inside man releases them during the confusion. They'll find their own way out.""And Vincent?""Isabella's evidence is solid. Financial crimes. RICO charges. Murder conspiracy. He's going away for life.""You're sure?""Positive. Just be ready."He hung up.I found Em in our suite."It's happening.







