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CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR (ELI'S POV)
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2025-05-05 08:08:12Luca wasn’t sleeping.
He was usually calm and a man of few words but lately his tongue has been moving non stop as he barks orders and curses in Italian.I could tell by the way he paced through the study like a caged animal, sleeves rolled up, hair disheveled, tie discarded. Matteo sat in an armchair with a glass of scotch in his hand, but his usual sarcasm and charisma was gone. The war with Ricci was rattling them in ways I’d never seen before.I didn’t think gods could spiral.But these two? They were coming undone, quietly… dangerously.It didn’t help that Ricci’s move was still circulating across media and markets. Our victory yesterday was only temporary—he would retaliate. And deep down, we knew it.I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “We need to figure out his next move.”“We can’t predict it,” Luca muttered. “He’s not playing by the usual rules. He's emotional. Irrational.”“He’s in love,” Ma
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The world slowed.Sound dulled beneath the roar in my ears, and I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Only watch.Rossi men and Ricci had broken the rules of the nocturne and were exchanging gunfire.Panic grew in me but it wasn’t the pain in his eyes or the way his knees buckled that sent me into panic, it was Matteo’s silence.Matteo had frozen after Luca went down. There was a second where his eyes scanned the crowd, wide and unblinking, taking in the chaos, the blood on his don’s shirt, the cracked marble under his feet. Then, something shifted in him. Something dark.I feared that for the first time, I was finally witnessing Matteo Marino. The devil the world feared.He straightened slowly, rolling his neck like a predator waking from a long slumber.A moment later, the gunfire stopped. No more screams. Just silence.He didn’t speak.His fists clenched at his
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The night air clung to my skin like a blanket, thick and heavy, laced with the smell of gasoline, blood, and ash. My steps were slow as I walked across the blood-slick pavement, boots grinding broken glass and shattered bones beneath them without a care.Three hours.That’s how long it took me to reduce The Garrison to a graveyard.And it still wasn’t enough.It would never be enough.My knuckles were torn open, my knife slick with blood but there was a dangerous calm in my movements, like a wolf after a kill, already scenting the next sign of weakness.I wasn’t the strategist tonight. Not the brother, not the shadow at Luca’s side.Tonight, I was the beast beneath the suit. The one they whispered about when they spoke of retribution. The one the Circle watched from the corner of their eyes, wondering if they’d ever be able to leash me.And now?They had ever
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The first thing I felt when I woke up was pain. Not the dull, numbing kind that fades under morphine and good intentions, but the sharp, punishing kind that feels like it’s chewing through your bones. My chest was wrapped in tight bandages, soaked with something I didn’t want to think about. My breathing was shallow, forced, like every inhale came with a knife to the ribs.I opened my eyes slowly. My room was dark, the only source of light was the moon coming in through the half-open curtains, casting silver lines across the floor and ceiling. I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, letting the pain wash over me. My mouth was dry. My body felt like it had been steamrolled and set on fire. But I was alive.Somehow.With a slow, agonizing turn of my head, I glanced toward the balcony.And froze.A figure sat in the chair by the doors, still as a statue.My breath caught. My instincts screamed
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Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER NINETY THREE (RICCI'S POV)
The first thing I felt when I woke up was pain. Not the dull, numbing kind that fades under morphine and good intentions, but the sharp, punishing kind that feels like it’s chewing through your bones. My chest was wrapped in tight bandages, soaked with something I didn’t want to think about. My breathing was shallow, forced, like every inhale came with a knife to the ribs.I opened my eyes slowly. My room was dark, the only source of light was the moon coming in through the half-open curtains, casting silver lines across the floor and ceiling. I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, letting the pain wash over me. My mouth was dry. My body felt like it had been steamrolled and set on fire. But I was alive.Somehow.With a slow, agonizing turn of my head, I glanced toward the balcony.And froze.A figure sat in the chair by the doors, still as a statue.My breath caught. My instincts screamed
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER NINETY TWO (MATTEO'S POV)
The night air clung to my skin like a blanket, thick and heavy, laced with the smell of gasoline, blood, and ash. My steps were slow as I walked across the blood-slick pavement, boots grinding broken glass and shattered bones beneath them without a care.Three hours.That’s how long it took me to reduce The Garrison to a graveyard.And it still wasn’t enough.It would never be enough.My knuckles were torn open, my knife slick with blood but there was a dangerous calm in my movements, like a wolf after a kill, already scenting the next sign of weakness.I wasn’t the strategist tonight. Not the brother, not the shadow at Luca’s side.Tonight, I was the beast beneath the suit. The one they whispered about when they spoke of retribution. The one the Circle watched from the corner of their eyes, wondering if they’d ever be able to leash me.And now?They had ever
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The car ride home was quiet.Too quiet.Except for the slow ragged breathing sounds coming from Luca.The silence was thick and suffocating, holding on to every word we wanted to say and not letting it go.Luca was slumped against Matteo, unconscious and bleeding despite the pressure we tried to keep on the wound. The car smelled of blood and antiseptic wipes. I couldn’t stop staring at the red on my hands.It wasn’t just blood anymore. It was a memory of everything that had transpired today. What hurt the most? It was all because of me.The moment Matteo carved his name into his chest played in my head on a loop. The ferocity in his movements. The way he looked at Ricci like he was something to destroy, to dominate, to ruin. And he did. He almost killed him.And then Ricci’s words…“I must say, this wasn't planned me but I'll take the honors since the mastermind won't sho
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Pain wasn’t new to me. It was an old friend. A loyal companion that had clung to me like smoke ever since I learned what power tasted like. It whispered lullabies to me in the dead of night and screamed alongside me in the bloodiest moments of my reign. A familiar melody, haunting every empire I’d built, every blade I’d gripped tight enough to draw my own blood. I’d been stabbed, burned, broken. I’d survived car bombs and betrayal, seen death up close and laughed in its face. But this? This wasn’t pain I could laugh at. This was Matteo’s kind of pain. White-hot. Intimate in the way only lovers and executioners can manage. It wasn’t just an attack, it was a message. A message etched not in words, but in torn flesh and stolen breath. I lay sprawled on the cathedral floor, the blood pooling beneath me like an offe
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER EIGHTY NINE (ELI'S POV)
They fought, flesh on flesh, fists colliding with bone. Ricci drew a blade. Matteo grabbed it barehanded and twisted until metal bent. Ricci punched him in the jaw. Matteo didn’t even flinch.Then he bit him.Bit him.Ricci screamed as Matteo tore into his shoulder like a rabid dog, then drove his elbow into his gut so hard I heard ribs crack.Blood pooled around their feet.“Stop him!” one of Ricci’s guards yelled.But no one moved.Not the Circle.Not the dancers.Not even Luca.Because they wanted this.They wanted blood.Ricci was not just some crime lord wrapped in arrogance he moved like a trained assassin. His elbow struck against Matteo’s temple and the younger man reeled.They exchanged blows, Matteo’s knife slashing, Ricci fighting with another jagged blade drawn from his belt. They were teeth and fury and violence wrapped in designer suits.Blood s
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER EIGHTY EIGHT (ELI'S POV)
The world slowed.Sound dulled beneath the roar in my ears, and I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Only watch.Rossi men and Ricci had broken the rules of the nocturne and were exchanging gunfire.Panic grew in me but it wasn’t the pain in his eyes or the way his knees buckled that sent me into panic, it was Matteo’s silence.Matteo had frozen after Luca went down. There was a second where his eyes scanned the crowd, wide and unblinking, taking in the chaos, the blood on his don’s shirt, the cracked marble under his feet. Then, something shifted in him. Something dark.I feared that for the first time, I was finally witnessing Matteo Marino. The devil the world feared.He straightened slowly, rolling his neck like a predator waking from a long slumber.A moment later, the gunfire stopped. No more screams. Just silence.He didn’t speak.His fists clenched at his
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN (ELI'S POV)
The man led us deeper into the cathedral—past arches so high they disappeared into shadow, down a corridor that was filled with low, humming music. The walls changed here—old stone giving way to polished black marble with silver streaks that shimmered under the flickering torchlight. It felt like walking into the heart of a living thing, ancient and waiting. It was eerie. We reached a vast chamber lit only by a chandelier shaped like a web of daggers, and there they stood—five figures arranged in a half circle like the points of a crown. The Circle. I didn’t know what I expected. Perhaps cloaked wraiths, faceless judges? But no. They were human. Real. Terrifyingly so. An older woman stood at the far left, her gray hair twisted into an elegant coil, her eyes sharp and knowing. She wore a deep blue gown with shoulder armor carved from onyx. Beside her, a man with skin like aged copper and eyes so
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER EIGHTY SIX (ELI'S POV)
The cathedral loomed like a ruin stolen from a dark god itself—gothic and towering, its obsidian towers piercing the sky, its stained glass windows glinting crimson under the moonlight. Ivy curled like dark veins over the stone, and iron torches flared with blue fire at its entrance, casting shadows that moved like spirits. It was truly something worthy of the dark underworld and the Rossi's had prepared it perfectly. My heartbeat thrummed in my ears as we stepped out of the car, cloaked in night and secrecy. The Rossi family arrived in style—because anything less would be a weakness. Matteo wore a black velvet coat lined with crimson at the edges, embroidered with subtle red that shimmered as he walked. His mask, slick and silver like the predator that he is, covered half his face, revealing a sharp jawline and lips made for sin. Luca’s suit was obsidian silk, tailored like a second
Bound by blood and lies CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR (ELI'S POV)
Luca wasn’t sleeping.He was usually calm and a man of few words but lately his tongue has been moving non stop as he barks orders and curses in Italian.I could tell by the way he paced through the study like a caged animal, sleeves rolled up, hair disheveled, tie discarded. Matteo sat in an armchair with a glass of scotch in his hand, but his usual sarcasm and charisma was gone. The war with Ricci was rattling them in ways I’d never seen before.I didn’t think gods could spiral.But these two? They were coming undone, quietly… dangerously.It didn’t help that Ricci’s move was still circulating across media and markets. Our victory yesterday was only temporary—he would retaliate. And deep down, we knew it.I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “We need to figure out his next move.”“We can’t predict it,” Luca muttered. “He’s not playing by the usual rules. He's emotional. Irrational.”“He’s in love,” Ma
