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CHAPTER EIGHTY TWO (ELI'S POV)

Penulis: Abby Gale
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-05-04 08:00:20

I stood there, still in the doorway, watching Luca’s face go blank as he got lost in his thoughts and Matteo’s jaw tightened until the muscle ticked. The silence was thick and suffocating, like a cord wrapped around our necks.

I didn’t have to ask what Ricci said. I knew him too well. I knew the manner in which he delivers his threats—smooth like silk, sharp like glass. I knew the weight of his words when he meant them. And I could feel it now, pressing into the room like an anvil.

He was here.

In America.

My chest tightened—not with fear, not exactly. It was something far more dangerous than that. Guilt. Longing. A bitter cocktail of what was and what should’ve never been. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.

I turned away without a word.

The hallway was quiet as I walked through it, too quiet, like the house itself was holding its breath. My footsteps echoed in the silence, unsteady, like they
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  • Bound by blood and lies   CHAPTER NINETY FIVE (ELI'S POV)

    The warehouse on the edge of the city had been abandoned for years, it was once a cigarette factory, now it was nothing more than a shell of its former self. Metal beams jutted out like bones from the exposed ceiling, and the concrete floor has stains from time, blood, and fire. It was a neutral ground, chosen precisely because no family dared claim it. A place where even ghosts kept their silence.Our sleek black SUV pulled up first, its engine purring like a satisfied beast before cutting off. Matteo stepped out, dressed in black from head to toe, his coat billowing slightly in the wind. I followed, trying to match the aesthetic of the moment despite the pounding in my chest. And last was Luca. Still healing but standing tall, his presence radiating control and quiet dominance.Inside, Ricci waited.He was leaning against one of the rusted support beams, arms crossed, a single cigarette dangling between his fingers. His own men stood farther off, sh

  • Bound by blood and lies   CHAPTER NINETY FOUR (ELI'S POV)

    One month later….The sunlight trickled through the curtains, casting long, golden lines across the marble floor of Luca’s bedroom. It had been over a month since the chaos, since blood coated walls and revenge burned hotter than fire in Matteo’s eyes. And somehow, I was still here. Still breathing, still stuck in a war between men who all seemed to want a piece of me, for love, for power, or for reasons I was still too afraid to uncover.Luca sat across from me, leaning against the plush mountain of pillows like a dark king in his sanctuary. He was almost fully healed now. The stitches had come off a week ago, the bruises fading into nothing but pale yellow on his olive skin. He looked better, yes. But war had a way of changing even the most beautiful of men.I stabbed a piece of grilled chicken with my fork and popped it into my mouth, chewing slowly, eyes flicking between the two men beside me. Matteo hadn’t said a word since we sat down.

  • 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

  • Bound by blood and lies   CHAPTER NINETY ONE (ELI'S POV)

    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

  • Bound by blood and lies   CHAPTER NINETY (RICCI'S POV)

    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

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