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Chapter 40
Last Updated:
2025-10-28 10:55:25
Latest chapter
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride Chapter 108
THE INCUBATOR~ANYA POV~The sun is too bright.It mocks me. It rises through the balcony doors, casting harsh, cheerful rectangles of light across the floor as if the world didn't end last night. As if my father wasn't put on a plane and sent away forever. As if my brother didn't look through a scope and decide he couldn't save me.I sit on the edge of the bed, my hands folded in my lap.César has been gone for hours. The space beside me is cold.A maid comes in…a different one this time….carrying a bundle of fresh linens. She keeps her head down as she strips the bed. She pulls away the sheets that smell of the sex I disassociated from, the sheets that witnessed my silence and César's frustration. She bundles them up, erasing the memory of the night, and replaces them with crisp, clean white cotton.I don't move. I let her work around me like I am a piece of furniture.I feel hollow. The space inside my chest where my fight used to be is empty, scraped clean by the realization that
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 107
THE WATCHER~DIEGO POV~{24 HOURS EARLIER}The plastic edge of the safety glasses pressed into my head, which was wet with sweat.It was eighty degrees in Marbella, and the sun was going down, leaving behind a hot and sticky feeling on my skin. I lay on my stomach in the dirt, the scent of crushed pine needles and dry earth filling my nose, but I was shivering.I wasn't shaking from the cold. I was shaking from a rage so pure, so concentrated, it felt like it was boiling my blood.Through the high-powered scope of the rifle...an old Remington I'd bought off a shady contact in Madrid for three times its worth..the world was magnified.I saw the crystal chandeliers hanging from the olive trees. I saw the waiters moving like ants in white jackets. I saw the glint of diamonds and the flash of silk.And I saw him.César Navarro.He stood near the buffet table, looking like a god of the underworld in his tuxedo. He was holding a glass of whiskey, laughing at something a man next to him said
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 106
THE CLAIM~ANYA POV~The door clicked shut, cutting off the noise of the party downstairs.The silence in the bedroom was sudden and deep. It rang in my ears. I stood in the middle of the room, breathing hard, the black silk dress feeling more like a heavy blanket than clothing.César didn't say a word. He walked over to the side table and poured a glass of amber liquid. He drank it in one long swallow, his throat moving. He looked calm. He looked like a man who hadn't just threatened to murder my entire family five minutes ago.He set the glass down with a sharp clink."You look tense, Anya," he said, not turning around. "The deal is done. Your father is safe. Your brother is safe. You should be... grateful.""I am," I forced out. The words felt like a rock in my throat.He turned then. His eyes weren't cold; They looked ready to attack. He walked towards me smoothly and seemed threatening."Prove it," he said, his voice dropping to a private threat. "But first, you need to understan
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 105
THE REUNION~ANYA POV~César's hand felt heavy on my lower back as he guided us toward the head tableMy father was walking beside me, but he looked as if he were in a trance. He kept glancing from the armed guards to the silk tablecloths, his face pale and clammy. He smelled like sawdust and Old Spice...a scent of home that made my chest ache....but the man wearing it felt like a stranger. He was terrified.We reached the table. It was a nightmare arrangement: César in the middle, me on his right, my dad on his left. We were on display for the three hundred guests watching our every move."Sit," César said pleasantly, pulling out my chair.I sat. My father sank into the chair next to me, his movements stiff."So, Marcel," César said, pouring vintage wine into my father's glass as if they were old friends. "How was the flight?"My dad stared at the wine swirling in the crystal glass. He looked like he wanted to throw it in César's face. His hands were clenched into fists on his lap, t
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 104
THE GUEST OF HONOR~ANYA POV~The mirror didn't show a bride-to-be. It showed a car crash victim in a ballgown.I stared at my reflection. The dress César had picked out was stunning...a deep, midnight-blue silk that hugged every curve and pooled on the floor like liquid ink. It was backless, sleeveless, and cost more than my parents' house.But I couldn't look at the dress. I could only look at my head.A thick, stark white bandage was wrapped around my forehead, covering the gash where César had smashed my skull against the yacht railing."It looks ugly," I whispered, my fingers hovering over the gauze. "Everyone is going to stare."César stood behind me, adjusting his cufflinks. He looked impeccable in a tuxedo, the picture of the grieving, supportive fiancé. He met my eyes in the glass."Let them stare," he said calmly.He reached into a small velvet box on the vanity. He pulled out a brooch. It was shaped like a flower, made of diamonds and sapphires. He didn't pin it to my dress
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 103
THE DROWNING~ANYA POV~The yacht wasn't just a boat. It was a floating palace, glowing white against the black water of the harbor.It was beautiful, in the way a sharp knife is beautiful. I stood on the dock, staring at the gold letters painted across the hull.'THE ESMERALDA.' My middle name.My stomach turned over. It wasn't a romantic move. It was a brand. He'd named a multi-million dollar vessel after me like he was tagging cattle. It was his way of telling the ocean, the sky, and everyone in Spain that he owned me."Do you like it?" César asked. He was standing right behind me, his chest brushing my back. His hand rested heavy on the nape of my neck, fingers toying with the baby hairs there."It's... a lot," I whispered."It's yours," he said.He guided me up the ramp. I didn't want to go. My feet felt like lead. Every step away from the solid ground felt like a mistake, but his grip on my neck was firm. Not painful, just... present. A reminder.We had dinner on the upper deck.
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