Catch Me If You Can: The Devil of Verona

Renese's pov

The bright red dot of a sniper laser rested right over my heart.

I didn't flinch. Instead, I leaned over the stone railing of the third-story balcony and tossed a piece of fresh salmon down to a black stray cat hiding in the bushes.

A second laser dot appeared on my forehead. A third settled on the back of my neck.

All three snipers were stationed on the towers of the Augustus Manor. All three were connected to private comms. And all three reported directly to one man: Killian.

"You're going to get cold out here, Miss Renese," a smooth voice called out from behind me.

I turned around to see Lane standing by the balcony doors, clad in his usual pristine black suit. Nestor stood right beside him, arms crossed, looking as grim as a thunderstorm. Killian’s top two hitmen—men who could clear a room of enemies in under five seconds—were currently stuck on babysitting duty.

"Lane," I said, giving him my sweetest, most innocent smile. "Did you bring the salmon from the kitchen like I asked?"

"I did," Lane sighed, handing me a small silver container. "Though if the Don finds out I’m using imported fish to feed street cats, he’ll have my head."

"The Don is too sick to care about fish," Nestor grunted, his eyes darting toward the sniper towers. "And you shouldn't be standing near the edge, Renese. Killian’s orders are clear. You stay inside where the cameras can see you."

"Killian orders too many things," I murmured, plucking another piece of salmon and dropping it over the edge. "Besides, I know the snipers won't shoot me. Killian would skin them alive if they even scratched my skin."

Nestor shifted uncomfortably, but he didn't argue. He knew it was the truth.

To the rest of the world, I was just Renese Augustus—the fragile stepsister who collected glass art, painted canvases, and played with stray animals. I was the harmless girl who entered this bloody empire ten years ago after my father, Police Commissioner Dimitri, was gunned down in broad daylight.

The public thought my father was killed by street gangs. I knew better. Don Augustus ordered the hit because my father found evidence capable of tearing down the Five Families.

After my father died, Don Augustus married my mother, Eleanor, putting on a show of mercy. But my mother wasn't stupid. She knew she had stepped into a viper's nest. The stress, the secret threats, and the golden cage broke her. Exactly one year after marrying the Don, her heart gave out, leaving an eight-year-old me completely alone in this massive fortress.

Or so they thought.

"You should go inside," Lane said gently, stepping closer. "The Don called a family meeting in the grand dining room. Killian is already down there."

"Is he?" My chest tightened at his name.

"Yes," Nestor added, his voice dropping low. "And you'll want to hear what the old man has to say."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped my fingers with a cloth. "Alright. Let's go see what the Devil of Verona wants."

The grand dining room felt more like a courtroom.

A massive chandelier hung over a long mahogany table. At the head sat Don Augustus, looking pale, frail, and hollowed out by illness. But his eyes were still as sharp as broken glass.

To his right stood Killian.

My heart did a traitorous flip at the sight of him. He was twenty-five now, tall, broad-shouldered, and impossibly handsome in a dark, terrifying way. He wore a tailored black suit, his dark hair pushed back, his jaw tight. He looked cold. Unreachable. A true monster in the making.

He didn't look at me when I walked in. He never did anymore.

"Renese," Don Augustus rasped, coughing into a handkerchief. "Sit down."

I took my seat near the middle of the table, keeping my hands folded in my lap, acting like the dutiful, timid daughter.

"I don't have much time left," the Don began, his voice raspy. "The other four families are getting restless. The Castel family controls the judges, the Beaumonts control the press, the Mikaelsons control the docks. But the Thaddeus family... they control the money. And without money, weapons are useless."

I kept my face completely blank, but my mind was racing.

"To secure our crown before I pass," Don Augustus continued, looking directly at Killian, "we need an alliance that cannot be broken. Killian will marry Camilla Thaddeus."

The air left my lungs all at once.

 *Marry?*

I stared at Killian, waiting for him to object, waiting for him to burn the room down like he usually did when his father pushed him. But Killian just stood there, his face carved out of ice.

"The announcement will be made at the ball this weekend," Don Augustus said, leaning back. "That is all."

Killian turned on his heel and walked out of the room without saying a single word to me.

The moment I locked my bedroom door, the tears spilled over.

I sank onto the floor, clutching my knees to my chest as anger and jealousy burned through my veins. *Camilla Thaddeus.* She was rich, powerful, and gorgeous.

"No," I whispered to the empty room, wiping my face aggressively. "No, I won't let him do this."

Killian had spent three years treating me like a stranger, hiding behind cameras and cold stares. But I knew the truth. I knew the way his heart hammered when he accidentally touched my hand. I knew he was still obsessed with me.

"I'll make you love me again," I muttered, staring at the ceiling where a hidden camera sat concealed in the vent. "I'll force you to admit it, Killian. Even if I have to burn this entire empire down."

I pulled out a sleek laptop from beneath a secret floorboard under my bed. I didn't just collect art; I knew how to navigate the dark web better than the Beaumont family's top hackers.

My fingers flew across the keyboard. I needed dirt on Camilla. I needed something to blow this engagement to pieces before the weekend.

It took a while before I could bypass the Thaddeus firewall, but I did eventually. I expected to find scandals, hidden lovers, or black-market accounts.

Instead, I found a voice file sent from Camilla’s phone to her father three days ago.

I plugged in my earphones and hit play.

*"I told you, Father, I don't want this,"* Camilla's smooth, arrogant voice echoed in my ears. *"Killian Augustus is a lunatic. Marrying him is a death sentence. Find someone else to buy your alliance."*

I paused the recording, my eyebrows pulling together.

Camilla didn't want him.

A dark, slow smile spread across my face. I slammed the laptop shut and hid it under the floorboard. If Camilla hated this marriage as much as I did, It would make everything much easier.

An hour later, I slipped out of my room. The hallway was dimly lit, silent except for the faint hum of the estate’s generator.

I needed to head down to the library to grab the schedules for the upcoming ball, but as I turned the corner near the grand staircase, a large hand shot out from the shadows.

Before I could gasp, I was slammed back against the wall.

A heavy body pinned me in place. The overwhelming scent of expensive bourbon, leather, and gunpowder filled my nose.

I opened my eyes and looked straight into a pair of stormy, dark eyes.

Killian.

His grip on my waist was agonizingly tight, his chest rising and falling against mine. His dark hair was slightly messy, and his jaw was set so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek.

"Where do you think you're going, Renese?" he growled. 

"Killian," I breathed, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. "You're hurting me."

He didn't let go. Instead, his fingers dug deeper into my waist, dragging me impossibly closer until there was no space left between us. His gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second before snapping back to my eyes.

"I saw you crying," he whispered, his hot breath brushing against my skin. "Stop playing games."

"I'm not playing games," I challenged, leaning up slightly, testing him. "Are you really going to marry her?"

Killian’s grip tightened until I could barely breathe. He leaned down, his lips almost brushing the shell of my ear. 

"Stay in your place, little sister," he whispered coldly, his grip burning through my clothes. "You don't belong in my world.”