MasukChapter One Hundred Fifty FourElena’s POVDarkness swallowed the room so completely it felt like the walls had pressed their hands over my eyes. The alarm screamed through the mansion, sharp and relentless, drilling straight into my skull. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might tear through my ribs.“Valerio,” I whispered.He was already moving.A soft glow flared as emergency lights blinked on along the floor, red strips cutting through the dark. He crossed the room in two strides, one hand at my back, the other pulling a concealed panel open behind the steel cabinet.“Stay close,” he said. “Do not let go of me.”I nodded even though my throat had closed.The panel slid aside and revealed a narrow stairwell spiraling down. The air that rushed up from below was cold and smelled of stone and oil. Before I could ask where it led, another explosion shook the mansion. Dust rained from the ceiling. Somewhere above us glass shattered.“They are inside,” I breathed.“Yes,” he replied c
Chapter One Hundred Fifty ThreeValerio’s POVThe gunfire echoed through the mansion like thunder tearing through stone.I did not think. I moved.Training took over. Instinct. Years of violence compressed into seconds. I fired twice more, precise, controlled. One man went down hard near the doorway. Another slammed into the wall, screaming as his weapon clattered across the floor.“Elena, stay behind me,” I ordered.She did not argue. She pressed herself against my back, shaking, her hands fisted in my shirt like she was anchoring herself to life.More footsteps. Too many.This was not a hit. This was a message.I dragged her toward the hidden corridor behind the bookcase, my free hand slamming the release. The wall slid open just as bullets tore through the air where we had been standing seconds earlier.We disappeared into darkness.The passage smelled of iron and oil. Emergency lights flickered red along the walls. I could hear my men shouting through comms, returning fire, sealin
Chapter One Hundred Fifty TwoElena’s POVThe darkness pressed in on me like a living thing.I could hear my own breathing too loud, too fast, while the echo of that voice still rang in my ears. Russian. Calm. Certain. Like the speaker knew exactly where I was and had all the time in the world to reach me.My name.He had said my name.Valerio moved instantly, every trace of softness gone. He pushed me deeper into the room and closed the door silently, turning the lock with a controlled click.“Do not make a sound,” he whispered.My heart hammered so violently I was sure they could hear it through the walls. I nodded, pressing my hand over my mouth as if that would keep my fear from spilling out.Outside the room, boots hit marble floors. Voices murmured sharply. Orders were given and answered. I could hear Valerio’s men moving fast, disciplined, deadly.Valerio stepped away from me just long enough to open a hidden panel in the wall. A steel safe slid out silently.He pulled out a gu
Chapter One Hundred Fifty OneElena’s POVThe hallway felt longer than it had minutes ago.Each step echoed too loudly beneath my bare feet, my heart thudding in sync with the sound. I did not know where I was going. I only knew I needed space. Air. Distance from the truth I had just uncovered.I was not a coincidence.I was history.I was blood.I reached the guest wing and pushed open the first door I saw. It shut behind me with a soft click that sounded final. I leaned against it, palms pressed to the wood, breathing hard like I had run miles instead of rooms.My mother.A Russian mafia lord.Valerio knew before he ever looked at me with anything that resembled interest.Before he protected me.Before he punished anyone for touching me.Before he let me close.My chest tightened so sharply I thought I might scream.Was anything real?The way he held me when I fainted.The way he watched me sleep.The way his voice changed when he said my name.I slid down the door until I was sitti
Chapter One Hundred Forty NineElena’s POVMorning came quietly, like it was afraid of waking the house.I opened my eyes to pale Italian light slipping through sheer curtains. The room smelled faintly of rain and leather and something expensive I could never name. For a few seconds, I let myself pretend nothing had happened. No torture. No blood. No threats. No ocean nights that felt too perfect to be real.Then I reached out.The other side of the bed was cold.My chest tightened.Valerio was gone.I pushed myself upright slowly, my body still weak, my head heavy. The doctor’s words echoed in my mind. Rest. No stress. No sudden movements. As if my life had ever followed instructions.I wrapped the robe tighter around myself and swung my legs off the bed. The mansion was too quiet. Not peaceful. Watchful. Like a place holding its breath.I stepped into the hallway.Two guards stood at the far end, straight-backed, eyes forward. They nodded respectfully but did not speak. I felt sudde
Chapter One Hundred Forty EightElena’s POVThe sun was almost gone when Valerio took my hand and led me up the private stairs to the top deck. The wind hit me first, warm and wild, tugging at the white shirt I wore, his shirt, the only thing covering me. It smelled like him, clean cotton and skin and that darker note that was only Valerio. The hem brushed the tops of my thighs with every step, threatening to lift higher.My body still hummed from everything below deck. Every muscle felt loose and used, skin tender in the most delicious places. I was sore in ways I had never been before, and I loved it. Loved the ache between my legs that reminded me how thoroughly he had taken me. Loved the faint sting on my ass from the paddle. Loved the way my nipples brushed the inside of the shirt and sent little sparks straight to my core.He stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled me against him. His mouth found mine instantly, hungry and deep, one hand sliding under the shirt to cup my bar







