DAMIAN“Let’s visit your brother in the hospital,” I said, my eyes locking on Richard.He froze. Shock flickered across his face, sharp and undeniable. I had never once referred to Diego as his brother. To me, he was just Diego. Nothing more. But today, I chose different words, and I saw how they cut through him.His lips parted slightly, like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how. The yearning in his expression was hard to miss; I could tell he wanted them close again. Yet whatever broke them apart wasn’t mine to fix it was their family’s cross to bear, not mine.“Why, boss?” he asked carefully.The words slid like a blade across my nerves. My gaze snapped to him, sharp and deadly. No one no soldier, no man under my command ever dared to ask why, boss. The only soul in this world with that right was my Isabella.Richard must have felt the air grow heavy, because his shoulders stiffened immediately.“I’m sorry, boss,” he blurted, bowing his head.I rose from my chair without
MATTEOThe bastard strutted in like the whole damn place belonged to him. Shoulders loose, grin sharp, his eyes glittered with mischief as though every ounce of tension in the room was a private joke.“Bonjour, Matteo,” Ricardo drawled, his words spilling out like smoke in the dark, curling into the air with a taunt only I could taste.“Bonjour, Ricardo… j’ai attendu ton arrivée,” I replied in French, forcing my mouth into something that resembled a smile. My jaw ached from the effort.He stepped forward and offered his hand. I took it. His palm was warm, damp, clinging longer than it should. My skin crawled. The moment he released me, my fingers twitched with the urge to grab the sanitizer Andrew kept for moments like this.If he weren’t a piece on my chessboard, he’d already be dead. How dare he walk into my office, into my company, with that swagger? My brother had the chance to finish him and didn’t. A mistake. But for me, keeping Ricardo breathing served a purpose. Dead men can’t
MATTEOEverything is unfolding exactly as I planned. The clock is ticking, and with every second, I can almost taste my brother’s downfall. Damian thinks France was a punishment, a way to exile me and keep me from the throne. What he doesn’t know is that I, Matteo Vercetti, turned his little game into my playground. I saved his enemies, nurtured his traitors, and now I’ll use them as the blades that cut him down.The stem of my wine glass groaned under the pressure of my grip. The city stretched before me in the night buildings glittering, traffic crawling like blood through veins but all I saw was him. Damian. His face twisted into my reflection, mocking me from the dark pane. The anger swelling in my chest crested like a wave, and with a sharp snap, the glass exploded in my hand.Shards cut into my skin, red beads sliding down my wrist and staining the cuff of my shirt. For a moment, I simply watched them, transfixed. Pain didn’t matter. In fact, it grounded me, reminded me of every
MATTEOIsabella’s voice echoed in my head long after the call ended. “Will you help me?”The words weren’t just a plea they were a blade twisting in my chest. I stared down at the phone in my hand, spinning slowly in my chair, the leather creaking under me. This was the woman I loved. The woman who should have been mine. And yet, she belonged to my brother. Damian. My elder brother. My rival in everything that mattered.One decision, one step in her direction, and I would rip apart the bond of blood between us. I knew Damian my brother would burn cities, slaughter armies, destroy anyone who dared take what was his.But Isa didn’t know what I knew. She believed her family’s death was her brother’s fault, a blood debt owed to mine. She had no idea the truth had been poisoned long before that night. I had known for a while now it was the Greco family who planted the lie, who framed her brother, who burned her world to ash. And I watched as Damian hunted shadows, thinking he held control,
DAMIAN“What do you want to do?” she asked.Her voice was steady, but I caught the flicker in her eyes the faint trace of fear she thought she could hide.I smirked, leaning back like a predator who already knew the outcome of the hunt. Who would have thought Liliana, the proud daughter of that family, would end up working for me? But I knew she would. I had done my research, dug deep into her life. Her so-called brothers leeches in expensive suits were bleeding her dry, turning her against her father, stealing her victories as if they were their own. Scum. All of them.Liliana deserved better than to rot in their shadows. She was sharper than they would ever be. Stronger too.But none of that excused the threat she posed to me. She had grown too close to Isabella my Isabella. The thought of them whispering secrets, of Isa pointing a gun at me because of this woman, still burned. Isa belonged to me. She always would. And if I had to rip this fragile bond apart piece by piece, then so
LILIANAThe door creaked open, spilling a slice of dim light into the basement. Damian’s footsteps echoed against the concrete floor, slow and deliberate, like he was announcing his power with every step. My chest tightened.“What do you want from me?” My voice cracked as it bounced off the cold stone walls.He didn’t flinch. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, locked on me as he pulled a chair into the room. “Nothing much. Have a seat.” He pointed at it like he was offering me tea instead of a death sentence.I froze. What game was he playing? This was the same man who had ordered his men to kill me without blinking. Now he wanted me to sit? Suspicion crawled under my skin. He should have tied me up, chained me down but instead, he let me loose. His expression was a mask, impossible to read, and that made him even more terrifying. What was the mighty Damian up to?Slowly, I lowered myself into the chair, though my pulse hammered so hard it felt like it might crack my ribs. The metal legs