Blurb: "You're going to operate on me, Dottoressa Bianchi. And you're going to make damn sure I live." Damiano Valentini'e voice is low, commanding and terrifying. But as Dr. Alessia Bianchi stands over the infamous Mafia King, her scalpel trembling, she realizes this is no ordinary patient. Damiano is cursed. Bound by an ancient blood pact that keeps him alive, but in torment, barely alive. Every life he takes feeds his power and fractures his soul. A soul now hanging by a thread. Alessia's world is torn apart when her twin brother vanishes during a secret investigation into the deadly Moretti family. Her only lead? Damiano, the man whispered about in both criminal and supernatural circles. She should run. She should fear him. But instead, she's drawn to him... To his shadows, his secrets, and the darkness behind those sliver eyes. As the delve into the Mafia underworld to uncover her brother's fate, Damiano and Alessia must face bloodthirsty enemies, unravel a deadly curse, and resist a magnetic passion that threatens to burn them both. He is the monster she should hate. She is the light he never thought he'd deserve. But together, they maybe the only ones who can survive the storm.
View MoreAlessia's POV
"Clamp."
"Got it," A nurse said, slapping it into my hand without hesitation.
"Pressure’s dropping," the anesthesiologist warned.
"Not for long," I muttered. I found the tear and sealed it. Blood slowed. "Bleeding’s under control."
"Vitals stabilizing," someone confirmed.
"You’re clear to close, Dr. Bianchi," the resident said, their voice steadier now than when we had started.
I worked on the stitching, trying to be as careful as always.
"Last stitch—" I looped the thread and tied it off. "—Done."
"Nice work, doctor," someone murmured.
I stepped back and peeled off my gloves. My fingers ached.
"Let’s move him to post-op," I said, already heading for the door.
Outside, the hall felt colder and quieter. But the kid was alive. That was the only thing that mattered.
He had been brought in early in the morning. Reports had it that he had been constantly abused by his parents. A bunch of sickos.
"Dr. Bianchi!" A familiar voice called out, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Speaking of sickos. I let out a sigh before turning to meet the sicko who had called me.
"Hi, Dr. Conti," I muttered trying to sound nice.
I couldn't help but stare at the weirdo. He was an ugly old man in his late fifties—short as a twig and round as a ball—with a scalp that was tired of growing hair.
He was the assistant director of the hospital and a pervert. Well, I don't blame him. The ladies in the hospital make him feel like he is special.
I remember the first time I walked into his office. He was all teeth, with sweat breaking from his forehead. He was so quick to dismiss me. But that wasn't before I saw the shoe of a woman poking out from beneath his table.
Since that day he had been acting all nice around me. What he didn't know was that I preferred the cold shoulder he used to give to me.
"I have to say, you are such a talented person. I couldn't help but admire you while you worked."
I forced my lips into a curve. "Thank you, Sir. Coming from you that means a lot."
Yuck! Even saying those words felt disgusting.
I was about to turn when his words made me halt.
"I was wondering..."
I rolled my eyes inwardly. Now what?
"If you would like to go out for dinner with me tonight?"
"Definitely not, you pervert delusional old man!" I thought to myself.
I couldn't say that out loud. This was the third hospital I was working in within just two years—and the longest I've stayed in.
The last thing I needed was to lose my job.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Conti, but I'm feeling a little bit sick, and I need to rest up a bit—" I lied. It was better than getting fired because of some loser, anyway.
"Oh, I understand," He replied.
I smiled, turning around. Thank goodness.
But before I could take a step forward, I felt a hand grip one of my b*tt cheeks.
That was it. F**k the job. I'm killing him.
I turned, slamming him against the wall as I reached for the spare scalpel in my pocket.
"Listen here, Old man," I whispered as I let the scalpel hover above his groin. "The next time your hand touches a part of me, even if it's a strand of my hair, I'm going to make sure I cut off that thing in between your legs that's making you feel like a man. Got it?"
He nodded eagerly as he swallowed hard, his face void of any color.
I let him go and turned to walk away. Luckily for me, the hallway was empty, and no one knew what had happened.
That was a win-win for me.
A few minutes later, I was out of the hospital, in my car, and on my way to my apartment.
I showered and was about to jump on the bed when my alarm rang.
"Argh!" I screamed. Here I was thinking I was going to get a few hours of sleep before heading out.
Sighing, I dressed up in my usual disguise before walking out of the house.
I wasn't only a neurosurgeon that most people know me as, I was also a tourist manager. But what made me different from the others was, "Porta Inferni." That's what we called it—the most dangerous place in the city.
No one comes to Italy again to see the arts and pretty crafts. They came for the dark stuff—what lies in Porta Inferni.
They say it's been run by the devil himself.
Well, I'm the girl who isn't afraid to make a deal with him.
My job was both easy and hard. I go undercover into the gates of hell, check for the places where the most dangerous stuff happens, and then I inform my boss, and it's added to the list of our places to tour. The dark list.
But lately, the Porta Inferni had been quiet. Rumors say it's because the Boss—Salvatore—had been out of town.
No one knew him—or her. We only knew the name, and it scared the shit out of everyone. Well, except for me. After what happened twenty years ago, nothing scared me anymore.
I took a detour down the main street and into the gates of hell. No one bothered stopping me. They all recognized my bike.
I stopped in front of a club, taking off my helmet.
"Ciao, bella signora," Luca called out to me, a smile arching his lips.
"Ciao, brutto," I replied, winking at him as I got down from the bike.
"You're still not going to loosen up around me," He muttered.
I chuckled. "Only when you stop trying to steal my bikes."
He laughed as he hugged me. Luca was one of my main informants. He ran a network of thieves and was also working for the Cops. Talk about weird.
"Are you here to spend some time with me?" He asked.
"You wish," I scoffed. "I'm here for some information, as always."
I was about to walk into the club when he held my hand.
"What?" I said as I turned to him. His smile had vanished, replaced with a frown.
"I told, Lombardi to tell you not to show up today. Didn't he?"
"Why?" I asked, confusion and curiosity creeping in.
I didn't bother to tell him that Lombardi—my boss—didn't say a word to me. He had always been a sc*m bag.
"You can't be here," He muttered, pulling me towards my bike.
"Why?" I asked again, pinning my feet to the ground. "What's going on."
He was silent for a while before finally speaking.
"Salvatore. His third in command is around." He pointed to my eyes. "And for some dumb reason...he hates ladies with those eyes of yours."
Damiano's POV My hands stayed hovering above her hair. I wasn't sure why I reached out to it. Maybe it was because she looked a lot like her. Not a lot, but exactly like her. It was like she had been reborn.I thought my words from earlier would scare her, and it did. But I wasn't sure why, but it hurt. She looked away as if trying to avoid getting hit or even... wait a minute, was that what she thought was about to happen?I reached for her hair again and picked out the red thread that was on it.She stayed like that for a few seconds before finally opening her eyes. She looked from me to my hand, and then to me again.I lifted the thread for her to see."You had this in your hair."She squinted as she stared at it, before finally letting out a nervous chuckle."Oh... Thank you... I just thought—""—hat I was trying to make out with you in the hallway?" I said, cutting her off She was stunned. "Wait! What? Ewww... Gross?"I arched my brow. "Excuse me?"She snickered. "No offense, M
Alessia's POV I waited for it. I waited for his arms to hit me hard. But nothing happened.When I looked up, our eyes met. He had no expression on his face. I looked from his arm, to him and back—confused. Then, he raised his arm. "This was on your hair," He muttered. I leaned forward, squinting my eyes. There was a thread in his hand. Sh*t! I thought he was about to hit me because he found out who I was."Oh... Thank you... I just thought—""—That I was trying to make out with you in the hallway?" I was stunned. "Wait! What? Ewww... Gross?"Like I would ever want to get involved with someone like him. I mean, I knew he was handsome and all, but come on, he was one of the devil's hands. Getting involved with him would be suicide.He arched his brow. "Excuse me?"I snickered. "No offense, Mr. Valentino. But you're not my type."What the hell? The words left my lips before I could stop them. But, since the beans had been spilled, I couldn't go back on that."Oh, is that so?" He mut
Alessia’s POVI stood frozen for a while—shocked, scared and confused.The CEO's eyes widened like he recognized me or something.But that wasn't possible. I had a mask on, and I was also putting on a red wig. To top it off, I was dressed so decently that a priest would want to marry me. So there was no way he was able "Is anything wrong?" The chairman asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.I shook my head. "No, Sir. I'm just surprised to be in the presence of the famous CEO," I said, an awkward smile curving my lips."Oh," The Chairman muttered. "I was actually talking to Mr. Valentino."Okay, ouch. That hurt. I guess no one cared about how the 'Lady of the Hour' felt."I'm fine, Mr. Russo. I just didn't think a lady as beautiful as this was a doctor in your hospital. I wouldn't have minded being admitted weeks ago?"I had to say, not only was he good-looking, but he was also good with words. I mean, he had short, tousled black hair and striking silver eyes that gleamed like metal.
Alessia's POVWhat do I do? What if he finds me? What if he kills me? Or worse, kills us?So many thoughts ran through my head as I paced in the kitchen. It's been a day, and I still couldn't get what happened that night out of my head.I didn't think someone like him would be Salvatore's third in command. I mean, if he was, then how powerful would Salvatore be? And I kicked his...sh*t...I should've just listened to Luca and left when I had the chance. I—"When you're done sweeping the floor with your feet, maybe you can try doing it with a vacuum cleaner too," Alessandro said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I heard they work wonders."I rolled my eyes as I headed to set the dining table. Alessandro was my twin brother and a pain in the a**. Sometimes, I wonder what life would've been without having a pest clinging to me all the time."Ouch!" He winced as he grabbed one of the pancakes I had made. "What are these...made in hell?"I couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe that'll teach you
Damiano's POV I had a quick shower before changing and heading downstairs."You're up early," Leo muttered as I walked into the kitchen, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.I ignored him, knowing he was trying to tease me."Do you want to tell me what the green-eyed witch did to you now?" He asked as he handed me a glass of waterI glared at him as I downed the water and dropped the glass on the kitchen counter.He raised his hand in surrender, walking towards the freezer. He pulled out a few blood packs, staring at the label."Chicken. Goat. Uh... Pig—""Yuck," I mumbled.He snickered. "What about fish?""Don't even," I snarled. He let out a chuckle before pulling out another one. "I guess you'll like this."I watched as he emptied the crimson juice into a glass and handed it to me.Sniffing the glass, I let out a sigh. "It's Cow." I sniffed again. "And it's a week old."He nodded. "Do you prefer I mix it with the horse?"My brows furrowed. That was all I needed to do to ge
Alessia's POV A wave of silence washed over us as the words left Luca's lips.Slowly, my lips curved into a smirk.Luca's eyes widened in shock. "I know that look, Donna! Don't you dare go in there! Don't you—argh!" Before he could complete his words, I kicked him in the shin and ran towards the bar.If Salvatore's third in command was here, then he could lead me to Salvatore—the devil himself. That would be like hitting a jackpot. And I—I wanted in on thatI pulled out a black shade and a black nose mask from my bag. Putting them on, I pushed through the bouncers. They already knew me, so they didn't bother stopping me.The club wasn't packed—not like usual. I guess not everyone was as bold as me.I looked around, searching for Salvatore's man. It was hard to tell who he would be since everyone was putting on black and black. But then, a figure caught my eye. Not just one, but two.They were seated at the far end of the VIP lounge, with masks covering the lower part of their faces.
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