Se connecterElara Lorenzo had Michael, and every instinct in me narrowed down to a single purpose the moment I understood exactly what I was looking at inside that warehouse. "Let him go," I said, keeping my weapon steady despite the terror threatening to overwhelm every part of me. "I don't believe I'm going to do that," Lorenzo said, his grip on the gun pressed against Michael's small head remaining unnervingly steady. "Lorenzo, please" "You killed my father," he continued, his voice carrying a coldness that mirrored Vincenzo's exactly. "Lorenzo, listen to me" "Now I'm going to kill your son," he said, cutting through whatever attempt I was making to reach him. "Lorenzo, he's a child. He has nothing to do with what happened between you and me." "Say goodbye, Elara." I felt Alexander move beside me, his entire body tensing as though preparing to lunge forward despite the obvious danger that action would create for Michael. "Stay back, Alexander," I said, my voice sharper than I intend
Alexander Something was wrong, and this time the feeling settled over me almost immediately after Vincenzo's death, as though some part of me already understood that ending one threat rarely meant the danger surrounding our family had truly concluded. Three days passed before I discovered exactly what that unease had been warning me about. A new threat had emerged, one connected directly to the conflict we believed we had finally resolved. Someone had been waiting in the shadows throughout Vincenzo's entire attempt to seize control of the Commission, someone who now saw an opportunity to pursue revenge against the family responsible for his father's death. His name was Lorenzo, and he was Vincenzo's son. He was coming for us. "Elara," I said, finding her in the study reviewing security reports my remaining contacts had gathered. "We need to discuss something urgent." "What is it, Alexander?" "Vincenzo had a son," I said, setting the file I had been carrying down on her desk. "
Elara Vincenzo had my mother, and nothing else mattered to me in that moment beyond bringing her home safely. "Let her go," I said, keeping my weapon steady despite the fear pulsing through every part of me. "I don't believe I'm going to do that," Vincenzo said, his gun remaining firmly pressed against my mother's temple. "Vincenzo, this doesn't have to end with her getting hurt." "You're going to watch her die," he said, his voice carrying no hesitation. "Right here, right now, and there's nothing either of you can do to stop it." "Vincenzo—" "Say goodbye, Elara." I felt Alexander move beside me, his body tensing as though preparing to close the distance between Vincenzo and us. "Stay back, Alexander," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "Elara, we can't just stand here while he threatens her." "Stay back," I repeated, needing him to trust me in this moment despite everything screaming inside him to intervene physically. I took a careful step forward, keeping my eye
Alexander Elara had declared war on Vincenzo, and I watched every moment of that confrontation unfold with a pride that ran deeper than I had expected to feel, even after months spent training her for exactly this position. "Elara," I said that evening, once we had returned home from the Commission meeting. "You are genuinely going to win this." "I know," she said, her confidence still evident despite the exhaustion visible around her eyes. "Elara, I mean that completely. I've watched you build coalitions faster than I ever managed during my own years running that empire." "I'm going to win," she repeated, and something in her certainty settled a portion of my own lingering worry. She proceeded to prove that certainty correct over the following weeks. She made calculated moves throughout the Commission, securing deals that strengthened her position while systematically weakening whatever influence Vincenzo still retained. She built genuine alliances with families who had initial
Elara I was the Don, the first woman to ever hold that title within the entire history of the Commission. The first woman to sit at the head of that table. The first woman to command the kind of respect the five families had previously reserved exclusively for men who had inherited or seized that power through decades of violence. And I fully intended to make certain I kept it. "Elara," Alexander said the morning of my first formal Commission meeting as the new Don. "You need to be extremely careful going into this." "I know that already." "The Commission isn't going to accept you easily, regardless of how thoroughly you've prepared." "Alexander, I understand exactly what I'm walking into." "Elara" "I know," I said, meeting his eyes with a steadiness I had spent months cultivating. "I've been preparing for this moment my entire life, even before I understood that's what I was actually doing." "Elara, I only want you to be safe." "I'm not going to fail," I said, and I meant i
Alexander Elara declared war on Vincenzo that afternoon in the Commission chamber, and I watched every moment of it unfold with an admiration I hadn't expected to feel this intensely, even after months of preparing her for exactly this confrontation. "Elara," I said that evening, once we were finally alone in our living room. "You do understand this is an extraordinarily dangerous path you've chosen." "I know that already," she said, sitting across from me with a calm that surprised me given the magnitude of what she had just set into motion. "Elara, Vincenzo controls resources and connections that took him decades to build. This isn't something you can dismantle overnight." "I'm going to win," she said, her voice carrying complete certainty. "Elara—" "I'm going to win, Alexander," she repeated, meeting my eyes directly. I believed her. There was something in her conviction that had grown steadily throughout the weeks of training, something that told me she genuinely possesse
ALEXANDER The club was quiet. That was the only reason I tolerated The Sanctum. It wasn't like the chaotic gambling floors of my casinos or the loud, desperate energy of the Strip. It was dark, smelled of leather and people knew better than to speak to me. I sat in the private suite, swirling a g
ELARAThe notification sound on my phone usually meant a sale on my website or an email from my agency. It was a soft ping, harmless and routine. I didn't hate the sound. In fact, I lived for it. It meant money in the bank, and money meant my parents didn’t have to sell their house in Ohio.But t
Alexander The room was dark. I knelt on the floor with my hands tied behind my back. My chest was soaked — not from the bullet wound this time, but from the beating Vincent's men had given me the moment I walked through the gate. ‘No weapons. No backup.’ ‘Just me, on my knees, bleeding twice ov
ELARA Four days. It had been four days since the club. Four days since I let a stranger touch me in ways David never had. I felt guilty, yes. But I also felt alive. My skin still tingled when I thought about the man’s hands. Rough, scarred, possessive. He hadn't treated me like a mannequin. He h







