Mag-log in*Emily đ¤* Just one night. Thatâs all it was supposed to be. I never knew one night could change everything. Could burn through every wall Iâve built. Could leave me craving someone I shouldâve walked away from. Heâs handsomeâdark in the way shadows linger even when the lights are on. Powerful. Dangerous. Magnetic. Everyone says heâs a hero. That heâs the man who takes down the monsters hiding in plain sight. But he doesnât look like the hero to me. Not when Iâve seen the way he watches me. Not when Iâve felt the way his hands command and control. Thereâs something heâs not telling me. Something I shouldnât have seen⌠something I canât unfeel. And now my sister is involved â and thatâs when the truth dawned. This isn't just danger. It's a storm. I should run. Heâs mafia. Iâm just a college girl with a sharp tongue, a guarded heartââand one secret. Iâm not built for his world. But near him, all the strength I thought I had crumbles. Iâm bold. I donât bend. But with him, I shatter. And the worst part? I donât want to be saved from it. I want him. All of him â the light, the dark, the secrets, the sins. But one thing I know for sure: Love like this? It always ends in blood. *Xavier.* ⏠One night. Thatâs all it took. She thinks it was nothing, but from the moment I saw her, I knew. She was mineâher body, her mind, her chaos. She cracked the OmertĂ file. She doesnât know it yet, but sheâs already in my world. In my world⌠Thereâs no way out. ---
view moreRAVEN âSo weâre being watched right now?â Daya asked, her voice laced with concern. âYes, Daya,â I replied, for the third time. I dropped my backpack onto the table and slumped into the chair, seeking refuge in our usual sanctuaryâthe library. Daya sat across from me, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. âGuess what I found out yesterday,â she whispered. I popped an M&M into my mouth and raised an eyebrow. âWhatâs that?â âOkay, this might sound random,â she said, lowering her voice, âbut I went to visit my uncle yesterdayâ. I gave her a wary look. â okay. So..?â âWell... I think my uncle might know something about the Maranos.â That caught my attention. I sat up straighter. âWaitâwhat?â âI know, I know, it sounds crazy,â she rushed, rubbing her eyes. âBut hear me out. Heâs been around, you know? In and out of sketchy circles for years. Drugs, black-market stuff. Heâs not exactly law-abiding.â I nodded slowly. I knew about her uncleâsort of. She never went into detail.
RAVEN Would you think me naĂŻve if I admitted I believed running into Dem had been a coincidence? After everything that happened today, I convinced myself his presence in my life was some kind of divine interventionâlike a guardian angel sent to protect me. The moment he pulled me away from Marco, that suspicion I once hadâ that he might be following meâslipped quietly to the back of my mind. Gratitude does that to people. When someone shields you, you start rewriting the story in your head, painting them in softer colors. In LA, I thought we were simply in the same place at the same time. The second encounter? I told myself it was pure chance. And what happened today, I let myself believe it. But now, the truth began to dawn. Demâs subtle smirk confirmed it. âSo it wasnât a coincidence?â I asked, turning to him. He shrugged, offering no apology.I looked at Xavier, heat rising in my chest. âWhyâd you send Dem to follow me?â Xavierâs smile was maddeningly unreadable. âBecause I w
XAIVER *A Week Ago* I sat behind my desk, drumming my fingers against the armrest. Marco had been too quiet. Didnât he know what weâd done? It had been a full week since Emily helped us dismantle his cybersecurity network. The intercom buzzed, slicing through the silence. âVictorâs here, sir.â Victor entered with a heavy expression, eyes dark with concern. âI think the Marano family knows,â he said plainly. I leaned forward. âWhy do you say that?â âSomeone tried to hack into our network, but they couldnât get through. It wasnât a random attack. It was too deliberate. That means Marco suspects something. Heâll be coming.â I smirked, suppressing the satisfaction that rose in my chest. The Marano family had been bleeding for weeks. Their networks were fractured, their operations crumbling. I'd reclaimed control of the trade routes and pipelines. As if on cue, the intercom buzzed again. âSir... Mr. Marono is storming toward your office. IâI donât think I can stop him.â
RAVEN. I sat in the diner with Daya, my mind wandering. I hadn't told her about what I saw while hacking for Xavier. Why? I don't know. She only knew about the $50,000. It still felt surrealâhaving that much money, like it was all mine. Iâd sent $10,000 to Racheal, my sister, to start up a business. I made her promise not to tell Mom and Dad. She was surprised but still happy. Ever since LA, Iâd been carrying this heavy knot in my chest. The things I said, the way I actedâit had been eating at me. Maybe sending Racheal the money was my way of patching the wound, of easing the guilt just a little. At least with her, I knew it wouldnât go to waste. Racheal was smart, groundedâsheâd make something of it. Unlike Lisa. I let out a long breath. Lisa⌠Iâd sort of apologized to Racheal, in my own way, even if I hadnât said the words outright. But LisaâI hadnât even called her yet.Maybe Iâd been too harsh in LA. I shouldnât have been so mean to them. I sighed again. âEverything oka


















Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.