FINAL CHAPTERKai’s POVI dropped to my knees.The world spun. My ears rang. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.My hands hit the pavement, fists pounding against the concrete. I didn’t care about the pain. My knuckles split open, blood seeping down my wrists, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Not anymore.I screamed, loud and guttural, the sound tearing through my chest. “AMELIA!”Someone tried to pull me back. I shoved them off, barely hearing the voice telling me to stay away, that it wasn’t safe, that they were doing all they could.Fuck that.Fuck all of it.I punched the ground again, head bowed, pain radiating up my arms. “Stupid. Useless. Fucking failure.”I buried my face in my hands, sobbing into my bloodied palms.“Please…” I begged no one. “Please just let her be okay. Please let this be a nightmare. I’ll do anything. Take me instead. Just… don’t let her be gone.”The world tilted, and I let it. Maybe I deserved to break right here in the middle of the street, with
SEMI FINAL Kai’s POVI took a step closer, gun still raised. “She’s the reason I remember what it means to feel. To live. Something a narcissistic bastard like you would never understand. You’ve spent your entire life manipulating, controlling, destroying everyone around you. You never loved anyone but yourself.”He coughed out a bitter laugh. “And that fantasy of yours? Of living a happy life with her after all this? That ends today.”I froze.He saw the tension flicker across my face. Saw the crack.And like a true predator, he pushed deeper.“You really thought hiding her at the Ritz-Carlton was going to keep her safe?” His smile was a cruel slash. “You thought you could sneak off, finish me, then return to her like a hero? You’ve always underestimated me, Kai.”My stomach dropped.“What did you do?” I asked, my voice like gravel.He leaned his head back against the wall, eyes glazing with satisfaction. “Left you a farewell gift. Something to keep you miserable for the rest of you
Kai’s POVThe apartment was quiet when I stepped in, the kind of silence that didn’t sit right. It was too still, too heavy. I closed the door behind me and slipped off my coat, expecting to find Amelia curled up in bed, maybe half-asleep with a movie still playing in the background.But she wasn’t sleeping.She sat upright on the bed, arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the doorway like she’d been waiting. Watching.I gave her a tired smile. “Hey.”No reply.Instead, she asked, “Have you been looking for your father… without telling me?”I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I should’ve known.“Amelia—” I started, taking a slow step into the room.“Don’t lie to me, Kai.”“I’m not trying to exclude you,” I said. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt helping me. That’s all.”She stood up now, eyes sharp with frustration. “I am trying to help you, Kai! And it’s dangerous for you to be out there alone. What if he kills you? What then?”Her voice cracked slightly at the end, and that small
Kai’s POVI cradled my coffee mug and flicked through the morning channels until one headline froze me in place:“Rodrigo Martínez Arrested at Moscow Airport.”The anchor’s voice droned on in the background as I poured another shot of coffee:Rodrigo had been stopped on his way out of the country. Customs agents found kilos of cocaine hidden among his luggage. His frantic protests—“Someone planted it! I swear I didn’t know!”—played on a loop as footage cut to his handcuffed figure.My eyes narrowed when the report switched to his hotel suite, where police had uncovered forged passports, stacks of falsified documents bearing my father’s name, and maps marking international drug routes. The implication was clear: Rodrigo had been running shipments on Don Alessandro’s behalf.Traffic cam footage rolled—grainy, fast, chaotic. A black van cut off the convoy. Gunmen poured out, smoke bombs, a brief shootout—and just like that, Rodrigo was gone.Kidnapped.The station cut back to the news de
Kai’s POV“Surprise.” Amelia said to me with a childish grinWe all stood there in paralyzed silence—me, Amelia, her mother, and her suspiciously cozy tray of muffins.But, of course, Amelia broke the tension like it was a habit she enjoyed too much.“Come on,” she said brightly, grabbing my hand. “Let’s join them for dinner.”I barely had time to react before she was pulling me forward. As we passed her mom, Amelia made it worse—because of course she did.“Say hi to my mom, Kai,” she said, way too loudly for it to be innocent.I wanted to act like I didn’t hear her, pretend I was deaf in one ear or hallucinating the entire encounter, but it was impossible. I felt her mother’s gaze on me like a sniper dot.So, I stopped. Awkward. Stiff. A brick of regret forming in my gut.“Hi,” I croaked. “Uh… ma’am.”Amelia, unfazed by my complete lack of social finesse, grinned and continued the performance. “Mom, meet my boyfriend, Kai. Kai, this is my mom.”As if we hadn’t met before. As if her m
Amelia’s POVI woke up the next morning to the sound of the blender coming from the kitchen, my hand reached out to the other side of the bed but kai wasn’t in bed. Stretching, i walked over to Kai’s wardrobe and picked out one of his robes. Putting it on, i headed towards the kitchen where i found him making pancakes.“Good morning,” I said as I leaned against the doorway, watching him flip a pancake effortlessly. The smell was warm—sweet, comforting. A stark contrast to the chaos that had become my life.Kai turned, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “Morning. I figured you deserved something better than stale room service.”“You made pancakes?” I asked, amused. “Since when do mafia heirs know how to cook?”He chuckled, pouring more batter onto the skillet. “Since they had to survive on their own at sixteen.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Come sit. Coffee’s ready too.”I padded barefoot across the cold floor, his robe oversized on me, trailing slightly. I sat at the island counter,