MasukEpilogue: The King and His QueenThe sun began to set over the Cavalli estate across the stone balcony. It had been weeks since the nightmare in the woods, and the air in the house finally felt like it belonged to the living again.Recovery had not been a sprint; it was a slow, agonizing crawl. But Leandro Cavalli, a man who usually had no patience for anything, had found all the time in the world for Delia.He spent every morning sitting by her bed, watching the color slowly return to her cheeks. The doctors were amazed by her spirit. Most people would have been broken by what she had endured, the kidnapping, the cold, the terrifying run through the dark. But Delia was different. She was a fire that refused to be put out.One afternoon, a man in a sharp grey suit arrived at the mansion. He wasn't one of Leandro’s soldiers or a business associate from the Five Families. He was Mr. Sterling, a lawyer representing the ancient estate of the Callista family.Leandro met him in the study
LeandroThree more days passed. Three days of a silence so thick it felt like I was drowning in it.The mansion, which used to feel like a fortress of power, now felt like a giant, cold tomb. I went through the motions. I wore the suits. I sat at the head of the long mahogany table in the dining room. But I wasn't there. My mind was always two hallways away, in the room where the machines hummed and my wife’s heart beat in a slow, tired rhythm.Business didn't stop because my world had. The Commission was restless. Silvio’s death had left a vacuum in the Bronx, and the other families were sniffing around like vultures. I had to show them I was still the Ice-Man. I had to show them that I hadn't gone soft."The shipment from Chicago is late, Leandro," one of my captains said during a morning meeting in my study. "The Outfit is asking for a higher percentage because of the 'instability' in New York."I looked at him. I didn't blink. I didn't even speak for a full minute. I just star
LeandroI didn't let go of Delia’s hand for a single second. Her skin was so cold it felt like I was holding a piece of marble. Every few minutes, I would lean down and press my ear to her chest, just to make sure the universe hadn't stolen her breath again."Drive faster!" I roared at the driver."We’re doing ninety, Boss!" he yelled back."Then do a hundred!"When we finally pulled into the driveway, my private medical team was already waiting. They moved with military precision, lifting her onto a gurney. I followed them through the halls, my bloodstained boots leaving marks on the white marble.Alexa was right there with us, her face a mask of worry. She tried to step into the medical wing, but the doctor stopped her."Wait here, Miss Cavalli," the doctor said firmly. He looked at me. "You too, Leandro. I need space to work.""If she doesn't wake up, doctor," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "this house becomes a tomb. Do you understand me?""I understand," The doctor said,
LeandroI had just left the gym when the sound of tires screaming against the gravel driveway reached my ears. I didn't even have to look to know it was Matteo. He usually drove like a professional, but this… this was the driving of a man who had finally found what he was looking for.I met him at the main entrance. Matteo jumped out of the car before it even fully stopped, his face flushed and his eyes bright with adrenaline."Boss! We got a hit!" he shouted, waving a tablet in the air. "One of the burner phones Silvio used to call his old crew blipped for five seconds. We tracked the tower. It’s an old hunting lodge in the Catskills. It’s registered to a shell company owned by his wife’s cousin."The world seemed to stop spinning for a second. The air felt colder, sharper. "Is she there?""The heat signatures show three people inside, one in the basement," Matteo said, checking the screen. "And a black van parked under a tarp outside. It’s him, Leandro. It has to be.""Get the t
DeliaAfter Silvio slammed the door, the only sound left was the sound of the flickering lightbulb above me. My cheek felt like it was on fire from his slap, and I could taste my blood in my mouth. But I didn't have time to feel sorry for myself. I knew Silvio was afraid. Panicked men are dangerous, but they are also sloppy.I looked at the zip-ties on my wrists. They were pulled so tight my hands were turning a dark, scary purple."I am not dying in a basement," I whispered to the empty room. "Not today."I looked around. I needed something sharp. I saw a loose piece of metal siding near the floor about five feet away. I began to rock the heavy wooden chair.Creak. Creak. Creak.I hopped the chair an inch at a time, my muscles screaming. Finally, I reached the wall. I turned my back to the metal and began to saw the plastic ties against the jagged edge."Come on," I hissed, sweat stinging my eyes. "Break, damn you!"The metal cut into my skin, but I didn't care. Suddenly, I heard
LeandroI stood by the window for another thirty minutes, watching the shadows stretch across the lawn. Matteo’s words kept echoing in my head. She’s trying to be a Don, but she’s doing it by killing herself. I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I was the one who had pushed that weight onto her. I was the one who shouted at her while she was still trembling from the kidnapping. I had treated her like a soldier because I didn't know how to deal with the fact that my heart my Delia—was gone.I couldn't sit in this office anymore. The ticking of the clock was going to drive me to pull the trigger on myself just to make it stop. I grabbed my jacket and walked out, heading toward the back of the estate where the training gym was.As I got closer, I heard it. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. The sound was wet and heavy. It wasn't the sound of a rhythmic workout; it was the sound of a person trying to punch through a brick wall.I pushed open the heavy gym doors. The air inside was hot and sme
Rules Were Meant to Be BrokenLeandroI stood outside Delia’s bedroom door for a full minute, listening to the silence. My knuckles were still slightly bruised from the morning’s "activities," and the smell of the sea and blood still seemed to cling to my skin despite the scalding shower I’d just t
Blood in the Morning Sun.LeandroThe wine in my glass tasted like battery acid.Across the table, Delia sat like a ghost in the midnight-blue silk I had chosen for her. She was breathtaking a jewel I had stolen and locked in a cage of my own making. I saw the way her eyes kept searching mine, loo
The Weight of GuiltDelia’s POVThe hallway of the mansion felt like it was shrinking, the walls closing in as the smell of copper and antiseptic filled the air. I stood frozen at the entrance of the private medical wing, my hands pressed against my mouth to stifle a sob. The trail of blood on the
The Weight of the GownLeandro“Leandro…?”He was standing in the doorway. He had ditched his suit jacket, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He looked tired, but his eyes... they weren't cold anymore. They were dark, filled with something that made my blood turn to fire.“What are you doin







