Masuk"Which dead?" Ulysees asked."The important ones." Came the response.Antonio buried his face in his hands."This man is impossible."Aurelio looked delighted.Dominic leaned forward."What fractures, Aurelio?!" He asked coldly.Aurelio's smile disappeared instantly.The change startled everyone because for the first time, something real appeared.Pain.Raw pain.Buried deep."Alessandro." The name escaped quietly from him.Dominic didn't interrupt and neither did anyone else. They all just waited for Aurelio as he just stared at the table for a long while."The first fracture." Aurelio finally muttered. His jaw tightened. “Dad is the second.”Then his eyes lifted, returning to Dominic."And you."The hatred returned immediately and violently."The third."Dominic's expression hardened."What does that f8cking mean?" He demanded intently.Aurelio smiled again, this time coldly."You're still alive." He pointed.Sebastian frowned."You wanted him dead."Aurelio laughed out loud."No."
The prison sat on an island.However, the island is not the romantic kind found in postcards or the picturesque kind that tourists or locals would photograph.The island was little more than black stone rising from dark water.A fortress.A cage.A warning.It has been built decades earlier by several powerful families to house individuals that are too dangerous, too influential, or too connected for ordinary incarceration.Its official name was the Blackgate Detention Complex.Most just simply calls it Blackgate.Because once someone entered its walls, very few ever walked free again.The structure emerged from the sea like something ancient.Concrete.Steel.Stone.Layers upon layers of security surrounds the complex with watchtowers overlooking waves crashing with each other. Floodlights lined the perimeter outside along with armed patrols moving across elevated walkways.Even from the approaching helicopter, the place felt oppressive.Like a tomb waiting patiently for its occupant
Twenty minutes later, Dominic entered the dining room.Most of the men were already there, drinking their coffee and eating their breakfast that the staff has prepared for them.The familiar sound of conversation, life returning to normal.Enzo looked up first."There he is." He drawled as he placed down his cup of coffee.Antonio immediately pointed."Blackstone’s escaped patient."Dominic sat down and glowered at them."I was cleared." Dominic snapped lightly."I don’t think so." Enzo answered."Mostly cleared.""Think again, boss.""Partially cleared." Dominic finally scoffed with a scowl.Antonio nodded with a grin."There it is." He said and laughter spread around the table.Sebastian shook his head."All I can say, Althea's influence is terrifying." He chuckled as he leaned back on his chair and reached for his coffee. “I don’t want to cross her when she’s in a mood.”"Agree on that."The doors opened and they turned and saw Michael entered with August following behind.The fath
Dominic woke slowly the following day.For the first time in weeks, there was no pain sharp enough to pull him from sleep.Only warmth and peace.Only Althea.He looked down and saw her curled against his side, one arm draped across his chest, her hair spread across the pillow. Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, painting soft gold across the room.For a long moment, Dominic just simply watched her.No Axis.No bloodlines.No hidden vaults.No enemies.Just this.Just her.His wife.The woman he had almost lost.The woman who had nearly lost him.Althea stirred slightly."You're staring again." She murmured as she snuggled closer to him."You’re supposed to be sleeping.” He teased with a smile."I can feel you staring." She answered as she finally opened her eyes, looking sleepy and beautiful. As well as entirely too perceptive. "You do it often.""I like looking at you." Dominic responded.That statement immediately ruined whatever complaint she had prepared.A smile tugg
The library finally grew quiet late in the evening.For the past hours, the room had been filled with maps, blueprints, theories, and questions.Questions about the hidden level beneath the Valtieri estate, about Alessandro, the Axis that seemed to lead to new questions every time they will find an answer.Now, however, the corridors of the estate had fallen silent.The grandfather clock chimed softly within the halls of Blackstone.Midnight had come and gone and everyone had retired for the evening.Everyone had retired for the evening.Nicholas, who begged to stay a little longer with them, had eventually fallen asleep on a couch in the library after exhausting himself by pointing out inconsistencies in century-old architectural plans before his nanny took him to his room.Dominic still couldn't decide whether he found that amusing or terrifying.Perhaps both.The image lingered in his mind as he and Althea walked slowly through the quiet halls toward their bedroom.Neither spoke.N
Three weeks after returning from the Axis Core, Blackstone had finally settled into a rhythm of recovery, routine and normalcy.Or at least their version of normal.The wounded men were healing and operations had resumed.Security protocols were returning to standard levels, Helena’s own men had already withdrawn as well as August and Michael, who went back for a while to Devereaux Medical Complex to check on their estate.Dominic had finally been granted limited freedom from Althea's recovery restrictions.Limited being the important word.Very limited."You're staring, again."Dominic didn't look up from the report in his hand."I'm reading." He responded calmly."No." Althea retorted as she walked into his office carrying coffee. "You're thinking."Dominic looked up and gave her a smile as he accepted the cup."I'm capable of doing both." He explained gently.She raised an eyebrow."Not according to your medical file.""I regret teaching you how to weaponize medical terminology." Do
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE/SEXUAL CONTENT. PLEASE READ WITH DISCRETIONDominic moved with the kind of carefulness he feels she had only ever read about. The kind that came not from restraint, but from reverence.He kissed her slowly, deeply, learning the shape of her breath, the rhythm of her hea
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE/SEXUAL CONTENT. PLEASE READ WITH DISCRETIONDominic, with his one hand splayed on her back, gently guided Althea down the bed as they continued to kiss deeply with her hands around his neck.He was always controlled, composed, always the one who led. But with Althea, he
For the next two days, Althea will wake up ahead of him and started to prepare their coffee and will take her bath. She would then put a call to order room service for their breakfast. By the time the staff had arrived and placed their meal by the balcony, Dominic will be stepping out from the vi
Twelve months.It’s been twelve months since Paris, a few months since she accepted the apartment.It didn’t feel like a year, not when their time moved with her gently. Slow but sure and constant. Dominic sometimes would pause, startled by how natural it felt having Alt







