INICIAR SESIÓNChapter 18Elena woke up to the smell of coffee and gun oil.For a second, she didn't know where she was. The bed was too big, the sheets too expensive, the sunlight too bright coming through the bulletproof windows of the Vitale mansion. Then she felt the arm around her waist — heavy, possessive, warm.Damien Vitale.He was still asleep. That was rare. Damien Vitale never slept past six. He was the kind of man who woke up before his enemies. But last night had been long — the warehouse fire, Daniel at the gate, Dr. Leone, the Vitale vow in the garage.His face in sleep looked younger. The hard lines around his mouth were gone. The scar on his eyebrow was less angry. He looked like the boy he must have been before he became Don Vitale.Elena tried to move quietly so she wouldn't wake him, but his arm tightened instantly."Where are you going, Mrs. Vitale?" His voice was sleepy, husky, his eyes still closed."I... I need to shower. I still smell like smoke.""You smell like me. I like
Chapter 17The garage of the Vitale mansion had never been used as an infirmary before.Dr. Leone, an old man with shaking hands that became steady the moment he held a needle, worked on Daniel under the harsh white lights. Elena stood in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket, watching. Damien Vitale stood right behind her, his arms crossed, his presence filling the entire space."He will live," Dr. Leone said finally, pulling off his bloody gloves. "Broken ribs, two stab wounds, not deep. He lost blood, but not enough to kill him. He needs rest and no more... adventures for a few weeks."Daniel lay on a makeshift bed, unconscious, his chest bandaged."Thank you, Doctor," Elena whispered.Dr. Leone looked at Damien, waiting for orders."Take him to the small house behind the vineyard," Damien said. "Two guards. He doesn't leave until I say so. If Russo's men come for him, kill them. If he tries to run, bring him back to me.""Yes, Don Vitale."When the doctor and the guards wheeled Daniel
Chapter 16Elena's hands were pressed against the cold glass of the window.Across the street, Daniel was still there. His face was bruised, his white t-shirt stained with what looked like blood. He wasn't smoking anymore. He was holding his hands up, as if begging her.HELP ME. He mouthed it again.Behind her, the bedroom door was locked. Damien Vitale had locked her in to protect her. But protection felt like a cage when the man who once said he loved her was bleeding outside the gates of the man who now owned her.She ran to the door and pounded."Damien! DAMIEN VITALE!"No answer. Only the distant sound of men shouting orders downstairs.She grabbed her phone from the bedside table — the phone Damien had given her, with only one number saved: DAMIEN.He answered on the first ring."You should be resting.""He's here," Elena said, her voice shaking. "Daniel is here, outside the gate. Across the street."Silence on the other end. Then a low curse in Italian."Stay away from the wind
Chapter 15Damien Vitale didn't put her down until they were inside the car.The black SUV smelled like leather and gunpowder. Elena's white dress was ruined — black streaks of ash, a small burn mark on the hem where a spark had landed. Her hair smelled like smoke. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn't even buckle the seatbelt.Damien reached over and buckled it for her. His hands were steady. Too steady. That was how she knew he was furious."Drive," he ordered his driver. The car sped away from the burning warehouse, sirens getting louder behind them.Elena stared out the window. The fire was reflecting in the glass, getting smaller and smaller until it was just an orange glow on the horizon. Ten minutes ago, she had been a girl who still believed her ex loved her. Now, she knew he had sold her twice."Daniel," she whispered.Damien's jaw tightened. He didn't look at her. He was looking at his phone, typing rapidly. The light from the screen illuminated the sharp cut of his fa
Chapter 14The warehouse smelled of gasoline and blood. Elena stood frozen in the middle of it, her white silk dress now stained with ash and soot. In front of her, the crates her father had hidden for Matteo were burning — ten years of secrets, of smuggling, of lies, all turning into smoke. Behind her, Matteo De Luca watched. Calm. Hands in his pockets. As if he was watching a sunset and not his entire northern empire on fire."You did this," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of flames.Matteo didn't answer immediately. He walked slowly around her, his expensive leather shoes echoing against the concrete floor. The fire cast shadows on his sharp jaw, on the scar that ran along his left eyebrow."No," he finally said. "You did."Elena spun to face him, anger finally breaking through her shock. "What are you talking about? I just got here! Your men dragged me out of the mansion! I didn't even know this place existed!""My men dragged you here because I needed yo
Chapter 13:The black Range Rover didn't stop for red lights in Palermo.Damien drove. One hand on the wheel, one hand on my thigh. Like I would fly out of the car if he let go. Luca was in the passenger seat, checking his gun, checking his phone, sweating even with the aircon on full blast."Don, De Luca brought six men. Maybe eight. All armed. Signor Rossi is inside the warehouse, tied to a chair. Not hurt, just scared. De Luca says if you don't bring Donna, he will—""He will what?" Damien's voice was ice. Don voice."He will burn Rossi warehouse with Rossi inside, Don."My hand flew to my mouth. "My father!""Elena." Damien squeezed my thigh, hard. "Look at me. Not at Luca. At me."I looked at him. His jaw was tight, his sunglasses hiding his eyes, but his hand on me was warm, steady."Your father sold you twice, Elena. Today, he learns what happens when you sell a Vitale.""But—""No buts. You are Donna Vitale. You don't beg for Rossi. Rossi begs for you. Capisce?"I swallowed ha







