"The words Matteo had spoken still echoed inside me like a scream trapped in silence. Nicolai, connected to my family. The same man who tried to kill me. The same man who swore to destroy whatever was left of me. How was I supposed to accept something like that? How could I bear the weight of knowing my bloodline was at the center of all this?I shot up from the bed. Leo stirred in his crib but didn’t wake. My instinct as a mother wanted to shield him from the world, to wrap his life in a bubble of silence and peace. But I knew... there was no protecting him from the truth anymore. He carried this blood too. This curse.'Are you sure about this?' I asked Matteo, without looking at him. My hands were trembling.'Yes,' he answered firmly, despite the weariness in his face. 'I confirmed it with the source my father left behind before he died. She was hidden… beyond anyone’s reach. But now I know that Dimitri and Nicolai have been at war far longer than we ever imagined. And that war bega
The pain burned in my throat, as if unspoken words wanted to escape but couldn’t find room. I looked at Matteo, and all I could see was a wall between us. No matter what he said, what he did, I felt as if a chasm had opened—and he was part of it."So that’s it?" I murmured, my voice thick with emotion. "Your father died because of something my family did… and now it all comes back to me?""Lily, it’s not like that…" Matteo took a step forward, but I raised my hand to stop him."Don’t come near me right now." My tone came out firmer than I expected. "You say it like a warning, but it sounds like an accusation. And you know what’s worse? I saw the video. Bianca… she showed it to me."Her name dropped like a bomb between us. He frowned, confused."What video?""The video where you’re with her. The two of you together, Matteo. You touching her, holding her like..." my voice faltered. The knot in my throat was impossible to ignore. "Like she was more than just the past."His eyes widened.
Lily MontgomeryI didn’t know what to do with everything inside me. My body was exhausted, my thoughts crashing into each other like waves in a stormy sea. When Matteo told me that my family was involved in his father's death, something inside me broke. As if I were a stranger, a spectator in a story I never asked to be a part of.My steps at home felt heavy. I walked back and forth, the silence consuming me. The place was empty. The sound of my breathing and the ticking of the clock in the living room were all I could hear.I couldn’t quite understand what was happening. My entire life had been a lie, and at the same time, a truth I never asked to know. The fact that I carried the blood of people like Dimitri, of a bloody legacy, now felt almost like a sentence. But more than that, the weight of Matteo’s words still echoed inside me. He was in the middle of it all, and I... I had to make a decision.I knew that the place I had always searched for would never be enough to escape this.
Matteo SalvatoreWhen Lily asked what was going on, I knew I couldn't hide it anymore. There was no way to ignore the pieces that were falling into place, the connections that were emerging with overwhelming weight.The truth was unfolding before me, and I had to face it. With her. With the past that was trying to come back and ruin us.I looked at her — Lily's eyes were fixed on me with the same intensity they always had, but now there was something deeper, a fine line between distrust and love, between fear of the unknown and the need to stay together.She looked at me in silence, waiting for an answer. I didn't know where to begin. The words felt stuck in my throat, heavy. I knew she had trusted me, but now... everything was about to change. And I didn’t know if I could bear the weight of it.“Matteo,” she said softly, “What’s going on? You’re different.”What would I say to her? What could I say without destroying everything we had? I had always known there was a price to pay for
Matteo SalvatoreI never wanted to romanticize who I was. A criminal, an outlaw, a mafioso, as everyone calls it.The mafia should never be romanticized. It was never the path anyone should follow, but for me, there was never another choice. Reality imposed itself early on, and the only way to move forward was to accept that there would be no escape. The mafia chose me — and there was no way out.But for a few hours, when I sit with Lily and Leo, when I see her smile at me, I just want to be free. I just want to be myself. Without the shadows behind me. Without the familiar faces, the threats, the weight of responsibility. Just me, my son, and the woman I love.But deep down, I knew that dream would never come true.I never had a choice. My life was defined the moment I was born, by the hands of the man I called father. And when he died, the only thing left was an unrelenting quest for vengeance.The first time I saw a man die, I wasn’t even twelve years old.I was just a boy, with my
LilyMatteo went to his phone. He didn’t waste any time.“I’m calling Paolo. And we’re starting now.”He began typing quickly, scheduling an emergency meeting. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop pacing around the room. The photos were still etched in my mind — the woman smiling at Matteo, that intimate touch, but the distance between us — what was really behind all of this?While he made the call, my brain was in shambles, trying to piece together fragments that didn’t quite fit.The living room door opened. Paolo walked in. There were no greetings, no small talk. He was direct, as always.“Do we know what’s going on?” he asked, his voice firm, eyes locked on Matteo.Matteo looked at me before responding, as if gauging what he should say next.“Someone’s playing dirty. And they’re trying to drive us apart, Paolo. There are photos circulating, someone is making moves. But what we need to know is: who’s behind this, and why now.”Paolo sat down, his gaze serious and focused. He crossed
LilyMatteo went to his phone. He didn’t waste any time.“I’m calling Paolo. And we’re starting now.”He began typing quickly, scheduling an emergency meeting. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop pacing around the room. The photos were still etched in my mind — the woman smiling at Matteo, that intimate touch, but the distance between us — what was really behind all of this?While he made the call, my brain was in shambles, trying to piece together fragments that didn’t quite fit.The living room door opened. Paolo walked in. There were no greetings, no small talk. He was direct, as always.“Do we know what’s going on?” he asked, his voice firm, eyes locked on Matteo.Matteo looked at me before responding, as if gauging what he should say next.“Someone’s playing dirty. And they’re trying to drive us apart, Paolo. There are photos circulating, someone is making moves. But what we need to know is: who’s behind this, and why now.”Paolo sat down, his gaze serious and focused. He crossed
Lily MontgomeryLeo was moving, kicking the air with his chubby feet while I tried to close the diaper with one hand. The other held the phone that vibrated for the third time in two minutes. I sighed, annoyed."Can’t the world give me five minutes of peace?"I fastened the barely-clipped hairpin, adjusted Leo with one arm, and unlocked the phone.Anonymous message.No name, no greeting. Three images. One sentence."If this is what he does in a meeting, imagine when you're asleep."My fingers went cold.I opened the first photo.Matteo. Sitting at a restaurant table. Alone, for now.Second photo.A woman. Brunette, elegant, that kind of dangerously beautiful. Sitting with him. Smiling. Her hand close to his, as if wanting to touch.Third.Matteo standing, she leaning on the chair, looking at him like she already knew she had caused damage.For a second, the room went silent. Not even Leo’s crying, not even my thoughts — just that hole in my chest, that invisible punch to the stomach.
Matteo SalvatoreThe sound of punches hitting the heavy bag was all I wanted to hear at four in the morning.Thud. Thud. Thud.Each blow was an answer to the question that wouldn’t stop echoing in my head: how did I let this shit get to this point?Thud. Thud.The training room in the mansion was silent, broken only by the chain rattling and my breath cutting through the cold air.Paolo walked in without knocking. As always.He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and just stood there watching me, unhurried. The smell of cheap cigarettes came in with him.“You train like someone who wants to kill,” he said with that crooked smile of his.“Maybe I do.”“Got a name or still choosing?”“I got one,” I replied, without stopping. “But I can’t. Not yet.”Thud.“You’ve been more violent since becoming a father.” He bent down and grabbed a water bottle from the counter. “Fucking irony.”I stopped. Let go of the bag with a final punch and took off the gloves. I was drenched in sweat.“Everyth