LOGINLucaWe never made it to the Moretti mansion.Adriano was a mess…completely broken. And honestly? I wasn’t much better.Seeing the proof of his drug-induced rage had been bad enough that night on Liam's phone was bad enough...and now to see it...her...the aftermath, the sacrifice on a cold steel table...it was too much.We both stopped...took a moment.. It still felt too short to take in tge irrefutable. She lay there...still...almost as white as the sheet that covered her and the marks on her face and throat...red, blue, purple felt like a scream in this place that was void of colour or warmth.My disgust, my anger rose to the surface but watching him completely lose it right now…the sound that tore out of him…it didn’t even sound human. A raw, keening cry that was still echoing in my skull. Whatever anger I’d carried toward him after seeing that live feed burned away in this moment.Because no matter what he had done…he loved her. And he was still my brother and he was breaking in f
LiamIf there were ever an award for resilience—for quiet strength wrapped in warmth and steel—it would belong to Maria Moretti.Not just woman of the year. Woman of the decade… the millennium.For two days, she carried me. Not in some grand, dramatic way—but in all the ways that mattered. She made sure I showered, that I ate, even when I couldn’t taste anything. Sat with me when silence was the only thing I had to offer. Listened—really listened—while I told her story after story about Arianna… like saying her name enough times might somehow bring her back.And when the stories ran out… I told her the truth. The ugly parts. How a pure love had twisted into obsession. How fear had hollowed me out—that the last person I had left… the only one who still mattered… would be taken from me too.She didn’t flinch. Didn’t judge. She just listened. And somehow… that helped.But Friday, she turned into a drill Seargent. Clapped her hands and ordered me up and ready for the day. Ordered me to j
MariaIt felt like the cold from that place had followed us home.Clung to us. Settled deep into our bones. The house—usually warm, alive, full—felt hollow. Muted. Like even the walls knew.Luigi and Stefano were waiting when we walked in. They didn’t ask. They didn’t need to.One look at Liam—And everything was understood. He was… shattered. Not crying anymore. Not shouting. Just… gone. Empty in a way that was far more frightening.Luigi moved first, pulling him into a tight embrace, holding him like he could somehow piece him back together. But Liam didn’t respond. Didn’t react. He just… stood there. Broken.We had no choice. We called in the doctor had given something to calm him, to force his body to rest when his mind refused. We sat with him until his eyes finally closed, holding onto my hand with a death grip.Even then… it didn’t feel like enough. Nothing would be. Not for this.Luigi turned to me next, pulling me into his arms. I let myself lean into him—just for a second.
LiamI couldn’t remember the drive. Not a second of it.One moment I was in the house… the next I was stepping out in front of the OCME facility in Manhattan.Maria had handled everything. Security. Driver. Calls. All of it. All while holding onto my hand like it was the only thing keeping me anchored.Maybe it was. Because somewhere between that phone call and this building… I had started to come apart.She signed us in. The corridor was quiet. Too quiet. And then I saw him. Denton. Standing in the passage like a wall—solid, unmoving, carrying something heavy in the set of his shoulders.I recognised him instantly. From the exchange. From the stories. He stepped forward when he saw Maria and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek.But it was his eyes that did it. That look. Grief. Rage. Something final. And just like that—The last fragile thread of hope I’d been clinging to snapped.This wasn’t a mistake. This wasn’t some unknown girl, a Jane Doe that they thought was her. This was
Denton Time was playing tricks on me. Too fast. Too slow. Both at once.I stood upstairs, staring out at nothing in particular, jaw tight as the seconds dragged and yet slipped through my fingers all the same. Every lead, every call, every move—we were chasing shadows while the clock kept ticking louder in my head.No sleep. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes—Her screams. Over and over. Raw. Broken. Pleading.I let out a humourless breath, dragging a hand down my face. Irony was a vicious bastard. I had thrown those words at Adriano in anger—that he would live with her screams for the rest of his life.And now? That was all I heard. The cruellest joke of all.I forced myself back to the present. There was still work to do. Always work. I had just wrapped up the last of the arrangements—Manhattan apartment being packed up, everything redirected. Calls made to have the family house in the Cotswolds fully readied.It had always been maintained. But I had rarely lived there. That wo
MariaIt was driving me crazy. Standing on the patio on a Tuesday afternoon, and slowly losing my mind.The thought circled my mind over and over, like a word on the tip of my tongue that refused to form. Every piece was there—every clue, every instinct—but it wouldn’t *click*.And the quiet made it worse.When Luca and Adriano left early Monday morning—to check in on their businesses, to warn their captains, to prepare for what might come—the house lost its noise. Its life. Too much silence. Too much space to think. A full house had been a blessing in disguise. Distraction. Movement. Purpose.Now… it was just me and my thoughts. And Liam. He had become my saving grace without even knowing it.The more time I spent with him, the more I saw Adriano in him. That restless energy. The way a half-smile would tug at his lips before breaking into something warmer, fuller. The way he tried to appear composed but couldn’t quite hide the storm beneath.He was running his operations from here,
Liam M father had called out to me, but I hadn’t stopped. I just wanted to get away. To process my pain and heartbreak elsewhere in private. As I got to the top of the stairs, his hand grabbed my shirt, trying to stay my escape. I was too enraged, throat locked and tears burning my eyes. I just w
DentonAbout four hours later I returned. My hands were full of bags now. Takeaway. Burgers. Chips. Milkshakes. Groceries for a week.And a duffel with her clothes from the penthouse. The letter sat safely in the inside pocket of my jacket.I locked the door behind me. She was sitting exactly wher
LucaThe door to the study closed behind us with a heavy thud.For a moment neither Adriano nor I spoke. Then I said what we all knew was a forgone conclusion. “That lunatic just started a war.” I mutteredI could see the rage burning in Adriano’s grey eyes. His jaw was locked, as he just stared at
AdrianoThe room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence after our fathers dropped their revelation.It kept turning over in my head.Seamus O’Connell had a second son. A sickly boy with a heart condition. A boy no one had heard about since Seamus died.Then there was Liam. Not a blood son but the e







