ログインAdrianoMy mind replayed every moment with Liana since the day she asked me to watch her cart. Her nervous smile. Her shy blushes. The way she looked at me like I hung the stars in the sky. All of it. A lie. Or worse. A calculated act.My jaw tightened. Had she been gathering information? Watching us? Learning our weaknesses? Had I really been stupid enough to let the enemy walk into my life so easily?Beside me Luca shifted slightly but kept his face neutral. He knew better than to voice the conclusion we had both reached.Rage surged through me so fast it made my vision blur.Liana…That little fucking liar. That manipulative little bitch… She had never needed me, the funds…Remington O’ Connelly would be a billionaire in his own right. My thoughts were cut off when Luca spoke. “So what’s the plan until then?” he asked. My eyes turned cold. “Remi isn’t going anywhere. We know exactly where he is” Luca nodded in agreement. “But Liana…” I bit out, “She’s the loose cannon. She needs
LucaTuesday morning a car bomb had gone off outside on my street. Not close enough to kill me. But close enough to shatter the windows of my Penthouse and send a very clear message.Adriano had insisted I stay at his place that night. We had arrived at his Penthouse to find Liana preparing dinner. She was her normal sweet self and excited to have a guest.We had tried to keep things normal but both of us were feeling the strain of the day and told her we would work out at his home gym while she finished up.After a gruelling workout, we showered and came downstairs to find Liana finishing dinner. I could still see the moment clearly. She had turned around holding a plate. Then suddenly froze.I was in a tank and sweats. Her eyes had dropped to my chest. Specifically…To the birthmark on my left pec. A small crescent shaped mark I had carried since birth. Same as my dad’s and Zio Stefano.She had stared at it. Not casually. Not curiously. But like she had just seen a ghost. At the ti
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 the floor, fury boiling under the tightly held control. “Yes, he did. And I for one am going to bury his entire line starting with him.” He stated, a vow of vengeance threaded in his icy tone.My father’s study normally warm and smelling of cigars felt colder somehow, like the air itself had changed after that call.I could still see it every time I blinked. Yvette tied to that chair. Her hair tangled. Blood on the side of her face. Terrified. And Liam - that sick honourless bastard, standing behind her like a madman who had just been handed the keys to the world.I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly. “Jesus Christ. This is turning into a shit show”Adriano didn’t answer. He sto
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 eldest. The heir to his father's empire.Across the room Luca’s eyes met mine.Neither of us said a word. But we both knew we would discuss this later.Because right now…There were bigger problems. And the last thing either of us wanted was to stress our fathers out even more.Not when we didn't have all the facts.Then...My father’s phone rang. The sharp sound sliced through the quiet room like a blade.Every head turned. Unknown number.My father frowned. Zio Luigi leaned forward slightly looking at the screen.The brothers exchanged a weighted glance and Zio Luigi nodded. “Answer it.” he said beckoning us closer.The phone rang once more. Then my father pressed the button.The screen lit
Adriano The Moretti mansion had never felt this tense.Not even during the last war with the Russians.Men moved through the halls in quiet, purposeful silence. Guards doubled at every entrance. Phones rang constantly in distant rooms as captains and soldiers relayed information up the chain.But none of it mattered.Because the only call we were waiting for… Hadn’t come yet.Luca stood beside me in my father’s study, staring out the tall windows toward the front gates. The sun had moved halfway across the sky signalling late afternoon.Each hour passing marked one more that my mother might be bleeding, suffering, God forbid even dead!No! I curbed my morbid thoughts. I couldn’t think like that.She was taken for leverage or they would have killed her on site like the others.The call would come. That sadist bastard was just drawing it out.I looked past the fountain, the sweeping lawns. Every shadow looked like a threat. Every passing minute stretched like an eternity.Somewhere ou
Denton I stepped out into the corridor with my phone pressed to my ear, but my mind was nowhere near the call I was making. It was still stuck inside that hospital room.Still replaying everything those two kids had just told me.I had seen war zones. Terror cells. Governments toppled by shadows and whispers. I had seen cruelty that would turn most men’s stomachs.But listening to the story of what had happened to Arianna when she was sixteen…That had stirred something ugly and protective inside my chest. That brought back Fathima and Ayesha...but now was not the time...I dragged my mind back to the present. Liana...No, Arianna. At sixteen. Christ.Sixteen years old and drugged in her own home by the man who was supposed to protect her.Sixteen and forced to run for her life.Sixteen and carrying the burden of keeping a dying brother alive while the world hunted them.My jaw tightened. Liam O’Connell wasn’t just a criminal. He was a monster.I leaned against the wall, forcing my
Liana Adriano called after 5pm to let me know he and Luca would be a bit late. A last minute emergency came up. It shouldn’t have bothered me. It absolutely did. “How could he leave me alone to welcome his guests?” I checked the spread on the kitchen island for the third time, nudging bowls i
Adriano Denton pulls the car around just after eight. As I slide into the back seat, adjusting my cuffs, I say it like it’s a business instruction—precise, unemotional. “Please pick up Liana at 1pm and take her to the hospital. She wants to catch the doctors after rounds.” Denton nods. “Of cou
Adriano When I come back down, freshly showered and with just my sweats, my breath stalls. She is in the kitchen, her back to me as she tries to reach a higher shelf of the snack cupboard on tip toes. She is in little peach pajamas… cotton with matching lace on the edges, barefoot and hair in a
AdrianoI woke up before my alarm went off. Six am the digits blinked at me, mocking my inability to sleep.I needed the gym. Last night’s restlessness still lingered. After I left Liana's room, I had two stiff shots of Peronne but not even that or the cold shower I had after got rid of my raging







