เข้าสู่ระบบRaina sat across from Maxton, watching him quietly place food on her plate. The table was set nicely, steam rising from the dishes.“You need to eat more food, remember you are eating for two now” Maxton said with a small smile and glanced at Raina's still flat stomach.“ I just don't have a good appetite these days” Raina replied with a sigh while staring at the pile of food with a frustrated expression.These were all her favorite dishes but now she suddenly doesn't like them like she used to. At first she was scared, but after searching it up online, she found out it was all because of the pregnancy.“Whether you have a good appetite or not, you still have to feed my little princess,” Maxton said with a smile.“How are you so certain that it will be a girl? And not a boy?” Raina asked him and Maxton suddenly frowned slightly.“I want a girl, we don't need a boy, Angelo is enough” He replied and Raina smiled gently.She was so happy that he was willing to step in as Angelo's father.
Bailey's legs gave out the moment Carlos said those words. She slid down the wall and sat on the cold floor, her whole body shaking.Even Carlos. Even the brother who always fixed her mess, who always found a way to make things okay, couldn't help her this time. That scared her more than anything.Carlos stood outside the door, looking at her through the small window. He didn't know what to say anymore. He had said the same things to her so many times before."Why, Bailey?" he asked, his voice tired. "Why can't you just behave? Just once? Why does everything always turn into a disaster with you?"Bailey didn't answer. She just kept crying, loud and broken, her hands covering her face. Her makeup ran down her cheeks in black streaks, mixing with her tears.Carlos heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Marcus and Pascal hurrying down the hallway toward him.Marcus slowed down first. He looked at Carlos's face and saw his red eyes. Carlos never let anyone see him like this, not ev
Carlos didn't waste a single second. He turned on his heel and headed straight for the security monitoring room, his mind already spinning through a dozen possibilities of what Bailey could have possibly done to warrant that look on Maxton's face.He pushed through the door and found the man in charge of the surveillance system already seated at his station, multiple screens glowing in front of him displaying feeds from various parts of the estate.“Carlos” The technician greeted with a respectful voice but he got no response."I need to see whatever Bailey did while I was away," Carlos said and his voice carried a sense of urgency.His hands were in a tight fist and his expression was tense and slightly anxious as he couldn't wait to know what happened. He kept praying in his mind that whatever it is, it should be something he can easily solve.The technician didn't even look surprised by the request and he also noticed Carlos's tense state. He simply nodded, already reaching for a
The convoy rolled through the gates of the Retroferd estate a little after four in the afternoon, the SUVs kicking up dust as they pulled into the wide driveway one after another. Carlos climbed out first, stretching his stiff back after the long hours of travel, he sighed in relief and glanced around."Get everything discharged," he instructed the guards trailing out of the other vehicles, his voice carrying easily across the courtyard. "Weapons back in storage, supplies logged and returned. Once that's done, go get some rest…All of you did well out there."The guards nodded, murmuring quiet acknowledgments as they began unloading gear from the vehicles, moving with the efficiency of men eager to finally put the mission behind them and collapse into their own beds.Carlos walked over to where Pascal stood near the last SUV, still securing a strap on one of the equipment cases. He reached out and gripped Pascal's shoulder firmly, leaning in slightly so only he could hear."I'll come
Lucia let out a sharp, terrified scream the moment she saw the barrel of the gun pointed directly at her forehead. She stumbled backward, her hands flying up instinctively in front of her face, her whole body trembling with genuine fear.But just as quickly as the panic hit her, something else flickered behind her eyes. A sudden, desperate calculation as she remembered, in that split second between terror and survival, exactly what she was holding over him."Wait!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with urgency. "Wait, Lorenzo, put that down! You don't want to do this!""Give me one good reason," Lorenzo growled, his finger still resting against the trigger, his hand steady despite the fury coursing through him."Because if anything happens to me," Lucia said quickly, her words tumbling out in a rush, "if I don't check in with my friend by tonight, she has instructions to release everything.Videos of us together with timestamps, and they are all saved in multiple places. I guarantee th
Lorenzo drove extremely fast, weaving through traffic with a recklessness that would have earned him a stern lecture from Michael, if he had been sitting beside him. But he didn't care right now as the fury simmering in his chest demanded speed and something to burn off the adrenaline coursing through his veins.Twenty minutes later, he pulled up outside a high-end bar tucked along the east side of the city, the kind of place with dim lighting, discreet valets, and private rooms meant for people who preferred their business, and their affairs, kept far from prying eyes.He tossed his keys to the valet without a word and strode through the entrance, ignoring the hostess who tried to greet him at the door. His eyes scanned the layout quickly, and he moved with purpose toward the back hallway, following the room number that had been included at the end of that infuriating text message.He found the door easily enough and pushed it open without bothering to knock.Inside, a woman sat cur
The cathedral was a monument to old blood and older sins. Its towering stone arches and stained-glass windows usually spoke of peace, but today, they felt like a cage. The pews were filled with the elite of the underworld, men in tailored suits with bulges under their jackets, and women whose diam
The morning of the wedding arrived quickly. For forty-eight hours, Raina had been a prisoner in her own bedroom, the four walls closing in on her until the air felt thin and toxic. She hadn't slept or eaten the bland meals the guards slid through the door. She felt exhausted, her body aching from
On the southern side of the Capital city, the atmosphere was different. The Retroferd estate, twice the size of the Valente's, was a place of absolute power.The fortress of the family that had spent twenty years sabotaging the Valente bloodline. The feud had been vicious, killing sons and brother
“Thud!”“Thud!”“This!”The rhythmic sound of leather hitting canvas was the only tone Raina Valente craved. The boxing gym was a dump but to her, it was a sanctuary and the only place where the name 'Valente' didn’t restrict or meddle in her life. She leaned into a sharp jab and the heavy bag gro







