LOGINClarissa rang the doorbell. She had thought of calling Seraphina, but then she felt it would be better for her to do this in person. Seraphina deserved to know what was going on with her sister.“Clarissa.” Seraphina said, surprise etched on her face as she opened the door. “This is a pleasant surprise.”She looked around at that moment, no doubt searching to see if Aurora was nearby.“Aurora isn’t with you?” she finally asked after a couple of seconds. “I have been trying to reach her since yesterday, but she hasn’t picked any of my calls.”“Urm…” Clarissa stuttered, trying her best to remain as composed as she could.“Oh come on in.” Seraphina said as she ushered her in. “I can't leave you out in the cold. Can I get you anything?”“That won't be necessary.” Clarissa said as she entered inside.“You know, I was literally saying I might stop by your school soon,” Seraphina muttered while setting her phone down on the table. “Surely art school cannot be taking my sister’s entire life a
ANTONIO“They still haven’t found her”I didn’t look up from the table.The whiskey in my glass had long gone untouched, as I simply watched the two rocks settled at the bottom.It had been two days now since Aurora disappeared and I still didn’t know how to fully react to it all.The Mancini’s had definitely taken her, and somehow, despite all my men and resources at my disposal, I still didn’t know where the fuck she was.The rage sitting inside my chest had become unbearable at this point, as I leaned back in the chair slowly and dragged a hand across my jaw while another man walked into the room.“Boss,” he started carefully, “we scrubbed the entire surveillance from the school district again that Sebastian was able to get but…”“But nothing,” I cut in sharply.Silence immediately followed.Good, because I was dangerously close to snapping at everybody around me right now.The entire house had become tense over the past forty-eight hours. Nobody spoke louder than necessary or did
AURORAIt has been days since I was knocked out and thrown into the back of a van and my captors were yet to say a word to me. They kept me blindfolded and bound most of the time while they transported me from location to location.I had spent the first day when I woke up screaming for help until one of them had slapped me across the face and asked me to shut up or else they would gag me.The other day I had overheard a conversation mentioning putting me on a plane which gave me a glimmer of hope for escape because there was no way nobody would notice a kidnapped girl being dragged through an airport. Right?I had spent nearly an entire night mentally planning how to call for help once we were within rage to other people except my hope was soon dashed when they drove me straight to a private airstrip and shoved me in a private jet.Right now I was being pushed to a parked SUV surrounded by armed men.“Get in the car.”I did as he instructed, not wanting to be knocked over the head aga
ANTONIO“You have outdone yourself this time.”My father’s voice carried through the room with unmistakable satisfaction as he lowered the phone from his ear and looked at me across the study.The old man rarely looked impressed. That was one of the first things I learned growing up under him. Nothing was ever enough.It was like ever since my mothers death I had been fighting for him to even crack a smile at me.Approval from Hector Valera came in scraps.Which was precisely why the look on his face now told me just how much damage we had done to the Mancini’s.He walked toward the liquor cabinet slowly, pouring himself a drink as he looked at me.“That was the fourth call this evening,” he continued. “Fourth.”I stayed leaning against the desk, arms folded across my chest.“People panic when supply chains fail.”“They don’t just panic,” he corrected with amusement. “They migrate.”He lifted his glass toward me slightly.“Four people from Mancini’s camp reached out looking to do busi
AURORA“You have been staring at your phone for the past ten minutes.”I looked up from the edge of my bed and glared at Clarissa, who stood by the doorway with a bowl of popcorn in her hands and far too much amusement on her face for someone interrupting my misery.“I have not,” I muttered.“You absolutely have.” She walked fully into the room now, dressed in one of my oversized hoodies and fuzzy socks. “At this point, I think you’re trying to telepathically force him to text you.”I scoffed at that immediately and tossed my phone beside me on the bed.“That’s ridiculous.”“Mmhm.”“It is.”Clarissa climbed onto the bed beside me, shoving popcorn into her mouth as she eyed me suspiciously.“It is very obvious you’re worried.”“I’m not worried.” I said, “That is a gross exaggeration.”I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the headboard with a sigh.The truth was that I was worried. And I absolutely hated it.It had been days since I last saw Antonio or even heard from him. Not even
“How the fuck did this happen?”Mancini’s roar echoed through the massive house.The crystal glass in his hand shattered against the wall an instant later, alcohol splattering across the whole floor.Nobody moved or even dared to breath too loudly. Everyone in the room knew exactly what kind of man Vittorio Mancini became when he was angry.And right now, he looked absolutely feral.“There is no fucking way,” he snarled as he paced furiously across the room, “that the police just happened to raid that warehouse.”His voice was getting louder with every word.Andressa sat quietly in the corner of the room, one leg crossed over the other as she watched her father spiral.Truthfully?She wasn’t even surprised.The shipment that had been destroyed tonight wasn’t just important. It had been extremely massive. Filled with weapons, drugs, and so many other things which she didn’t even want to think about. It was a payload that would have made them money in the hundreds of millions, and now i
SERAPHINA“In the event that I need you to talk, you will need to be able to explain things about Requiem.” Tristan said, “How is it coming along now?”The car had just rolled to a stop in front of the Castille estate and I could see the lights from outside already even through the tinted windows.
SERAPHINA “Look who decided to show up.” Naomi’s voice came from across the room as I walked into the club. It was quite unusual for me to be here by this time and I had to admit Velour looked extremely different before opening hours. Those seductive sounds didn’t flow through the speaker yet
TRISTAN“Get dressed,” I said, as I saw Seraphina walk into the house.“Why?” she asked, looking at me with confusion.“We are going shopping.”She stopped and I saw her take a deep breath like she was contemplating exactly what to say next.“Shopping,” she repeated, “Let me humor you for a second
TRISTAN“You need to be more careful with your words.” I immediately scolded Julian as we got to the office. “It would have been really bad if someone had heard you.”“I know I know,” he said, “I am sorry. They are going to find out eventually though.”“And I want to push that for as long as I can.







