FAZER LOGINAURORAI stared at the folded note in my hand again for what had to be the hundredth time that day. My heart still raced every single time I read it. I had spent the entire day trying not to lose my mind or overthink too much about it. The possibility of it being some kind of trap definitely crossed my mind more than once. Because honestly, it all felt too good to be true. And if there was one thing I know, it was that Andressa was cruel enough to do something like this.She was even more unstable now. Perhaps all of this was a ploy to torture me psychologically before killing me.Something about that note felt real, though.God.My choices were very limited right now. Stay here and pray that whatever deal her father was talking about Tristan goes through before Andressa can do something much worse to me.Now that I repeated it back to myself, there was really only one choice in all of this.I was getting out of here tonight. Or I would die trying. The hours dragged painfully slo
AURORA “You need to eat something.” I looked up from the window the second the maid spoke softly from the doorway. I noticed that the tray in her hands shook slightly. I could tell how nervous she was, and it most likely was this way with all of the staff right now. Especially after Antonio’s attack. They had brought on more guards and more guns. Perhaps I would be able to turn one of these attendants to an ally. It was a long shot, but if I could do that, then maybe that would be my ticket out of here. “I’m not hungry,” I muttered quietly. The maid hesitated awkwardly before setting the tray down near the table. “You should still eat.” She said, “The boss is going to be very cross if you don’t.” “Your boss.” I said, trying to strike up a conversation. “Do you know how long they are planning on keeping me here?” The girl looked at me for a couple of seconds and shook her head. She was about to say something else when the guard outside knocked on the door. “Hey, move it alo
ANTONIO“You have to control your temper today.”My father’s voice was calm as the car rolled through the gates of the estate where the meeting between the families was being held.I stared out the tinted window silently. The massive villa ahead of us looked almost peaceful from the outside. Which was very ironic, because inside that building sat some of the most dangerous people in Italy.People who could decide whether a man lived or died over a glass of whiskey and a simple vote.“I mean it, Antonio,” my father continued carefully. “They’re going to try to provoke you.”I scoffed quietly.“No shit.”Hector sighed beside me.“This is exactly what Vittorio wants. He wants you emotional and reckless with everything. You can't allow him to see that reaction in there, do you understand?”I clenched my jaw.That bastard already had me exactly where he wanted me.Aurora was still in that house. And every second she remained there felt like acid burning through my chest.“We still haven’t
“I wished this meeting was happening under better circumstances.”Tristan Blackwell’s voice was calm as he sat across from Vittorio Mancini inside one of the private lounges of a hotel which was owned by the Mancini’s. Tristan had arranged for this meeting to give Vittorio his proposal in person and there was no way they were going to do it on the Mancini estate again. Especially after what had just happened there.Vittorio leaned back comfortably in his chair before letting out a small laugh now, as he looked at Tristan.“No other circumstances would have brought us together,” he replied smoothly. “Besides, your people said you had a proposal for me.”His eyes sharpened slightly.“And I have to admit… I was surprised.”Tristan remained composed.“When your men reached out and told me you were in Italy asking to do business with me…” Vittorio continued, “…my curiosity got the better of me.”A soft scoff came from Andressa, who sat beside her father looking visibly irritated already.
ANTONIO “I fucking had her!” The second I stepped into the house, I slammed my gun onto the table hard enough for the sound to echo through the entire room. Every inch of my body burned with rage right now, and I couldn’t even properly word how I was feeling. All of the emotions sat so heavily inside my chest that I genuinely felt like I could barely breathe. My father was already waiting for us in the study when we arrived, and one look at his face told me he already knew everything had gone wrong. He slowly stood from his chair and walked over to us. Sebastian shook his head in indication. “She was right there,” I snapped furiously, turning toward Sebastian. “We should have gone after her.” Sebastian looked exhausted. There was blood on his shirt that definitely wasn’t his. “I would have gotten to her.” “You would have gotten yourself killed,” Sebastian replied immediately. That only pissed me off more. “There is no fucking way we were making it through that many armed gu
AURORA“You incompetent fools!”I flinched slightly as Andressa’s voice echoed through the massive hall the second they dragged me back inside the mansion. One of the guards shoved me forward roughly, and I nearly stumbled onto the marble floor before catching myself at the last second.My entire body still felt shaky from the whole event that just took place. I had felt bullets whizz past my head and I had to check myself to be sure that I wasn’t hit anywhere. The fact that I could still see Antonio’s face in my head. I could still feel the panic in his eyes and the desperation from the moment he saw me. He had actually come for me.The thought kept replaying in my head over and over again, refusing to leave no matter how hard I tried to focus on literally anything else.“You told me the estate was secure!” Andressa snapped furiously at one of the men standing nearby. “So how exactly did they get in?”Nobody answered her. Probably because everyone in this house looked terrified of
SERAPHINA“You wanted to see me?” I said, as I walked into the office, feigning confidence like I had not just dreaded the whole walk here.The moment the door shut behind me though, I felt the air shift. It was heavier in here and I could feel the tension from him as he sat there behind his desk w
SERAPHINA“Is Tristan up yet?” I asked, almost as soon as I stepped out of my room the next day.It had been almost impossible to sleep all night, despite how quiet the whole house had been. I had been up staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened that night. Replaying eve
TRISTAN“Take us home,” I told the driver the moment the door shut behind us. I was in no mood to be at this event for even a second longer and it was very obvious.He simply nodded, as the car pulled away from the curb smoothly. Thankfully, there wasn’t much media outside the event anymore and we
SERAPHINA“She’s here!” I yelled, as I stepped away from the window after seeing the car pull up.I barely made it to the front door before I pulled it open and practically yanked Naomi into the house.She stumbled in, laughing. “Okay, okay, relax. I’m not going anywhere.”We were both laughing at







