LOGINI moved him before first light. Killian was too heavy to carry and too weak to walk far on his own. I got his good arm over my shoulders and took most of his weight, half dragging, half supporting him through the trees. Every few dozen yards I had to stop so he could breathe and so I could check that the bandage still held. His skin stayed cold. His eyes opened in short, unfocused intervals. He knew me. That was enough to keep going. The north ridge safe house sat in a dense stand of pine, low and windowless from the outside, built into the slope like it had grown there. I recognized the secondary markers Killian had once mentioned in passing during a security brief years ago. Small, deliberate cuts on certain trunks, a rock pile that looked natural until you knew what to look for. The outer keypad was hidden under a false panel of bark. I entered the emergency family code with shaking fingers. The lock released. Inside was clean, stocked, and cold. Emergency lighting flicked on at
I dragged him as far as I could before my arms gave out. The woods were dark and uneven. Every root and slope fought me. Killian stayed unconscious, his breathing shallow, the makeshift bandage on his shoulder already soaked through. When I saw the old hunter’s shed half hidden among the trees, a small weathered structure with a broken latch, I made for it without thinking. Inside smelled of dust, old wood, and dried leaves. There was a narrow cot against one wall, a metal shelf with a few rusted tools, and a half empty first aid tin that looked like it had been forgotten for years. I hauled Killian onto the cot as carefully as I could and collapsed beside him for a few seconds, lungs burning, arms shaking. Then I forced myself to move. I stripped the ruined bandage and examined the wound in the weak light of a found flashlight. The bullet had gone through the outer muscle of his shoulder. And he had lost too much blood on the way through the tunnels and the woods. His skin was col
The panic wing did not stay safe for long. Another explosion rocked the outer structure. Smoke began to seep under the reinforced doors. The air grew hotter. Reports came in broken bursts over the secure radios. The east wing is compromised, the main hall is burning, Valenti men pushing deeper with incendiaries. The mansion was no longer just under siege. Parts of it were on fire. Dante ordered a full evacuation of the core family through the secondary routes. Marco and Enzo moved to secure Father and Bianca. In the confusion of shouted orders and moving bodies, I slipped away from the group. I could not leave Killian bleeding in a corridor while the house burned around him. I found him near the service junction where I had last seen him. He was on one knee with his left arm hanging useless and right hand still gripping the gun. Blood had soaked through his shirt and down his side. The shoulder wound was worse than he had let me see. He looked up when I dropped beside him. “I told
Sunday dinner was set like a formal execution. Everyone sat in their places. Killian was brought in under guard. Two men walked him to a chair at the far end of the table, close enough to be seen, far enough to be controlled. His bruises had faded to yellow and green. He wore clean clothes but no jacket, wrists free, the guards close enough to end him if the order came. Father had allowed it for one reason only: the first test still stood, and a possible Vance heir meant the father of that heir sat where the family could watch him. Under guard and under judgment. Alive for now. The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on. No one spoke. Dante’s eyes moved between Killian and me without rest. Marco’s jaw stayed tight. Enzo looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Bianca watched the whole performance with open interest. Outside, extra men lined the grounds. Everyone knew Lorenzo had taken the pregnancy news as an insult. Everyone this dinner was a risk. No one expected how
Breakfast the next morning felt like walking into a trap. The long table was set as usual. Father sat at the head. Dante to his right. Marco and Enzo in their places. I took my seat with careful movements, the way someone nursing early nausea might. My lie had to hold in every small detail. Killian was still locked in the dungeon. Although I bought us a little time with the fake test, I do not plan on wasting it by slipping in front of the wrong eyes. Bianca was already there. She watched me the moment I entered with a small, sharp smile on her lips. She had been quiet and invisible since the night we came back from the cabin, even when I screamed my love for Killian in the basement. But silence from her was never peace. It was waiting. I poured water instead of coffee and took a small piece of toast. The performance was deliberate. A pregnant woman in the early weeks might avoid strong smells and rich food. I let my face show a mild discomfort when a platter of eggs passed near me.
I returned to the main part of the house under guard. Father was already waiting in the study with Dante. Dr. Aris delivered the news himself in the careful, professional tone of a man who had just been very well paid. “Early positive,” he said. “Consistent with conception in the last two to three weeks. Hormone levels are still low. I recommend a follow up test in fourteen to twenty one days before any permanent decisions are made. Until then, the pregnancy should be treated as viable.” Father’s face remained unreadable, but I saw the calculation start behind his eyes. A pregnant Vance daughter could not be unmarried or shamed. That rule still stood. It was the only reason Killian was in a cell instead of a grave. Dante watched me the entire time the doctor spoke. His suspicion hadn’t faded. If anything, it had sharpened. He knew how convenient the timing was. He knew how desperate I had been the night before. But the paper in front of him said positive, and even he couldn’t shoot
Killian’s groans vibrated against my neck as I kept grinding on his lap. The thick bulge of his cock pressed right against my soaked pussy through our clothes. Every roll of my hips made the leather of my dress ride higher and sent sparks shooting through my clit. I was dripping wet, my black lace
The bass hit me like a heartbeat the second I stepped inside the Velvet Room. Lights flashed across the crowded dance floor, bodies grinding to the heavy music. This was one of our clubs, and everyone knew it. The guards at the entrance bowed low as I walked past, their eyes respectful but wide. “M
“Damn, Alessia,” Sofia said, stepping back with a wicked grin. “You look like pure sex. That tight little body in leather? Killian won’t be able to look away. I bet the big, scary enforcer gets rock hard just seeing you walk by.” My face heated up, but I didn’t deny it. I turned side to side in th
I woke up on my 21st birthday with my heart already racing. Sunlight poured into my bedroom in the Vance mansion, lighting up the furniture and the silk sheets. This was the day everything changed. Or at least I hoped it would. A firm knock hit my door. “Alessia, downstairs. Now.” Dante’s voice, d







