ログインSebTHE BLOOD on the marble floor of the rooftop corridor wasn’t mine.I stood at the top of the glass-enclosed stairwell, the heavy iron barrel of my weapon still warm against my palm.At my feet, three men from the Marcone syndicate lay groaning, their expensive suits torn and stained with crimson. They had breached the perimeter through a blind spot in the secondary elevator shaft, targeting the rooftop garden.They hadn’t come to kill. They had come to steal.They assumed the mysterious woman hidden in my penthouse was nothing more than a new mistress—a soft piece of leverage to use against the rising Ricaforte Don.They had underestimated exactly what she was to me.Bela was pressed against the glass wall behind me, her breathing a collection of sharp, ragged gasps. Her long, burgundy curls were wild, a few strands clinging to the damp skin of her forehead, her eyeglasses slightly crooked on her nose.She had fought them off with a broken piece of a stone planter before I arrived
BelaTHE AIR on the rooftop terrace was crisper at night, stripped of the heavy, suffocating humidity that plagued the Milanese streets below.Up here, surrounded by the meticulously manicured hedges and stone planters of Sebastian’s private garden, I could almost pretend the world was empty.I leaned my forearms against the cold marble balustrade, tilting my head back to look at the stars. They were faint, nearly drowned out by the sprawling, electric glow of the city, but they were there.For three years, those stars had been my only constant.Three years.To the rest of the world, Belarina Dela Costa had ceased to exist in a violent, terrifying inferno that consumed her family’s legacy. I still remembered the blinding heat of that night, the roar of the explosion, and the sheer, paralyzing terror that had driven me to run rather than look back.When the smoke cleared, the syndicate had
SebTHE AMBER liquid in my glass didn’t take the edge off. Nothing did.I leaned my head against the high back of my leather chair, staring at the ceiling of my private study while the clock chimed three in the morning.My eyes burned, a heavy, gritty ache throbbing behind my temples. For three years, sleep had been an elusive luxury I couldn’t afford. Whenever I closed my eyes, the smell of burning gasoline and the deafening roar of that vehicle explosion filled my throat, waking me up in a cold, violent sweat.The syndicate thought I had spent the year solidifying my grip on the throne. They thought my ruthlessness was born from ambition.They didn't know about the locked filing cabinets behind my desk.I stood up, my joints stiff as I walked over to the safe, punching in the code. I pulled out the heavy, unlabeled leather binders and spread them across the mahogany wood under the dim lamp light.The contents were my true obsession.The official fire investigation reports from the l
Bela“FORGIVE ME, Signorina…”Maria’s voice was trembling as she frantically rearranged the silver on the table. She wouldn’t look at me. Her hands moved with a chaotic speed that betrayed her terror.“An old woman’s mind playing tricks,” she quickly added. “It was… a habit from the old days at the estate. A slip of the tongue.”“A habit? That’s impossible,” I repeated, my voice barely louder than a breath. “Maria, look at me.”But she already backing away, clutching her dust cloth to her chest like a shield. “I must tend to the linens downstairs. Please, excuse me.”She vanished into the corridor before I could stop her, leaving me alone with the echoing clatter of the silver tray.A habit.The excuse was a lie, and we both knew it. I had never been a Ricaforte. I had been a c
BelaI LET him break me. Again.I sat up, pulling the cold silk sheet against my bare chest, staring at the empty space beside me. Sebastian was gone, leaving nothing behind but the faint, mocking scent of his expensive cologne on the pillows.I wrapped my arms around my knees, my jaw tightening until it ached. The anger burning in my throat wasn’t directed at him this time—it was entirely for myself.I had spent a whole year building a wall around my heart, convincing myself that I was strong enough to face his ghost. Yet, with a single touch, a dark whisper in the dark, he had dismantled it all.I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against my knees. Never again, I vowed to the empty room.I don’t care what he threatens. I don’t care how my body betrays me. I will not let emotion make me weak again.By the time I showered and forced myself into one of the long-sleeved, high-necked knit sweaters Seb had provided, the clock downstairs was chiming nine. I expected a confrontation. I b
SebTHE PRIVATE basement beneath the Milan penthouse didn’t resemble a dungeon.It was a cold, clinical space of poured concrete and fluorescent lighting—soundproofed, sterile, and designed specifically for the Ricaforte organization’s most delicate interrogations.Two guards escorted Vince into the center of the room. They didn’t bother tying him to the metal chair, everyone inside this empire knew that escape from a sub-level was an absolute impossibility.“Leave us,” I commanded, my voice flat as I walked toward the small wet bar in the corner.The heavy steel door clicked shut, leaving only the two of us.I calmly poured two fingers of amber whiskey into a crystal glass, letting the ice clink softly against the sides before I turned around. Vince stood rigid, his chest heaving under his uniform, his face entirely drained of color.“Tell me exactly what she said,” I murmured, taking a slow sip.Vince didn’t stumble over his words. He was too terrified to lie. He truthfully repeated







