Chapter 117⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾I’d stared at her long enough.“You’re waiting for me to act surprised,” I said finally, my voice flat. “You think I didn’t know.”Her face went pale. “You… you knew?”“I knew something was wrong the moment I saw that girl. Wrong voice, wrong mannerisms, wrong everything. Maeve calls me Nikolai, but the girl addressed me formally. I just didn’t know what they’d done with the real Maeve until I found her with Kaine in Manhattan.” I stepped closer, and she pressed herself back against the garden wall. “So let’s skip the part where you try to shock me with information I already have.”Agnes’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. “But then why—”“You know what’s fucking hilarious?” I said, my voice deadly quiet. “I came here originally to clean up the convent because you guys were trouble we didn’t want, and then I met Sylvia and I thought this place was helpless. I blamed myself for what happened to Father Andrew, so I figured I could help.”Agnes flinched whe
Trigger warning ⚠️ Chapter 116 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ “Answer me!” I shook my head, not trusting my voice. "Of course you don't. You were too busy playing house with the nuns, weren't you? Pretending to be holy, pretending to serve God, when all along you were nothing but a whore, a thief and a liar." "I don't remember—" "You were sixteen when I found you," he continued, like I hadn't spoken. "Sixteen years old, half-dead in an alley, beaten and broken. No one gave a damn whether you lived or died, certainly not your stupid drunk father who beat you up in the first place. I saved you, Sylvia. I gave your family everything—a home, a purpose, a future. And how do you repay me?" The memories were still fractured, coming in painful flashes that left me more confused than before. I remembered being young, remembered being afraid, but the details remained frustratingly out of reach. "I was sixteen," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "You were already a grown man. How could you exp
Chapter 115 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ The wedding ring was actually a shackle around my finger. I stared strangely at it as I sat at Kaine's huge dining table, the gold band caught the light from the crystal chandelier above. The ring was beautiful, I had to admit. An intricate design with small diamonds embedded in a Celtic knot pattern. Under different circumstances, with a different man, I might have loved it. But every time I looked at it, all I could think about was how weird it was that I was actually here, truly married. How naive I'd been to think I could ever truly escape. I never imagined I'd wear a wedding ring. During my years with the sisters, marriage had seemed like a distant concept—something for other people, not for someone who'd devoted her life to serving God. And even in my wildest dreams, if I had imagined wearing one, it certainly wouldn't have been with someone like Kaine. But I’d already owned one before then. The sound of his footsteps on the marble floor m
Chapter 114⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾I'd expected to have to ring the bell, maybe wait while some nervous novice scurried to find Agnes. What I hadn't expected was to see her already standing by the gate, her black habit stark against the twilight, watching the road like she'd been there for hours.She moved toward my car before I'd even fully stopped, her steps quick and purposeful. The few times I'd seen Agnes, she never moved with urgency—if anything, she had the calculated grace and practiced patience of a mischievous thief. But tonight, she was practically vibrating with nervous energy."Mr. Gianni," she called out, her voice carrying across the space between us. "You came."I cut the engine and stepped out, studying her face in the fading light. "You sound surprised. Wasn't that what you wanted?"She glanced over her shoulder toward the main building, then back at me. "Not here. We can't talk here.""Where is Maria? If you've done something to her, I swear to God I'm going to kill you."
Chapter 113 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Since most of the evening crowd was not due for another few hours, the main floor of Lussuria Nera was nearly empty when we walked in, just a few regulars nursing drinks and keeping their conversations low. Viktor was waiting at the bar, a piece of paper in his hand and a smug expression on his face, “I knew you were coming.” “Was growing bored watching those men,” I said with a shrug, “What were you saying?” "Nacho says this fucking thing showed up this morning," Viktor said, sliding the telegram across the bar's polished surface. "Courier delivered it straight to our front door." I picked up the paper, already knowing what I'd find. Agnes's handwriting was as sharp and bitter as her tongue: ⟿⟿ MR. GIANNI- YOUR SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES. MARIA FOOLISH HEART BREAKS AT YOUR ABANDONMENT BY THE DAY. MY PATIENCE WEARS THIN. CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY OR YOU AND THAT STUPID BITCH FACE CONSEQUENCES. - S.A. ⟿⟿ "Dramatic as always," I muttered, setting the tel
Chapter 112⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾The sound of concrete mixers and hammering had been my soundtrack for the past three days. I stood in what used to be the east wing of the facility, watching contractors rebuild what Kaine's little bombing spree had destroyed. Not even the smell of fresh concrete and paint could mask the lingering scent of smoke and death, nor my guilt."The new security system is online," Luigi called from across the construction zone, dodging a worker carrying steel beams. "Triple the cameras, motion sensors on every entrance, and those laser things you wanted."I nodded, my attention split between his words and the memorial wall we'd erected for the nine men who died in the explosion. Their names were carved into black marble, a permanent reminder of what trusting the wrong person could cost."Good. What about the—"My phone buzzed. Dante's name flashed across the screen."I need to take this." I walked toward the quieter section of the building, stepping over cables an