LOGINCHAPTER 60LENA POV The night wouldn't let me sleep. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling while moonlight spilled across the floor. My muscles ached from the training. Every bruise was a reminder of Salvatore's hands guiding me. His voice low near my ear. Those rare words of praise that kept echoing through my head. "Good." "Better than good." Just two words, but they'd taken root somewhere inside me I couldn't reach.I should have been thinking about escaping. For months, that's all I'd done at night. I'd memorized guard rotations. Counted cameras. Imagined boats leaving the island. Planned routes that would never work. But tonight those thoughts didn't come. Instead I kept seeing his hands on my waist. The way he said "Again" without any anger underneath it. The patience in his voice. The closeness when he stood behind me. The way he'd looked at me after I hit the target. I hated how much that memory unsettled me.I closed my eyes and the images got stronger. The training yard. His
CHAPTER 59SALVATORE POV The range fell silent when Lena lowered the gun. The last shot still echoed in my ears. Every single target showed hits. Not perfect. But every one landed exactly where it needed to. I'd expected her to hesitate. Maybe even fight the lesson. Instead she adapted. Fast. Smart. The pride caught me off guard and not because she was becoming useful in my world. It hit me because she listened. The memory of guiding her hands stayed fresh in my mind. The warmth of her body pressed against mine. The scent of her hair. I forced myself to stay composed because the men were watching. Dante and Charlie exchanged looks. The silence got thick.I walked toward her. The soldiers waited. Normally I tore apart even perfect performances just to keep them sharp. Lena braced for it. Her shoulders tensed up tight. Instead I said, "Good."She blinked. I added, "Better than good."Charlie nearly smiled. Dante raised an eyebrow. No one heard praise from me in months. Maybe years. L
CHAPTER 58 LENA POVThe training ground was quiet when I got there. The sea breeze cut through the air, carrying salt and the faint smell of gunpowder from earlier drills. I arrived early, my practical clothes sticking to my skin from the walk. No elegant dresses today, just pants and a shirt that allowed movement. My hair tied back tight. The soldiers were already there.Salvatore stood at the edge, arms crossed, watching everything. His eyes found me the moment I stepped onto the dirt. I felt the shift in my stomach. Not fear of the weapons anymore. Fear of him. Yesterday's training still sat in my bones. The way his hands had guided me. The closeness. The quiet. It lingered like a bruise I couldn't stop pressing. I reminded myself to focus. The war waited. Survival demanded it. I walked forward anyway.He started with movement, no shooting.Just foot placement. Balance. How to react if someone grabbed me. I lost my footing several times. The frustration burned in my chest. Salvat
CHAPTER 57 SALVATORE POVThe training yard seemed so quiet and still.The sky carried the first gray light. I stood at the edge watching. My men gathered early. Charlie walked up, his face showing the question before he spoke. "Are you sure about this?"I kept my eyes on the targets. "She can't depend on me forever."Inside the words felt hollow. The real reason sat deeper. The memory of Matteo's kidnapping. The way Lena cried when he ran into her arms. The break. The tears. The fear in her voice. I refused to watch that again. Another kidnapping. Another loss. The obsession to protect her pushed this. The terror of failing her. It justified every lesson, every risk. The training started today. For her survival and for my peace.Lena arrived wearing practical clothes.Dark pants. Simple shirt. Hair tied back. No makeup. She looked ready, not glamorous, not fragile. Dangerous. Not because of any weapon. Because she looked like she belonged here. The realization unsettled me. Charlie
CHAPTER 56 LENA POVSoft light came through the windows. I woke up slowly. The bed felt warm. Everywhere looked calm outside . Matteo slept down the hall. I checked on him and found him breathing steadily, and his bruises were fading.The sight made me smile. He came back safe. The relief settled in my chest, quiet and real.I stepped outside. The garden path felt familiar beneath my feet. The air carried salt from the sea. Men ran drills in the distance. The house no longer felt like a prison. I realized the kidnapping wasn't the end. It was one piece of something larger. More would come. I found Salvatore walking towards me, his eyes settled on me.He wore simple clothes. Dark shirt. Pants , No suit or tie. He looked ready for something. "Come with me."I stopped walking. "Where?""Outside." His voice stayed even. Not a demand, just a statement of fact.I shook my head. "I'm not interested in another game.""This isn't a game." He met my eyes. Exhaustion showed on his face. He
CHAPTER 55 SALVATORE POV The war room smelled of stale coffee and gun oil. Maps covered the long table. Red lines marked the strikes we had already made. Charlie stood at one end. Diego at the other. Matteo sat quiet in the corner. The captains filled the rest of the seats. They waited for me to speak. I leaned over the table, hands pressed flat on the wood. "Caruso lost three warehouses last night. Their captains are dead. The money routes are cut. We hit them where it hurts. They took Matteo. They pay." One captain shifted in his seat. "The damage is heavy. Their network is bleeding. But the whispers. The other families. They say you've changed. The woman. She made you reckless." I didn't look up. The words landed hard. This world talked a lot . They always did. Lena had turned me. The obsession showed in every order, every strike. The need to protect her pushed me harder, made my decisions questionable. I knew it. But I didn't say it aloud. Charlie cleared his throat. "
SALVATORE POVRevenge was supposed to feel cleaner than this. Simple. Kill everyone responsible, walking away empty but satisfied.Instead, I stood outside Lena Moretti's bedroom at two in the morning wondering why I couldn't stop thinking about the way her hands shook when Matteo smiled at her.I
LENA POVI woke up in silk sheets that probably cost more than most people's houses. And for one horrible second, I forgot where I was.The room was quiet except for the sound of waves crashing against rocks somewhere below the fortress. Pale sunlight spilled through massive glass windows overlook
CHAPTER 3 SALVATORE POVThe first thing Lena Moretti did after arriving on my island was glare at me like she wanted to watch me burn alive. Interesting.Most people arrived here terrified. Broken or either begging.But Lena stood in the middle of my fortress soaked in rain, blood staining her w
CHAPTER 2LENA POVMy wedding dress was covered in blood. Not mine. My brothers'.The smell wouldn't leave me. It smells like blood mixed with smoke and gunpowders. Everything smelt like death. It clung to my skin as Salvatore Romano dragged me through the cathedral like I already belonged to him.







