LOGINMassimo's POV“Don’t tell me you saw her entering that car.”My voice came out low and dangerous. Raf opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, but no words left him. Something inside me snapped. I punched him hard across the face. His head snapped to the side.“Are you fucking crazy? Why didn’t you stop her?!”Raf shoved my hand off his collar, breathing hard. “You think I didn’t try? Isabella is just fucking stubborn. I told her about the information I found and she immediately decided to follow them.”“What information?” I demanded.He straightened his collar, still glaring at me. “She asked me to get close to one of her father’s men. Make him slip up. So I played the part. I kept him drinking and talking. I told him I wanted one woman for myself…someone obedient. The bastard laughed and said they had several girls for that. All I needed was the money. I told him I’d pay any amount.”Raf’s jaw tightened. “By the end of the conversation he had given me three different locations wher
Massimo's POVThe second the name “Pat” left his mouth, guns came out all over the ballroom.Dozens of weapons pointed straight at the young man in the blue suit. He didn’t flinch. He only smirked wider, black eyes still locked on me like we were the only two people in the room.“Easy,” he said, voice almost playful. “Isn’t this supposed to be a friendly gathering?”“Friendly?” someone spat from the crowd. “You cost me so much fucking money and you’ve been hiding like a coward!”So Pat hadn’t only targeted me. He had hit others too.I kept my voice calm and cold as I slid one hand into my pocket. “You know you’ll be dead meat, yet you still chose to come here.”I drew my gun and aimed it directly at his chest. “You’ve got a lot of guts.”Pat threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed through the tense silence.Then his eyes turned ice-cold.“You didn’t think I came alone, did you?”A sinister smile spread across his face.In the next second, red laser dots appeared from every d
Massimo’s POV I didn’t even realize I had left the dance floor until I was already moving. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. My feet carried me through the crowd of dancers without thought. The ginger hair. That exact silhouette. It pulled me forward like a rope around my chest. Every step tightened the invisible noose. The music, the laughter, the swirl of expensive dresses…all of it faded into a dull roar behind the pounding in my ears.“Massimo?” Isabella’s voice called behind me, confused and sharp. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not when that familiar outline was already slipping farther away.I pushed between couples, eyes locked on the figure standing there. The closer I got, the more certain I became. The way she stood. The slight tilt of her shoulders. I would know that back anywhere. Even after all this time, even after the betrayal, my body still recognized her before my brain fully accepted what it was seeing.Then I reached the spot. Empty. No one
Massimo's POVDamiano’s face looked like he was seconds away from exploding.He cut through the crowd with pure anger in his eyes, heading straight for us. Before he could reach our table, someone stepped into his path. Santiago. The Mexican Don. The same man whose shipments I had cut off completely. He had never openly challenged me, but the grudge sat heavy between us. Now he was speaking to Damiano in low, urgent tones. Both of them kept glancing in our direction. Whatever they were planning, it wasn’t good.“What do you think they’re talking about?” Isabella asked beside me.I swirled the drink in my glass and took a slow sip. “Probably planning my downfall.”“If he won’t come to me, maybe I should go to him.”I turned to stop her, but she was already moving. She walked straight toward Damiano with calm, deliberate steps.“Dad!” she called, loud enough for half the room to hear.Conversations died. Heads turned. Murmurs started immediately.I stayed where I was, lifted my glass, a
Isabella's POVFor two whole days the question sat on the tip of my tongue.Who is Lydia?I wanted to ask Massimo so many times, but I knew the moment I did he would realize I had been snooping in his office. So I kept the question locked inside me while we spent every waking hour in the meeting room going over plans.The gala was the first real move. I would wear a collar around my neck right where Damiano could see it and do nothing. Things were almost guaranteed to go south. Massimo had given me a small gun and told me to stay close to him even though we both knew I could take care of myself.Now the night was finally here.I stood in front of the mirror adjusting the black dress. It had a deep cut in the chest area and a high slit that ran all the way up my thigh. Scandalous. Dangerous. Perfect. The thrill of what was about to happen made every risk feel worth it.The door opened. Massimo walked in holding a black box. He came straight to me without a word, set the box on the tabl
Isabella's POV“Why the hell are we still here, Isabella?” Raf asked the second I pushed him into my room and shut the door behind us.He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at me with questions burning in his eyes.“He’s the only one who can help me right now,” I said. “Damiano was going to sell me off. If I hadn’t come to Massimo, you know what would have happened to me.”Raf stepped closer and placed both hands on my shoulders. His grip was firm but careful. “You have me, Isabella. Why didn’t you come to me? Why did you let yourself get kidnapped?”I shook my head. “You seem to forget who that man is. He’s not someone you can deal with. Besides, this is mafia business. I don’t want you involved.”“But Isabella, you know I’ll do anything for you. You didn’t have to put yourself in danger like this.”I pulled away from his hands. “You’re not getting it, Raf. This isn’t only about me. I can’t just protect myself and walk away. So many girls he’s been trafficking depend on me.
Massimo's POV Markus left with that stupid victorious smile still stuck on his face, and the silence that followed him was loud enough to choke me. I stood there alone, one hand around my whiskey glass, swirling the amber liquid in slow circles. The ice clinked softly, mocking me. I stare
Massimo's Pov I never should have brought her here. The moment I carried her unconscious body into my house last night, I knew I’d made a mistake. A very big one. I’d never seen a girl stupid enough to enter the forbidden room, sit beside me like she owned the world, then touch me like
Isabella's Pov I groaned, my head pounding like a drum as I blinked awake. The ceiling above me was strange...high and dark, with fancy wooden beams I didn't recognize. No pink canopy from my bedroom at home. No soft pillows. Just cold, hard reality hitting me. My arms ached, and when
Isabella's Pov I don’t speak. I don’t need to. I let my coat slip from my shoulders, pooling at my feet in a puddle of fabric. The air hits my skin, and I feel alive, exposed, wanted. The lingerie leaves nothing to the imagination...my nipples are hard, straining against the lace, and







