Owned by vengeance

“Move—move—excuse me!”A hand grabbed my arm as I tried to push through the crowd.

“Miss Russo! Is it true your father was arrested this morning?”

“What?” I snapped, trying to pull away. “Let go of me.”

Another microphone shoved into my face.“Did you know about the trafficking charges?”

Flashes exploded around me.

Camera shutters clicked so fast I lost my sight for a second.

“What trafficking charges?” I demanded, my voice rising. “What are you talking about?”

No one answered and instead, they just kept shouting.

“Miss Russo, did Salvatore Moretti turn your father in?”

The name hit me like a brick.Salvatore?

“That’s ridiculous,” I said automatically. “Salvatore would never do anything like that—” I argued, but the words that died in my throat as two uniformed officers stepped out of the doors of Russo Tower.

Between them was my father, his hands were cuffed behind his back.

My stomach dropped so hard I felt it in my knees.

“Dad?” I called, pushing my way closer to him, he didn’t look at me as the reporters surged forward.

“Mr. Russo! Do you deny the charges?”

“Were you involved in human trafficking operations?”

“Did the Moretti family expose your organization?”

Moretti. Moretti. Moretti.

The name kept echoing through the chaos

“No,” I whispered.

My feet started moving before I realized what I was doing.

“Dad!” I yelled, one of the officers held out an arm, blocking me. me.

“You can’t go through here, ma’am.” He said, shielding him away from me.

“That’s my father!” I snapped. “Move! You’re not going to stop me from talking to him!” I yelled.

Behind the officers, my father finally looked up and his eyes met mine.

For a split second something flickered across his face, fear, and then it was gone.

“It’s a misunderstanding,” he said loudly, his voice calm despite the cuffs on his wrists. “My lawyers will handle it.”

“Dad, what’s going on?” I demanded.

He didn’t answer as the officers pushed him toward a waiting police car.

“Wait!” I shouted, trying to follow.

Another body stepped into my path, this one didn’t wear a uniform.

A black suit, broad shoulders and the familiar scent of expensive cologne.

My breath caught as I looked up to Salvatore Moretti in front of me.

For a moment the entire street seemed to disappear.

He looked the same and completely different at the same time.

Dark hair, sharp jaw, the same eyes that used to soften whenever he looked at me.

Except they weren’t soft now, they were hard and focused

“Celine,” he said quietly, stepping closer,

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“What is going on?” I demanded. “Why are they saying your name?”

His jaw tightened as he spoke, “We need to leave.”

“What? Where are we going, Salvatore, I need you to tell me what is going on,” I said, staring at his face.

“Now, Celine, we need to leave now.” He said as he stepped closer, grabbing my arms.

Behind him, police lights flashed red and blue across the glass walls of the building.

My father was being shoved into the back of a squad car.

Reporters were shouting questions about trafficking rings and financial crimes.

And Salvatore was telling me to leave.

“Answer me,” I said, my voice shaking. “Why are they saying you turned him in?”

His gaze flicked briefly toward the police car.

Then back to me. “This isn’t the place for this conversation.”

“Then where is the place?” I snapped. “Because apparently the entire city already knows!”

He stepped closer, close enough that I could see the tension in his shoulders.

“Celine,” he said quietly, “you need to come with me.” He said, pulling me away.

“Why?”

“So I can keep you safe.” The words made my stomach twist.

“Safe from what?” He hesitated, that hesitation lasted less than a second.

But I saw it and something cold slid down my spine.

“Salvatore,” I said slowly, “what did you do?”

His expression hardened as he spoke. “I didn’t do this to you.”

“Oh really?” I gestured wildly at the chaos around us. “Because your name is the only one they keep shouting!”

“I exposed him,” he said, and I felt the world go silent.

“You… what?”

“I exposed your father.” For a moment I just stared at him.

Waiting for him to say he was joking, for him to take it back or tell me it was some sort of joke.

“You destroyed my family?” I whispered. Snapping my hands from his grip.

His eyes flashed with something sharp.

“I saved you.” He growled, biting his tongue as he spoke, the words hit me like a slap.

“ Saved me? Salvatore, my father is behind a police van and you’re telling me you saved me!” I yelled, but before he could respond, another voice cut through the tension.

“Oh my God, Celine!” Bianca, my stepsister rushed toward us from the crow and grabbed my arm like she was afraid I might collapse.

“I’ve been trying to find you everywhere,” she said breathlessly.

“Bianca,” I said, still staring at Salvatore. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Her eyes flicked toward him and then her mouth tightened.

“You don’t know?” Bianca said, staring at my face.

“Know what?”Her grip on my arm tightened.

“Salvatore reported Dad to the authorities,” she said quietly. “He’s been building a case against the family for months.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “That’s not true,” I said immediately.

Bianca looked at me with something that almost looked like pity.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“Celine,” Salvatore said sharply.

But I wasn’t looking at him anymore.

I was looking at the police car pulling away with my father inside.

At the reporters screaming questions about trafficking and criminal empires.

At the building that carried our name.

Russo Tower.

And the man standing in front of me who had just admitted he destroyed it.

My chest felt like it was caving in. “Don’t follow me,” I said quietly.

Salvatore’s expression changed as he whispered my name, “Celine—”

“If you come near me again,” I said, my voice shaking, “I swear to God I’ll call the police myself.”

The words clearly hit him, but I didn’t wait to see his reaction as I turned and walked away from him, through the crowd of reporters.