The door closed behind Isabela with a cold, sharp echo—like an invisible guillotine falling on Dino Ferraro's neck.The silence that followed her departure was brief.Three men remained in the room with him.They weren't common thugs. They didn’t have the brutal faces of the hitmen so abundant in the underworlds Dino frequented. These men wore impeccable suits, expensive watches, and calm expressions.Calm… and deadly.One of them approached with slow steps, unhurried. He was the tallest, lean build, eyes as gray as steel. He crouched in front of Dino, who lay there with split lips and a gaze lost between fury and terror.—"Do you know what's worse than dying, Dino?"—asked the man with a soft voice, almost fatherly.—"Not knowing when or how you’re going to die."Dino swallowed hard. It was difficult. His throat was dry. Fear had begun its work: his body trembled, and his heart pounded like a drum in h
The air carried the sea breeze across the faces of the men guarding Vanessa's gift to the Morettis.An apparently abandoned house near the coast would be the perfect place for the meeting with the venomless scorpion.The ticking of the clock in the kitchen marked three in the afternoon. A thick silence enveloped the room. The atmosphere inside the house smelled of dampness, confinement… betrayal.Everything was dark; only a small crack in the wall allowed a faint thread of light to enter, drawing a trembling line across the concrete floor.It took Dino a few seconds to regain consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy, as if they were made of lead. A stabbing pain shot through the back of his neck, burning, like the edge of a freshly sharpened knife.He tried to move, but couldn’t. Something rough, coarse, was tightening around his wrists and ankles. He was tied up. A hard, old chair, probably made of rusted iron, creaked under his m
The clock read 1:47 a.m. when the knocks came. It wasn’t a polite ring, nor even an anxious call. They were three sharp, heavy knocks that made the air in the luxurious apartment tremble. Vanessa had been waiting for them. Since Dino had fallen asleep like an exhausted child—sweaty, unconscious—she hadn’t taken her eyes off the hallway leading to the front door. Every minute that passed felt like an eternity, but now, hearing those iron knuckles against the wood, she felt a jolt of ice shoot down her neck. She opened the door without asking. Two men appeared. One tall, with a sharp jawline and a shaved head. The other more compact, but with the same shark eyes Vanessa had learned to recognize as a Moretti signature. They didn’t need credentials. They came from hell, and she had prepared the way. — “Is he ready?” asked the
Isabela knew many secrets—more than Alejandro suspected. And although she trusted him and let him in on most of them, there were some she kept to herself. — You never know… it's better to save some for later, she told herself with a smile. Alejandro had listened to her attentively, surprised and amazed by the treasure in front of him. — You’re a box full of surprises, my queen. Now I understand why your father used to say you’re poison with the scent of roses. Isabela smiled. She knew her potential, her ability, and her charm. — I like this new you, my queen. It turns me on. — I know. But don’t come too close, or I might burn you. — I’m willing to burn… whenever you want. — Now it’s my turn to share a secret, Alejandro said, standing up to pour hi
Isabela knew what to expect from a wounded woman. It wasn’t the first time she had seen Vanessa. She used to strut alongside Dino at business parties, before Dino’s treacherous strike against Alejandro and the organization.That day, everything changed for her and her children—Isabela never forgave Dino for it. He destroyed the dream she once lived in.Isabela hadn’t forgotten that it was Dino’s idea to have her kidnapped in the hospital in the United States, when Alejandro was gravely injured.Dino was the main one interested in getting rid of her young children, Mateo and Lucía, all because of his filthy obsession with her.She couldn’t forget the day she met him in Greece—his way of looking at her made her feel sick. He was not the kind of man she’d ever be alone with.Dino’s so-called love was nothing more than a twisted obsession.As Isabela drove to the meeting place with Vanessa, her mind replayed the moment that
Love had ignited a greater fire between the Moretti titans. It had opened a wound that needed to be closed once and for all.But neither of them wanted to take down the enemy all at once. Dino wasn’t just any enemy. He was the black hand behind Alejandro’s imprisonment.Vittorio Salvi had spat it in Alejandro’s face when he said: “Dino desires her with madness.”That was the clear evidence of who had pulled the strings behind the “impeccable and incorruptible” Deputy Commissioner Salvi.Now that Salvi had been eliminated on Isabela’s orders, the hunt remained for the one who had thrown the steel net over Alejandro.Dino didn’t only pursue Alejandro’s routes. He was after something far more valuable—his wife, Isabela.Dino wanted her for himself, with such madness, that his obsession had led him to commit the worst mistake of his life… revealing himself to the Morettis.The Emerald Coast shimmered unde
Things hadn't turned out the way Isabela expected. Alejandro had felt his pride as a man wounded when he learned of Vittorio Salvi’s death.The news had spoken of the incident all day. A reporter interviewed Cassandra and asked her:— Do you have any idea who could have done this to your husband?Salvi's wife could only say: “He had many enemies… anyone could have done it.”She looked hurt, but not broken. Vittorio Salvi had destroyed with his lies the little love she had left for him.Isabela understood it when she saw Cassandra’s face on television. Meanwhile, Dante, her informant, told her that Luciana and Salvi’s daughter were living with Luciana’s mother, far from all the media noise surrounding the vice-commissioner's death.While Isabela stayed at the Villa with her children, Alejandro had gone out in his Maserati to clear his mind.Isabela felt worried about him, but she was no longer willing
The house smelled like home again. With Alejandro’s presence, they had begun to smile once more after days of tension and anxiety.Isabela lingered a few extra minutes at her son’s bedroom door, watching how Mateo slept cuddled up with his old teddy bear—the one he always asked for when his dad wasn’t around.Then she paused to look at her daughter Lucía, who had fallen fast asleep with a smile on her lips, as if dreaming of her father being home was enough to sleep in peace.Isabela closed the door softly, her chest burning with emotion at seeing her children happy again.She then walked down the dim hallway until she reached the master bedroom. Alejandro was already there, sitting at the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, face buried in his hands.The suit jacket was hanging on the chair. His white shirt, wrinkled from the long day, had two buttons undone. His hair was a bit tousled and his expression... was that of
— Mr. Moretti, sign here — said the guard. — Here’s your wallet with all your cards and the money intact.Alejandro didn’t even look at him. He took his belongings and his Rolex watch, then turned his back.— Take care of the rest... I’m getting the hell out of this dump! — he said, without looking at his lawyer.Walking without looking back, Alejandro only wanted to shower and burn the clothes he was wearing. He didn’t want to remember those four days in jail. Even though he hadn’t had contact with other inmates, the mere idea of being locked in a cell made him feel filthy.As he walked toward the exit accompanied by a guard, Alejandro looked to his left, meeting the proud gaze of Vittorio Salvi. The deputy commissioner stared at him, recalling an invisible sentence.Alejandro wanted to ignore him, but his words stabbed at his chest and conscience with a silent pain he couldn’t avoid. The gate creaked at his exit, as