LOGINI always knew I was a freak-a man who could get pregnant. To survive, I sold myself to Linda, a notorious pimp. Obedience meant bread; defiance meant dying in a dark corner. But everything changed after a night with a mysterious, powerful man who left me a precious gift: a baby of my own. I hoped its presence might make the miserable days easier. I thought I had hidden it well, but Linda found out. She locked me in the basement, tied me to a chair, and brandished a blood-stained club. The club battered my upper body, moving lower until it pressed against my belly, searching for a fatal blow. I struggled desperately as a sharp pain gripped my abdomen, fearing I was about to lose the child. "Linda, don't go too far," someone pleaded nearby. "After all, it's that gentleman's child." "How could he ever remember a dirty freak like him? Say goodbye to your little bastard!" Linda sneered. I closed my eyes in despair, accepting that someone like me was destined to hold onto nothing. Yet, the final blow never came. Instead, the door was kicked open, and men in black suits flooded the cramped space. Through the blinding light, a tall, powerful figure stormed in. Snapping Linda's neck like a chicken's, he pressed a gun to her temple, his deep voice trembling with rage: "How dare you hurt my child?" At that moment, I thought my salvation had arrived. But what | didn't know was that he would become the abyss I would desperately try to escape I the future.
View MoreThe first sign that something was wrong came on a Thursday morning.Leo was in the kitchen, making coffee, when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. It was Marcus Bellamy—the family lawyer, the man who had defended Drake and Mason through every war they had ever fought.Leo answered."Marcus.""Leo." Marcus's voice was grim. "We have a problem.""What kind of problem?""A legal one. Don Vittorio Cross has filed a petition in federal court. He's claiming that the Ashford family kidnapped his grandson and is holding him against his will."Leo's blood ran cold."What?""He's filed for an emergency injunction. He wants Damien returned to Italy immediately. He's claiming that Damien is a minor—""He's twenty-one.""He's claiming that Damien is mentally unfit—that he's been manipulated and coerced by you and your family. He's filed a restraining order against you. Against your fathers. Against the entire Ashford estate."Leo's hand tightened on the phone."That's insane.""It's strat
Damien woke slowly.The room was soft with morning light—gold and white and warm. The sheets were clean and smelled like lavender. The window was open just a crack, letting in the cool November air and the distant sound of birds.For a long moment, he didn't move.He just lay there, his eyes closed, his body heavy, and he tried to remember the last time he had woken up without fear.He couldn't.He opened his eyes.---The room was small and simple.A bed. A dresser. A window overlooking the garden. A chair in the corner with a blanket folded on it. The walls were painted a soft, pale green—the color of new leaves.It was not a guest room.It was a home.Damien sat up slowly.He looked at his hands. They were steady. They were still. He had slept through the night—the whole night—without nightmares, without waking, without reaching for a knife.He had slept like a person.He didn't know what to do with that.---He got up.He dressed in the clothes Leo had packed for him—a soft grey s
They left at dawn.Leo packed a single bag—a change of clothes, his laptop, the leather jacket that had belonged to his father. He didn't tell anyone where they were going. He didn't tell Luca. He didn't tell Elara. He didn't even tell his fathers.He just took Damien's hand and walked him to the car."Where are we going?" Damien asked."Home.""Your home?""Yes."Damien stopped walking."Leo—" He pulled his hand free. "I can't. I can't go to your home. I can't meet your fathers. They'll—""They'll what?""They'll hate me." Damien's voice cracked. "They'll know who I am. They'll know what I came here to do. And they'll—""They'll do nothing." Leo turned to face him. "Because I'll be there. And because you're with me."Damien stared at him."You don't understand," he whispered. "Your father killed mine. Your family destroyed mine. There's no version of this where they welcome me."Leo stepped closer."There's no version of this where I let you go," he said. "So you can either get in th
The man arrived on a Tuesday.Leo saw him first.He was standing at the window of his dorm room, a cup of coffee in his hand, watching the quad below. Students were crossing the lawn in twos and threes, their breath fogging in the cold November air. The leaves had mostly fallen now—just a few stubborn gold ones clinging to the branches.And then, a car pulled up to the curb.It was black. It was expensive. It had Italian plates.Leo's hand tightened around his coffee cup."Damien," he said quietly.Damien was sitting on the bed, reading one of Leo's books—a novel about a garden, something Mason had given him years ago. He looked up."What?""Come here."Damien stood up and walked to the window. He looked down at the car.His face went pale."His name is Matteo," he said. His voice was barely a whisper. "He's my grandfather's consigliere. He's been with the family for thirty years. He's the one who taught me how to use a knife."Leo didn't look away from the car."Is he dangerous?""Ve
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