Mag-log inChapter 127Ariel’s POVMy fingers stopped moving. Everything did.The air. The sound. Even my breath—it felt like it caught somewhere deep in my chest and refused to come out.The photo trembled slightly between my fingers. Not because I was shaking.But something inside me had just… slipped. Disconnected.“No,” I whispered, but I didn’t hear my own voice.My eyes stayed locked on the image.The face didn’t change. Didn’t shift. I didn't become someone else the longer I looked.It stayed the same. Familiar. Too familiar.My stomach tightened painfully, like something was twisting inside it, pulling harder the longer I stared.It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t.“Ariel?”Mom’s voice came from somewhere around me, distant, like it had to travel through layers just to reach me.I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.My thumb brushed over the edge of the photo, slow, almost careful, like touching it too hard would change what I was seeing.But it didn’t. It stayed.Real.“Ariel, what is it?” She a
Chapter 126Ariel’s POVI leaned forward as every instinct in me was ready, ready to hear the name of the man or woman that put a bullet through my father.Ready to start mapping out the plan to take my revenge.I was so ready, till she stopped.The word didn’t come, not even the first letter formed.Mom’s lips stayed slightly parted for a second, like she meant to say it… like it was right there—but then something shifted behind her eyes.And she couldn’t.The silence that followed wasn’t normal. It stretched. Thick and heavily as her unfinished sentence lingered between us.My chest tightened as I watched her.“Mom?” Luciana said gently and I knew she must have seen it too.Something had snapped inside her.Mom's eyes didn't meet ours, then she turned slowly, rising and walking away from us, towards the window.She had her back facing us and her arms folded lightly across her chest like she needed something to hold onto.“I can’t,” she said quietly, the words landed softer than I ex
Chapter 125Ariel’s POVI had so much to say, so many questions to ask, so many things I needed to know.But they all didn’t settle well. Not after the tears. Not after the shock.If anything, it got worse.Cause now she was here, sitting right in front of us. Real. Breathing. Talking.And everything that didn’t make sense before suddenly had somewhere to land.My head wouldn’t slow down. Questions kept stacking, overlapping, crashing into each other before I could even hold onto one properly.Dad.The word alone felt heavier now.What really happened to him?Not the version we were told. Not the clean, quiet story that ended with a funeral and silence.The real one. What kind of man was he actually?What kind of people did he deal with that ended like that?Why did you disappear after that?Where did you go? How did you end up here?Why this place? Why now?Why didn’t you come back?My fingers tightened slightly against my lap as I tried to steady my breathing, but it didn’t help. It
Chapter 124Dermos’ POVThe moment I stepped forward, everything broke apart again.Gun shots ripped across the space, heavier than before, tighter, coordinated. Not the chaos against control we had earlier.Valerio's presence must have ensured that.“Push!” I barked and we moved.We tried not to be reckless, tried to catch every sight of things before they happened. We pressed on fast, going through their defenses sharp and deliberate. I ran through the first line, firing twice, dropping one, then another. Carlos was at my left, slower now but still keeping up, his injured shoulder barely holding, yet he didn’t fall behind.More of them poured in. Too many.From the right flank, from behind the truck, from angles they hadn’t used before. They were closing the circle.“Form up!” I snapped.My men responded instantly. Two moved ahead, one cut behind, tightening around me, forming a defensive shell. My men were falling fast in their numbers, way too fast.I could see it, see the same
Chapter 123Dermos’ POV We didn’t move. Not immediately.That was the first instinct I killed. Panic gets you dead. Fast.I stood there with my eyes fixed on the door as the sound of engines thickened outside, closer now, surrounding, sealing every exit we had already secured minutes ago.Irony.And everything boils back to him, the crazy nigga I paid a 100 grand to. If I lay my hands on him—“They boxed us in,” Carlos muttered under his breath.“Yeah,” I replied calmly. “Now we break it.”I didn’t raise my voice. Didn’t rush the command.But the shift was instant.“Take up positions,” I said and the room split at once.Men spread around the windows, the walls, covering up angles. They moved with their guns raised and safeties off. Every inch of that house turned from an empty shell to a loaded weapon.Outside, tires screeched to a stop as doors slammed around and boots hit the gravel.Loads of them. Too many to be a coincidence.Perfect for a statement.I tilted my head slightly,
Chapter 122Dermos’ POVWe didn’t need to rush this, that was the first thing that came to me as we approached the building.No need for kicking down doors, at least not at first. No need for any noise or chaos.We can't be sure of what we're walking into, we can't be too sure.I turned around to lock eyes with the man that had brought us here. He had a smile on his face as he watched us.Son of a bitch better not be setting us up.I turned my eyes back to the building ahead. It stood quiet. Too quiet. No music, no movement, no flicker of life through the windows.Carlos came up beside me, adjusting his grip on his weapon.“You feel that?” He muttered.“I do.”Wrong. Everything about this place felt wrong.I lifted a hand slightly and the men spread out immediately with some peeling off to the sides while others circled towards the back, cutting off exits before anything even had the chance to begin.No one moved without having a spot in sight. No one spoke.We closed in slowly. Step
Chapter 96Ariel’s POVI could feel his breath against my lips before I could even process how close we were.It brushed over my face, warm and his, as my heart reacted instantly with a sharp rhythm that echoed through my chest, as if it were trying to escape.We dream closer, far too close to not
Chapter 95Ariel’s POVI didn’t move.Not at first.My fingers rested lightly against the cold railing of the balcony as my eyes remained fixed on the exact spot where the figure had been just seconds ago.But… it was gone. Like it was never there, but I knew what I saw. Or at least… I thought I d
Chapter 93Ariel’s POVI froze as my breath caught somewhere between my chest and my throat, refusing to move as my eyes locked on the figure standing beside the car.Valerio. Our luck couldn't get any better, if it wasn't him, who else?He was standing there like he was waiting for something, or s
Chapter 92Ariel’s POVI heard them, but I wish I couldn't hear them. I didn't need this, we didn't need this.But the words didn’t just echo; they spread. They spread like fire through dry air.A ripple moved across the ballroom as conversations died before they even started, and laughter melted i







