Vincenzo walked into the penthouse with Mei in his arms. Her face was still damp from crying, pressed against his chest like she didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.“Do you want some warm milk?” he asked gently as he set her on the plush couch.Mei shook her head. “I want Daddy.”Vincenzo crouched in front of her, brushing strands of hair from her face. “Daddy’s okay. He stayed behind to make sure everything’s safe. He’ll be home soon, I promise.”“But I’m scared…” she whispered.“I know, baby. But you’re safe here. With me.”She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. Vincenzo kissed her forehead and pulled a soft blanket around her. “We’ll call him in the morning, okay?”“Okay.”He turned the TV on softly to her favorite cartoon. She curled into the blanket, her eyes flickering between the screen and the empty space beside her.Vincenzo watched her for a moment, jaw tight, his heart twisted in his chest. Noel should’ve been there beside her. Not back in the lion’s den.Noel sat
It started at the docks.Three unmarked black SUVs pulled up alongside a cargo container just after midnight. There were no sirens, no flashing lights…just coordinated silence and precise movement. A team in dark tactical gear moved in, cutting the locks off the metal doors while two agents trained their rifles at the perimeter. Inside the container were crates labeled as medical supplies…bandages, saline, prenatal vitamins.But inside the crates, beneath a false bottom, were vacuum-sealed packages of narcotics…high-grade, Hydra-distributed, and untraceable unless you knew where to look."We got her," one agent radioed in. "We got the first one."That same night, two more shipments were intercepted. One heading north to the border, another hidden in the belly of a luxury yacht. All tied back to one name: Saturn Holdings.Isadora’s name.At the Saturn estate, Isadora sat at her desk sipping wine, the fire crackling in the hearth beside her. She had just ended a call with a logistics ma
Noel had learned early that silence was power.He didn’t need to scream to make an impact, didn’t need chaos to bring a house down. All he needed was access.And now, nestled back inside the Saturn estate..this time not as a lost son, but as an embedded ghost..Noel had all the access he needed.On the surface, nothing had changed.He played the part flawlessly. He let Isadora kiss his cheek every morning. He took Mei to the private garden under the guise of "reconnecting with family." He gave polite nods to the estate guards, made small talk with the house staff, never overstepped, never asked questions directly.But he was listening.Always.And it didn’t take long.The second night back, he passed the east corridor on his way to the library when he heard his mother’s voice through the cracked study door."...if the port doesn’t clear the containers by Friday, we’re going to have a backlog of powder that’ll trace back to Hydra. I don’t care what inspector needs paying off…handle it."
The sun had dipped completely behind the hills by the time Noel slipped out of the guest bedroom and made his way downstairs. The De Luca estate was cloaked in stillness now, the kind that came after a storm…but inside him, the ache still roared.Mei was sleeping again. Restless, but tucked safely into her bed. It had taken nearly an hour of soft songs, gentle rocking, and whispered reassurances to get her there. Her small fingers had clung to Noel’s shirt the entire time, afraid he’d vanish like everything else she’d ever loved.Now, barefoot and drained, Noel padded through the marble hallway until he saw the light spilling out from the study.Vincenzo was inside, seated in a wingback chair, legs spread, elbows resting on his thighs. A crystal glass sat untouched on the table beside him. He didn’t even look up when Noel walked in. He already knew.Noel stood in the doorway for a moment, unsure. Then, softly, “She wouldn’t let go of me.”Vincenzo finally raised his eyes.“She’s scare
It started with a voice..loud, hoarse, angry..outside the hospital gates. Then came another. Then a dozen more.By the time Noel stepped onto the hospital’s fifth-floor balcony, the parking lot below was a growing mob.“What the hell…” he muttered, clutching the railing.Vincenzo came up beside him, Mei clutched protectively in his arms. She was half-asleep, her little face buried in his neck, blissfully unaware of the chaos brewing below.A man with a loudspeaker stood atop a folding chair, flanked by two other men holding up a crude banner: "Return Mei to Her Blood. De Lucas = Child Thieves!"“They’ve got fucking signs?” Vincenzo hissed.“They’ve got a whole production,” Noel replied tightly, already reaching for his phone. “Security’s overwhelmed. I need to get someone from our own team down there.”The crowd was shouting now. "Kidnappers! Corrupt bastards! Give her back!"“This is him, isn’t it?” Noel asked. “The uncle.”Vincenzo’s jaw clenched. “Has to be. The timing’s too perfec
“I warned you, Isadora!” Leontis snapped, voice echoing through the study like a gunshot.Isadora froze.He had never..never..called her by her name. Not in all the years of their marriage. Not in anger. Not even in passing. It hit like a slap. Her lips parted, but no words came.“I’m doing this for us!” she finally burst out, voice tight, desperate, cracking under the weight of her unraveling control. “For our family! Why can’t any of you see that?”“You’re not doing this for the family,” Leontis said coldly. “You’re doing this for you.”She took a step back like he’d shoved her. “That’s not fair..”“It’s true,” he barked. “And it needs to stop before someone ends up dead. Our daughter is already fighting for her life in a hospital bed because of all this madness you’ve stirred up!”Her composure shattered right there..eyes wide, lip trembling. She looked like she might fall apart or lash out, but instead, she stood frozen in place, breathing hard, completely undone by the sound of