MasukNora's POVI knew who sent it.No one else had ever seen the original painting up close.No one else knew what it meant to me.I didn't burn it.Instead, I carefully put it away.Not because I was touched. Because it was a reminder.No matter how perfect the copy, it would never be the original.Just like us. We could never go back.For the next year, the gifts kept coming.Jewelry, famous paintings, antiques, even an entire art gallery.Each one worth a fortune. Each one sent back unopened.The ones I couldn't return, I burned.In the gardens, I built a bonfire from his letters.The flames licked the night sky. A funeral pyre for the girl I used to be."Burning the past again?" Leo asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind."No," I said, leaning back into his embrace. "Just wondering when he'll finally give up.""Maybe never," Leo whispered, kissing my ear. "The men who fall in love with you don't let go easily."I turned to face him. "Including you?""Including me," he nodded se
Damon's POV"Damon!" Bianca came running out. "You're… you're finally here. I knew you wouldn't let that bitch…"She was in a white silk robe, her hair a mess. She'd clearly just gotten out of bed.I didn't say a word. I just pulled my gun and aimed it at her head."Kneel.""What?" Bianca froze. "Damon, are you insane?""I said, KNEEL!"The gunshot was deafening.The bullet grazed her ear and buried itself in the wall behind her.Bianca screamed and collapsed to the floor."I know everything about you and Viktor," I said, walking toward her. "The three-year affair. The staged kidnapping. The plot to kill Nora.""I… I don't know what you're talking about…""Still acting?" I sneered, playing the recording from my phone.Her own voice echoed through the living room:"Viktor, stick to the plan. It's better if the bitch dies, but if she lives, make sure she's crippled. Damon has to choose me. He has no other choice."When the recording ended, Bianca's face was as white as a sheet."What do
Damon's POVEighteen hours later, I was standing in front of the Volkov estate outside Moscow.Snow was falling. The air was twenty below.I didn't feel the cold.The fire in my gut could melt the damn permafrost."Damon Vitale," one of the Russian guards said in perfect English. "Mr. Volkov is expecting you."I didn't answer. I just followed them inside.The place was a Baroque fortress, a castle of ice and stone.I wasn't here for a tour.I was here to take back what belonged to me.In the main hall, Leo Volkov was sitting on a leather sofa, a glass of vodka in his hand.Blond hair, blue eyes, a tailored black suit.But she wasn't there."Where is Nora?" I got straight to the point."Mr. Vitale," Leo said, his voice calm as he set down his glass. "You've come a long way. Won't you have a drink?""I'm not here for small talk." I pulled my gun. "Give her to me."In an instant, twenty guns were aimed at my head.Leo waved a hand. His men relaxed slightly, but the guns stayed on me."Sit
Damon's POVIn my study?I was on my feet, my eyes scanning every inch of the room."Where, exactly?""I… I don't know. The signal says it's right on top of you."I started tearing the room apart for real.The desk, the file cabinets, the bookshelves. I searched every inch.Ten minutes later, I stood in front of the safe hidden behind the wall panel.My fingers trembled as I entered the code.1015.Her birthday.The heavy steel door swung open silently.It was empty.The cash was gone. The files were gone. Even her passport was gone.But on the bottom shelf, there was a tiny, rice-sized chip.It was stained with dried blood.The tracking chip I’d put under her skin. A tool for possession, not protection.Only she and I knew the code to this safe.Which meant…"She's alive," I breathed. A wave of relief so powerful it almost brought me to my knees. And then came the rage.Not only alive, she'd been here. In this room.While I was frantically searching for her, she had come back and take
Damon's POVI got Bianca back.The price was Nora."Get everyone!" I roared at Marco. "Find Viktor!"Two hours later, the dockyards were on fire.I burned down every Kozlov family stronghold in New York, one by one.I snapped Viktor's neck with my own hands and watched the life drain from his eyes.The satisfaction of revenge lasted only a few minutes.But when the smoke cleared, the rage faded, leaving only a hollow ache where my heart used to be."Marco," I said, wiping the blood from my hands. "Send men to find Nora.""Yes, Godfather.""Use every resource. Hospitals, morgues, the Coast Guard." My voice was shaking. "You find her."Day one.Nothing."Godfather, we've searched a fifty-mile radius of the coast," Marco reported carefully. "No sign of her.""Keep looking.""Yes, sir."I sat in my office with a bottle of whiskey I couldn't drink.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her falling.I saw the blood bloom in the water, like a dying rose.Day two.Still nothing."Godfather, the c
The party ended close to midnight."Nora, drive us to the docks," Bianca said, clinging to Damon's arm. Her voice was dripping with smug command. "I want to feel the sea breeze with Damon. Talk about our honeymoon. Just the three of us."Damon didn't object.He didn't even look at me.The car keys dug into my palm. "It's late. The docks aren't safe…""Are you questioning my decision?" Damon finally turned to me, his gaze like ice.I closed my eyes."I'll get the car."The docks were dead quiet at night.Just the sound of waves hitting the pier and the distant horn of a cargo ship.I parked near the lookout point. In the rearview mirror, I saw Bianca nestled in Damon’s arms."It's so beautiful," she said, loud enough for me to hear. "Can we come here every month for a date?""If you like," Damon replied, short and to the point.Like he was completing a task.It was enough to shatter my heart all over again.Suddenly, the car doors were ripped open.Six men in black surrounded us, all ho







