LOGINShare
chapter 198
publish date:
2026-08-30 06:41:41
Latest chapter
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 567
POV: Isabella"I lost it twice, Isabella. Twice! A ring my family guarded for four generations, and I lost it in a single week. Tell me what kind of heir does that, because I truly want to know."I am Isabella, and I sat down beside Sofia on the edge of her grandfather's sofa and took both her hands, though they were still black with soot. It was Wednesday morning. Gray light fell through the study windows onto the torn gull cushion, the ruined hearth rug, and the open face of the brass clock. The tray hung out from under the case like a tongue. The room smelled of smoke, damp wool, and cold ashes. Sofia's eyes were swollen and red, and she had not slept."You did not lose it," I said. "It was stolen.""I should have kept it on me.""Then it would have been in a pocket on a burning quay, and you would have had nothing to lose but your skin." I squeezed her fingers. "Sofia, listen. A person who plans a fire to empty a house is a person who plans well. You were never going to outguess t
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 566
POV: Matteo"Do not stand there staring, Don Matteo! Take a bucket or get out of my way. My grandfather's whole life is burning, and I will not lose it while you stand there admiring the flames."I am Matteo, and I took the bucket. It was heavy and cold, and the water slopped over my boots. The alarm bell had begun to clang across the harbor at ten that night, a frantic iron cry that dragged me from my chair. Isabella had told me about Lucan Costa over supper, and I had not touched my food. When the bell rang, I told Fenn I was only going to watch. She called me a liar. She was right.The Lorenzi pier was a river of fire. Orange light roared across the water, and black smoke curled into a starless sky. The air tasted of burning tar and scorched rope. Sparks fell like hot rain. A long timber warehouse at the pier's end was fully alight, its roof beams cracking, and men and women ran along the quay with buckets, sacks, and shovels, shouting to each other over the roar.And in the middle
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 565
POV: Isabella"Isabella, I have a confession, and you will not like it. I knew the cabinet had a second bottom long before the bell. Ottavio showed me years ago and swore me to silence, and I said nothing."I am Isabella, and I stared at Corvin across the archive table as if he had spoken in another language. It was Tuesday morning. We were in the council hall's lower archive, a long cold room that smelled of dust, ink, and damp paper. Shelves rose into the shadows on every side. A single lamp burned between us, and its light shook, because Corvin's hand was shaking against the table. I had come here to ask about a pen. I had not come to hear this."You knew," I said slowly."I knew there was a hollow space. That is all I knew." He pressed his knuckles to his mouth. "Ottavio told me it was where he kept a few coins, his savings against a bad year. He was embarrassed. He said, do not tell anyone, they will think me a miser. I laughed and I promised. I thought it was a small thing.""A
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 564
POV: Matteo"Don Matteo, I have not slept since the hill. I came to beg you to take the chair, and I am ashamed to admit my reasons are not noble. Please do not make me say them in front of your wife."I am Matteo, and I looked at Ferrante Aurelio standing in my study doorway with his silver hair in disarray and his gloves crushed in both fists, and I did not recognize him. It was Monday night, and the rain had come back, drumming on the roof like impatient fingers. The study was warm with firelight and smelled of damp wool and old paper. Isabella had gone upstairs to rest. Tobias stood outside the door, and I had told him to leave it open a hand's width."Sit, Ferrante," I said."I would rather stand.""Everyone says that to me. Sit anyway."He sat. His knees trembled. In the soft light he looked ten years older than he had at the council table, when he had spoken so smoothly about polishing a chair that needed a king. There was a small tremor in the hand that held his gloves. I saw
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 563
POV: Isabella"Thirty years you kept my father's secret, Isabella, and now you ask me to trust your council with his life? Give me one good reason I should not walk into that hall on Thursday and burn it to the ground."I am Isabella, and I stood in Tomas's kitchen with my hands folded in front of me, because I did not trust them to be still. It was Monday morning. The house was small and tidy and had not changed in years. A wooden table. Two chairs. A faded blue cloth on the window sill. On the mantel, in a plain frame, hung a dark ribbon that his mother had never worn. The room smelled of cold coffee and lemon soap, and of a grief that had no place left to go."I would not stop you from being angry," I said."That is a very clever way not to answer." He did not look at me. He was sitting at the table with the petition in front of him, one hand pressed flat against the page as if he could rub out his own name. "Do you know what the baker said to me this morning? He would not sell me
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 562
POV: Matteo"Matteo, I died once to save my son. I can do it again, and this time I will do it properly. Let the council sign the paper, and spare yourself the choice you promised you would never make."I am Matteo, and I looked at Teodoro across the dark garden and felt my throat close. It was night. A lantern hung from the apple tree, throwing slow gold circles onto the grass. The air was cool and smelled of damp earth and late roses. Teodoro sat wrapped in a shawl on the stone bench, his thin hands folded, his face calm in a way that frightened me. He had heard the whole story from Tobias an hour ago. He had asked for the garden, and I had come out after him with my cane."You are not dying for anyone," I said."Then who will?""No one. We will find the second forger. We will win the vote.""And if we lose?" His voice was gentle. "I have lived thirty years as a ghost, Matteo. Ghosts do not mind being buried. But a man who knows he is dying has one great freedom. He may choose what
You May Also Like
TAINTED BY HIM
Taevya217.6K viewsVladimir- Flame of Sin
Maginator98.6K viewsHis HeartBroken Wife
K.Bizzaze157.5K viewsMafia's Sinful Desire
Pria Ambre103.0K views365 Days With the Mafia Don: His Five Million Dollar Bride
STEPHANIE . I185 viewsThe Devil's Maid
Melanin Bella 176 viewsSecond Chance For The Mafia Boss
RestaM225 viewsThe Angel's Den
Holi T. Watson417 views
