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chapter 521
publish date:
2026-10-01 00:13:06
Latest chapter
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 530
POV: Matteo“Half of Marabella is standing on this pier, Matteo, and not one of them can save you. So who do you wish to hurt first, your council or your conscience?”I am Matteo, and Odile Verrant stepped from her launch at pier nine as calmly as if she were arriving at the opera. It was ten past four on Saturday morning, and the sky above the harbor had gone the color of dirty pearl. The wind carried the smell of salt, coal smoke, and wet paper. Every notice board in the city had been plastered overnight with her name, and the crowd stood behind the ropes in silent thousands, shawls pulled tight, breath steaming. I sat in my chair at the front, wrapped in a blanket, with Isabella’s hand on my shoulder and Dr. Fenn scowling behind me like a small thundercloud.“You have been busy,” Odile said, looking at the crowd. “Posters. Ledgers. Tobias. I confess I did not expect the boy to break.”“You did not expect a lot of things,” said Isabella.Dr. Fenn muttered behind me, “If that woman t
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 529
POV: Isabella“Nobody came when my father rang. Give me one good reason why I should stop what I started tonight, Signora, because I cannot find one myself.”I am Isabella, and Tobias Ferro sat inside the great bronze bell like a child hiding in a cupboard. It was almost midnight. The wind moaned through the stone arches, cold and full of salt, and the tower creaked around us like an old ship. I stood on the top step with one hand on the rail and the other holding a lantern. Below me, at the base of the stairs, Dario waited with Nico and Corvin. I had told them exactly where I was going. I had told them why. Dario had looked at me and said only, Thank you for telling me. It was the best thing anyone had said to me all week.Tobias sat curled against the inner wall of the bell with his knees drawn up. He was thin, pale, and very young. His left hand held a small brass lever wired to a coil of cable, and on that hand, loose on his thin finger, shone a gold ring with a flat dent on one s
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 528
POV: Matteo“You are not allowed out of that bed, and if you take one step toward the door, I will tie you to it with my own scarf.”I am Matteo, and I did not take one step. I took forty. The morning sun burned yellow through the curtains, and I woke with my whole chest wrapped in white cloth and my tongue tasting of medicine. Isabella sat beside me with red eyes and a scarf twisted in her hands. She had not slept. Her hair was crooked. I loved her so much in that moment that it frightened me.“Isabella, the council meets at noon.”“The council can meet without you.”“Yes.” I pushed myself up, and lightning went through my ribs. I bit down on a groan. “But you asked me to be silent, two days ago, and I was. Today I think you need me to speak.”She stared at me. Her mouth opened, and closed. “That is the opposite of what I asked.”“You asked me to trust the council. I trust it. I only want them to have every fact.” I reached for her hand. “Tobias is a fact. Marta’s letter is a fact. D
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 527
POV: Isabella“One rib has moved inward, Signora. If he stands up today, it may pierce the lung, and he will not wake again. Do you understand me? He must not stand.”I am Isabella, and Dr. Lucia Fenn had never lied to me in twenty years, which was why I wished so badly that she would start. We stood in the corridor outside the room where they had laid Matteo, a small bright room above the council house, smelling of carbolic soap and lavender. Behind the door he lay pale and still, a bandage tight around his chest. His hand lay open on the blanket. I had held it for two hours, until the doctor made me leave.“How long?” I asked.“At least a week. Perhaps three. He will fight me, Signora. He will tell you he is fine.” Her voice was gentle. “Do not listen to him.”“I have not listened to him since the day we married.”She almost smiled. Then she squeezed my arm and left me alone in the corridor. Alone was a word I had not felt in years. Nico was at the harbor. Camilla was counting hours
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 526
POV: Matteo“My boy is sitting at that woman’s table because I taught him that brave people do not wait. Tell me how to undo that, Matteo, or step aside and let me try.”I am Matteo, and Nico had not slept either. He stood beside me on pier nine at noon with his cap crushed in his fist and his eyes red. Gulls screamed overhead. The wind carried the smell of fish guts and diesel and wet rope. Behind us, the sixteen ships lay at anchor like a sleeping herd, and every mast wore the same small flag. I felt very old, and very slow, and every breath scraped inside my chest like a rusty gate.“I do not know how to undo it,” I said. “I know how to find out who helped her. That is a beginning.”“A beginning.” Nico laughed without any humor. “You said that in the old war, too.”“And it was.”He turned away. The harbor master waited at the end of the pier, a small round man named Gino Paretti, twisting his hat in both hands. He looked like a man expecting to be hanged.“Signor Matteo, I swear on
The Don's Ruthless Empire chapter 525
POV: Isabella“Six nights I sat by that window with this shawl, waiting for Nico to come home from your last war, and you promised me never again. Where is my son, Isabella?”I am Isabella, and Rosa stood on the council house steps at eight in the morning with the grey shawl clutched around her shoulders, so pale that her lips looked painted on. The rain had stopped, but the whole city smelled of wet stone. I had not slept. I had walked the halls all night with Bianca’s ribbon in my pocket, listening for a ring I could not hear. When I saw Rosa’s face, I knew before she spoke.“Luca’s bed was empty this morning,” she said. “He left a note on his pillow. Read it.”She pushed a scrap of paper into my hand. My eyes ran over the words. I am going to bring Bianca home. I am not a child. Do not follow me. Luca.“Nico and Matteo came in from the harbor near dawn,” Rosa said. “Luca was with them. He went to bed. He slept in his own bed, and he got up, and he was gone.” Her voice cracked. “Twe
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