LOGINLilith POV“Where are you?”His voice hit me so hard I forgot to breathe.Not because he said my name. Not because I hadn’t expected him to sound like himself. It was the way the words came out, too fast, too stripped down, as if he had no room left for distance or pride or whatever lie he had tried to bury me under the last time we stood in the same room.“Lilith—where are you?” he said again. “Tell me where you are.”I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.“Is Sokolov holding you?” he asked. “Did he touch you?”There was movement behind him. I could hear it through the line. Someone shouting far too close for comfort.Then his voice changed.“I swear I’m going to kill him myself.”The words were low, furious, not for effect, not for me. A vow spoken to someone who was already dead in his mind.I stood in the center of my room with the phone pressed hard to my ear, my whole bod
Damien POVBy the time we reached Brooklyn, I had already decided I was going in.The message had come through three different mouths before it reached mine, each one carrying the same claim with a slightly different shape. Sokolov had Lilith. Sokolov had moved her through one of the old industrial corridors near the river. Sokolov had taken her somewhere fortified enough that no one would get her back without bleeding for it.I did not waste time testing whether any of it was true.Maleek drove. Rafe sat beside me in the back, saying very little, which usually meant he was thinking hard enough to be irritated by sound. I checked the magazine in my gun, slid it back into place, and looked out through the windshield.The structure came into view gradually, first as a line against the dark, then as a building with too many reinforcements to still pretend it was abandoned. Windows either boarded or blacked out. A perimeter tha
Lilith POV I took longer than necessary getting ready. Not because I didn’t know what to wear. The dress had been laid out already, chosen earlier with less hesitation than I was pretending to have now. It was simple, soft against my skin, nothing that demanded attention. The kind of thing that blended into this house, into this version of my life that still felt like something I was stepping into, not something that belonged to me. I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the sleeve, then letting it fall back into place. My reflection didn’t look different. But I felt… aware. Just aware of the fact that I had said yes. There was a knock. “Come in.” The maid opened the door slightly. “Signorina, he’s here.” Of course he was. I nodded once and walked out before I could think about it any further. Matteo was waiting near the entrance, hands loosely in his pockets, leaning just enough against the wall to look comfortable without being careless. He straightened when h
Lilith POV Two weeks in Florence had taught me where the floorboards sounded different in the hallway outside my room, which maid preferred roses over lilies in the breakfast room, and how long Leo took to answer a question when he was deciding whether I needed comfort or honesty. I knew the staff now, or at least enough to recognize the rhythm of them. I knew which doors opened onto family rooms and which ones opened onto offices where men lowered their voices when I passed. I knew which gardens got sun in the morning and which ones stayed cool until late afternoon. I knew that if I asked for coffee, someone would bring it stronger than I was used to, and if I asked for tea, three women would immediately disagree over the correct kind. I knew, too, that everyone in this house feared Leo a little. Not visibly. They just straightened when he entered a room and listened when he spoke. Men who carried guns for him lowered their eyes by a fraction. Staff moved faster without makin
Lucian POV By the time the third call came in, I stopped asking for details. Not because I didn’t care, but because I already understood the pattern. “Capo, the south warehouse—” “I know,” I cut in, stepping out of the car before Enzo could even come around to open my door. The line went quiet for half a second. “…two men down,” the voice continued. “Shipment intercepted before we could reroute.” “Send me the footage,” I said. “And get the rest of the inventory out of any exposed location. I don’t want to hear about another loss today.” “Yes, Capo.” I ended the call and walked straight into the building, my mind already moving ahead of the situation. Phones rang somewhere in the background. Men spoke too quickly, passing information that overlapped, contradicted, then corrected itself.
Lilith POV He said my name like it belonged in his mouth. “Antonella…” I turned fully this time. I did not pull my hand away when he took it. That surprised me more than anything else. His grip was careful, not loose, not firm enough to feel like control. Just there, waiting to see what I would do with it. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The room held too much of someone else’s life for easy conversation. The bed behind him, the soft light falling across the old wood, the faint scent of something floral that had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the woman who used to sleep here. Leo did not look away. “I’m sorry I came late.” He said it without hesitation. No buildup. No excuse wrapped around it. I watched him. There were a dozen ways I could have answered that. None of them felt simple enough to say out loud
Damien POVNight settled over the city, soft and deceptive, the kind of darkness that made men careless. It was almost midnight. I sat in my car a few houses down from a narrow, two-floor residential building. Nothing special. Nothing rich. The kind of place Lucian Verona pretended didn’t exist in
Damien’s POVThe apartment was quiet when I returned. Only a single lamp lit the room, casting a small circle of warmth over the table. Darkness filled everything else. I preferred it that way.I set my keys down, sat at the desk, and opened my laptop. The encrypted window came up immediately. Line
Lucian’s POVThe drive to the orphanage annoyed me more than it should have. Lilith had not replied to my message, and I disliked repeating myself.She was usually quick to answer, not because she was obedient by nature, but because she had learned discipline.I reminded myself that softness made h
Lilith’s POVAfter Lucian walked out of the boutique without a backward glance, I stood there for a moment, trying to understand what had just happened. The staff waited quietly, unsure if they were supposed to approach me or pretend they did not see anything. I forced a polite smile and waved them







