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The Love That Burned Out
The Love That Burned Out
Autor: Golden Altar

Chapter 1

Autor: Golden Altar
Freya's POV

The council chamber doors swung open.

Vittorio Cattaneo entered with his bodyguards and two of the family's senior capos. The moment he saw me at the breakfast table, he hurried over and pulled out my chair as naturally as breathing.

"Didn't sleep last night? Your eyes are red."

He bent down and pressed a long, tender kiss to my forehead.

The capos tactfully lowered their heads over their breakfast. The guards retreated to the walls.

"Listen to me, amore mio. Let me handle the famiglia business from now on."

He took my coffee away and replaced it with warm milk.

"You're supposed to be resting. Stop exhausting yourself over the accounts. It hurts me to see you like this."

The capos exchanged approving looks. What a devoted Don, their expressions said.

I stared at the steam curling from the milk. I had nothing to say.

Vittorio didn't seem to notice. He handed me a cigar, and I accepted it out of habit. When I reached for the cutter with my right hand, pain shot through the old injury.

Eight years ago, I'd thrown myself in front of a burst of gunfire meant for him. My right hand had never recovered.

My fingers spasmed. The cutter slipped and sliced my index finger.

Blood spattered the white tablecloth.

"Amore! How could you be so careless?" Vittorio snapped. "Someone get the doctor! You're bleeding everywhere. Are you trying to scare me to death?"

But he didn't even look up.

He stayed perfectly still, thumb moving quickly across his phone.

I turned just enough to see the screen. A photo showed a young woman's pale knee, bruised purple. Beneath it was a pouty caption.

[I bumped into the table while I was picking out your tie. It hurts so much...]

A smile tugged at Vittorio's mouth. His eyes softened.

[Silly girl. Don't touch it. I'll come put something on it myself.]

Blood was still dripping between my fingers. I pressed gauze against the cut.

"Where are you going today?" I asked.

He locked his phone at once.

"There's a traitor on our Port Severin smuggling route. I need to deal with it personally."

He stood and leaned down to embrace me. A faint, sugary fruit perfume clung to his collar.

I only ever wore woody scents.

I didn't push him away. I only nodded.

"All right. Be careful."

He collected his briefcase and headed for the door.

"The quarterly family accounting is next Wednesday," I said, stopping him. "Do you have anything else planned?"

He straightened his cuffs without looking at me.

"It's just business. What's there to discuss? I'll be back after I've dealt with the port. Then we'll spend some time together."

He'd forgotten.

Next Wednesday was our eighth anniversary. It was also the day I'd taken those bullets for him.

"Vittorio."

He paused at the door. A crease appeared between his brows, though his voice stayed sweet.

"What is it now, amore mio?"

"Your lapel pin is crooked."

With a flicker of impatience, he straightened the custom-made silver pin bearing my initials.

He'd put it on in front of the entire family the day he became Don.

I still remembered how he'd looked at me before he bowed his head and kissed my hand.

"I'll wear this for the rest of my life. Everyone will know the woman I love is always close to my heart."

The memory that once warmed me now left me cold.

"You've been strange today," he said. "Stop overthinking. Get some rest."

He left with his guards. The motorcade roared through the estate gates and disappeared.

I took out a second phone, a satellite handset, and dialed a top-secret line on the dark web.

"The final payment has cleared," I said. "I want to board the ship in international waters at dawn next Wednesday."

On the other end of the line, Silas Brandt was quiet for a moment. Then he couldn't hold back.

"Donna... the Don loves you so much. Everyone in the underworld knows you're the one person nobody dares touch. Are you really leaving?"

I looked at the blood drying black on the tablecloth.

A faint smile crossed my face, but every word came out firm.

"Yes. And I don't want anyone to find me."

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  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 9

    Vittorio didn't die in the blizzard.A shelter van found him late that night, barely conscious, and brought him inside. The frostbite was so severe that the toes on both feet had to be amputated.For the next three months, the kill order his former men on the Meridian Coast had put out on him still stood. And no shelter in Nordvaal would keep a crippled man with blood on his hands.He drifted between the streets and temporary accommodation, beaten down each time he tried to start again.Eventually, he stopped trying.His mind had deteriorated, too.The once-feared Don became a confused beggar near the harbor, propping himself up on two broken walking sticks and wearing a foul-smelling coat he'd found somewhere.Most days he huddled beside the garbage bins at the docks.Yet even when he could barely remember where he was, one thing remained sewn to his chest: the silver pin with my name.His clothes were in tatters, but he polished that little piece of silver until it shone.O

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 8

    I looked down at the scorched dagger by my feet.Then, to my own surprise, I laughed."Vittorio. Do you really still believe I'm going to forgive you?"He stared at me, tears freezing on his cheeks.I crouched and reached out with my right hand.The hand that once couldn't hold a spoon now gripped his chin with steady fingers. I tilted his face toward mine.His eyes widened when he noticed how firm my hand was."Your hand... Freya, it's better? The injury's really healing?""It is. Strange how much better I got once I left you and stopped cleaning up your filthy accounts."I tightened my grip just enough to hold his gaze.The sudden hope in his eyes faded."Did you think kneeling in the snow for a few hours and waving around a burned piece of metal would be enough? That you could stage one grand sacrifice and call yourself redeemed?""I'm not pretending," he whispered. "I swear I'm not."Tears started spilling down his cheeks again."Six months ago, when you were cheating

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 7

    Six months later, Nordvaal was hit by one of the worst blizzards in memory.I was in my second-floor study reviewing the quarterly statements for my new shipping company when one of my guards called up from downstairs."Ma'am, there's a man kneeling outside the gate. He's been there nearly four hours."The guard hesitated."He's covered in injuries, and his left hand looks broken. We've told him to leave several times. He just stays there on his knees, begging to see you."I turned a page."Who is he?""He's wearing a silver pin. Your name is engraved on it."I stood and walked to the window.The snow was blowing almost sideways. Beyond the black iron gates, a dark shape knelt in the white wasteland.He was wearing a thin, torn suit, with snow piled across his shoulders.Once, Vittorio Cattaneo had traveled behind an escort of armored cars. Now he looked like a man who had nowhere left to sleep.I put on a cashmere coat, took a black umbrella, and went downstairs.The iron

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 6

    Winter came to Nordvaal earlier than I'd expected.A fire blazed in the manor hearth. Pine logs snapped and settled, filling the air with a clean, resinous scent.My private doctor removed the bandage from my right hand and gently examined the damaged nerves."You're recovering better than expected," she said. "Without the constant stress, the spasms are becoming less frequent."I picked up a delicate porcelain teacup with my right hand.My wrist ached faintly, but not a drop of tea spilled."See?" I said. "Get away from the garbage, and even my hand heals faster."The doctor smiled, packed her instruments, and left me alone.Reports from my old intelligence network arrived every day.Without me managing the finances and coordinating the family's contacts, Vittorio's supposedly unstoppable empire was collapsing like a row of dominoes.The old-guard capos had turned on him as soon as they learned the master ledgers were gone.By the third day, rival families were tearing hole

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 5

    The emails kept coming.First was the full security recording from the church. It showed Vittorio with Lucienne against the stone wall beside the altar, silver chalices scattered at their feet.Next came every photo from the anonymous account: Vittorio painting her nails, Lucienne posing with his obsidian signet ring, the sapphire necklace she'd discarded before he tried to give it to me.The third email contained a recording made by one of Freya's operatives. On the cruise, Vittorio had promised Lucienne a private island. She'd rejected it for being too far away.He sank to the floor and began to sob.Far out at sea, a speedboat cut a white trail through the dark water....Freya's POVI sat in the rear cabin, turning a palm-sized black communicator over in my hand. Its red indicator blinked insistently.The unit vibrated, connecting me to Silas Brandt's private line."Donna, Corvanna's in chaos," Silas reported. "The airports are shut down, the ports are on maximum alert, a

  • The Love That Burned Out    Chapter 4

    The next morning, our bedroom door opened.Vittorio came in wearing the same suit he'd worn on the cruise. A few faint scratches marked the side of his neck, mostly hidden by his collar. The cloying fruity perfume on him was nauseating.He found me closing a small suitcase.He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted."Still upset?"Last night was an emergency. I was only a little late getting to you. Besides, I sent men ahead to protect you. You used to handle a gun better than anyone I know. Between your skills and the guards, you were never really in danger. Don't be so petty."I zipped the case shut without looking at him.Vittorio sighed, took a gold-edged envelope from inside his jacket, and set it on my dressing table."All right. Take a look at this first."It's a private island off the Meridian Coast, with a transfer agreement that gives it to you outright. On our anniversary next week, I'll put the whole island in your name, and then I'll take you there myself for a mon

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