LOGINElena’s POVThe word hung in the chilled air of the penthouse like a butcher’s blade suspended by a thread.Bastard.The whisper of my daughter’s faint, fragile breathing behind the mahogany door seemed to instantly vanish, drowned out by the thunderous roaring in my ears. Five years of starving so Jade could eat fresh fruit. Five years of sleeping light with a serrated knife tucked under a thin mattress, flinching at every passing pair of headlights, scrubbing blood and soot off concrete floors just to buy her a winter coat. And this porcelain serpent dared to brand my daughter a bartered trinket.My hands clenched into tight fists, fingernails cutting crescent moons deep into the palms of my hands until the sting grounded me.Laura lingered just past Dante’s shoulder, basking in the venom she had spat. Her lips remained curved in that glossy, razor-thin smirk, perfectly painted crimson against bone-white skin, daring me to shatter beneath the weight of her pedigree. She expected a c
Elena’s POVThe lock clicked shut behind me, the sound tiny and pathetic against the velvet hush of the corridor.My spine went rigid against the dark wood of the door. Dante didn't shift in the armchair. He didn't lift the gun resting against his thigh, but the sheer weight of his presence held me pinned to the threshold as effectively as iron chains. In the amber wash of the hallway sconces, his eyes were sunken, dark hollows gouged into bone, burning with a lethal combination of grief and cold, predatory calculation."Five years, Elena," he murmured, his voice scraping low like grinding stone. "I tore cities apart looking for you. I spent three months drowning the docks in blood because I thought one of my rivals had buried you in concrete. And all this time... you had her.""I had to protect her," I whispered, the words trembling off my lips, useless against the immense shadow of his rage. "Look at what happened tonight, Dante. Look at what Lorenzo did! That is your world. That ha
Elena’s POVA high-pitched, deafening ring tore through my ears, drowning out the hum of the penthouse’s ventilation, drowning out the frantic, ragged cadence of Dante’s breathing, drowning out everything except that single, unbearable truth.Mommy? Daddy?Your daughter was so sweet to show me the private code.My knees gave way. I didn't fall to the floor only because Dante’s arm shot out with the speed of striking iron, catching me around the waist and hauling me upright against his chest. His skin was burning, scorching through the thin fabric of my shirt, but inside, I had turned completely to ice."Don't touch the lock," he commanded, his voice barely a rasp. It was stripped of its thunderous roar, replaced by a razor-thin edge of raw, lethal terror."Dante—she's out there," I gasped, my fingernails digging into his forearms, drawing thin red crescents against his skin. "Jade is out there with him—""I know.""Open the door!" I choked, shoving against his chest with every ounce
Elena’s POV The breath dissolved in my lungs. The underground garage felt suffocating, the cold air suddenly too thick to pull in. The man in the charcoal suit took a deliberate, measured step toward me, his leather shoes clicking against the slick concrete. Behind him, the two guards shifted in tandem, blocking the headlights of my car. "Back up," I managed to force through numb lips, clutching the strap of my duffel bag like a lifeline. "Dante—" "Dante is upstairs, convincing himself he’s still in control of you," the man interrupted, his tone sickeningly polite. "Which makes this the ideal window for us to have an uninterrupted conversation." Before he could close the distance, the heavy iron door of the fire stairwell behind me burst open with a deafening bang. Dante didn't just walk out he moved like a predator hunting blood. He was still in the dark sweatpants, a hasty black coat thrown over his bare, scratched chest, his eyes burning with a lethal fury that made the concr
Elena’s POV Mine. The word didn't feel like a promise it felt like a brand, searing straight into my skin until I could barely breathe through the smoke of it. It settled heavy over the wreckage of the bed, demanding a surrender I had already handed over in the dark and one I knew I had to rip back the second the sun burned through the curtains. Dante’s arm was an iron bar clamped across my ribcage. His chest rose and fell against my spine in slow, heavy, triumphant beats. He smelled of sweat, sandalwood, and the raw, undeniable proof of what we had just done. He was comfortable. Settled. As if breaking my body down until I begged had somehow stitched together every lie, every betrayal, every shattered piece of our history. As if a few hours of blinding pleasure could undo the past. I lay completely still, staring at the dust motes suspended in the pale morning light. Every inch of me throbbed. The ache between my thighs was a sharp, pulsing reminder of how easily I gave in, how
Elena’s POVThe first thing I felt when I drifted back to consciousness was the heavy, suffocating heat of the duvet and a dull, pulsing ache between my thighs. My body felt heavy, almost fragile, as if the events of the previous night had physically rewritten the way I functioned. I shifted slightly, and a low, satisfied hum vibrated against the back of my neck. I didn't need to open my eyes to know who it was. The scent of sandalwood and raw masculinity clung to the sheets, enveloping me in a cocoon of his presence.I tried to stretch, but a strong arm tightened around my waist, hauling me backward until my spine was pressed firmly against a chest that felt like a wall of granite. Dante was awake. He had been watching me sleep.“Good morning, baby,” he rasped, his voice even deeper and more gravelly than it had been last night. He pressed a lingering, searing kiss to the sensitive curve of my shoulder, his teeth grazing my skin just enough to make me shiver.“D-Dante...” I whispere







