Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Morning gradually passed into noon at the Leonardo residence, with the tension from the previous night still lingering in the air. Ameena slowly stepped out of the servant’s bathroom after freshening herself up. Her eyelids were slightly swollen from the tears of fear and the overwhelming emotions that had consumed her the night before.

Before heading to the nursery to carry out her main duties, Ameena reached for the worn-out bag neatly stored beneath her bed. Her hand took out a small cloth wallet whose color had already faded. From within its folds, she removed one half of a silver earring engraved with a rose pattern that looked simple yet carried countless memories.

Ameena gazed sorrowfully at the tiny piece of jewelry resting in her palm. The earring was an extremely precious keepsake to her.

“I have to find the other half of this earring,” Ameena murmured softly, her voice filled with restrained desperation. “Even though I know the chances of finding it again are extremely slim...”

She remembered that hellish night in the middle of the forest some time ago—the night when she had run fearfully through the darkness and accidentally saved a man who had been on the verge of death. It was at that moment that one half of her earring had fallen off and disappeared. Ameena took a deep breath before carefully putting it away again. She could not allow herself to become too immersed in her sadness. Right now, she had only one main priority: to work as hard as possible to cover Alby’s medical expenses and do everything she could to make sure she never crossed paths with the cruel man named Damien Leonardo again.

Night descended once more, wrapping the city in cold darkness. On a deserted road surrounded by old factory buildings, a convoy consisting of two armored black SUVs sped down the street at high speed. Damien was inside the lead vehicle after completing a tense rifle transaction and territory negotiation.

As a mafia king, Damien’s life was always threatened by death at every second. However, tonight, the danger threatening him did not come from the direction he expected.

Suddenly, a container truck without its headlights sped out from a crossing alley, slamming into the lead escort SUV and flipping it over before dragging it dozens of meters across the asphalt, sparks flying into the air.

BOOM!

“Boss! Watch out!” Luky shouted from the front seat as he drew his weapon.

Damien’s driver violently jerked the steering wheel, causing the tires to screech loudly. Before the vehicle could come to a complete stop, a barrage of large-caliber bullets immediately peppered the windows and body of the car. Dozens of masked men emerged from the darkness, gripping automatic rifles and bladed weapons.

Damien showed not the slightest trace of fear. His face remained cold, while his eyes burned with an intense murderous aura. Without waiting for an order, he kicked the car door open, using the soot-stained door as his first shield before returning fire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three attackers immediately collapsed with blood pouring from their heads. Damien’s movements were precise, swift, and merciless. He leaped over the hood of the vehicle and charged straight into the middle of the enemies. When his weapon’s magazine ran empty, he did not waste time reloading. An attacker approached with a tactical knife, but Damien quickly seized his opponent’s wrist and twisted it until the loud crack of a breaking joint rang out. He then snatched the knife and slashed the throat of the next opponent.

A fierce exchange of gunfire and close-quarters combat erupted in the middle of the isolated street. Damien, Luky, and the remaining guards fought with brutal ferocity. Blood soaked the dusty road, mixing with the pungent smell of gunpowder.

However, the rival syndicate attacking that night had prepared a far more cunning plan. They knew perfectly well that defeating Damien in a purely physical confrontation was impossible.

Amid the billowing smoke from the grenades that restricted visibility, two large men charged at Damien from the front. While Damien was busy incapacitating the two men with a sweeping kick and deadly punches, the leader of the attackers silently emerged from behind the shadows of a burning vehicle.

Using a devious tactic, the masked man slammed into Damien from behind. Before the mafia king could turn around and break his neck, an automatic metal syringe was forcibly driven into the side of Damien’s neck.

Click!

The thick, dark-red liquid contained inside the syringe was completely injected, entering Damien’s main bloodstream within seconds.

“Damn it!” Damien growled.

With the last of his strength and his explosive anger, Damien twisted his body and brutally drove his elbow into the attacker’s face until his mask shattered and the man’s body was sent flying onto the asphalt.

The masked man groaned in pain, his nose broken and his face covered in blood. However, instead of crying out in agony, he burst into loud laughter. It was a vicious laugh filled with immense satisfaction.

“Hahaha! What a powerful punch, Leonardo!” the man exclaimed in a hoarse, restrained voice. “But unfortunately, your story ends tonight!”

A scorching sensation began spreading from Damien’s neck, racing through his entire bloodstream at an unnatural speed. His heart pounded as though it were about to leap out of his chest, his vision gradually blurred, and an unfamiliar surge of wild desire began mercilessly invading his consciousness.

“We know your beloved wife is dead and that you’ve never touched another woman!” the leader of the attackers rambled as he slowly backed toward their getaway vehicle. “The drug inside your body is the most powerful aphrodisiac on the black market! This dose is ten times beyond what the human body can withstand! Without a woman to relieve it, your blood vessels will burst and your brain will burn from within! Even the best doctors in the world won’t be able to cure you before that chemical kills you!”

The remaining enemy subordinates immediately pulled their leader into the waiting vehicle.

“Enjoy your hell, Mafia King!” he shouted before the vehicle sped away and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Damien collapsed, dropping onto both knees on the cold asphalt. His chest heaved rapidly, accompanied by heavy groans escaping between his tightly clenched teeth. Cold sweat mixed with traces of blood poured down his temples. The veins in his neck and arms bulged with tension, while his body temperature soared dramatically until his skin appeared unnaturally flushed. The burning sensation gnawed away at his sanity, awakening the wildest instincts he had kept tightly suppressed all this time.

Luky, who had just finished taking down the enemies in another corner, ran toward his master in panic.

“Boss! Boss Damien!” Luky shouted, breathing heavily.

Luky’s eyes accidentally caught sight of an empty metal syringe lying near where Damien was kneeling. He picked it up, and when he read the warning symbol and chemical code displayed on it, his face immediately turned deathly pale. All the color seemed to drain from his face.

“Damn...” Luky whispered shakily. He immediately wrapped an arm around Damien’s shoulder, only to recoil in shock when he felt the scorching heat radiating from beneath his master’s shirt.

“Luky... it feels... so hot...” Damien groaned. His voice had become extremely deep and hoarse, filled with immense suffering. His eyes were now completely bloodshot, revealing a mixture of wild desire and agonizing pain tearing him apart.

Several remaining guards immediately surrounded them, panic clearly visible on their faces.

“What do we do?!” one of the guards shouted in a shrill, panicked voice. “That compound... with a dose that high, there’s no medical antidote capable of neutralizing it! Boss’s heart could explode if this continues!”

“Find a doctor! Contact the medical team at headquarters right now!” another guard shouted.

“A doctor won’t be able to cure this!” Luky snapped in frustration. His terrified eyes remained fixed on Damien, whose control over himself was rapidly slipping away. The deserted street descended into complete chaos.

Luky clenched his fists tightly, staring at his master as he continued to groan under the torment of the burning heat.

“What do we do?!”