MasukThe villa was quiet, deceptively calm. Serena moved through its halls like a predator circling her territory, her fingers brushing against the walls, her mind racing with possibilities. Elena Romano’s name burned in her memory, every whispered rumor, every hidden lead forming a web that seemed impossible to untangle.Matteo had been silent since breakfast, following her with careful eyes, his presence constant and commanding. He had tried to argue for patience, for caution, but Serena refused to wait. Every hour wasted was another opportunity for enemies to tighten their grip on the city, on her, on the secrets she was determined to uncover.She entered the strategy room, maps spread across the large oak table, and began marking points of interest, locations where Elena had been rumored to have appeared, safe houses, abandoned warehouses, and known Romano allies. Her fingers traced lines connecting names and places, drawing invisible paths through the past, and through the dangerous p
The fire in the study had burned low, its embers glowing faintly against the shadows that draped the De Luca estate. Serena Vale sat rigid in her chair, the photo in her hand trembling though her grip was iron. Elena Romano. The name pulsed in her mind like a drumbeat, each thud heavier than the last.Her real mother.Not Isadora, the woman who had raised her, lied to her, betrayed her father in the name of protecting her. But Elena,another ghost, another secret pulled from the ruins of the Valentino war.Serena swallowed hard. Her throat ached as though she’d swallowed shards of glass. She traced the faded image with her thumb. Elena was beautiful in the way fire is beautiful with sharp features, hair as dark as midnight, a gaze that burned even in the still photograph. She looked nothing like Isadora. And yet, there was something in the angle of her jaw, the tilt of her eyes… Serena could see herself staring back.It hurt more than she could explain.Behind her, the door creaked ope
It was raining heavily. It fell like a hailstorm on the convoy of black SUVs moving in silence through the Apennine foothills. Five vehicles. Twenty-seven soldiers. Three objectives. Capture. Extract. Eliminate. Serena sat at the head of tge convoy.She was silent, focused, she seemed like a shadowed fury beneath a bulletproof vest and matte-black gloves. They were headed for Castello Lupo, an abandoned fortress once used by the Romanos before their purge. According to intercepted comms, it was now Aureliano’s command post and ground zero for the rising resistance. Serena didn’t flinch as the mountain road twisted beneath the tires. She had no room for fear. Not anymore.The road was rough and bumpy but it didn't seem to bother her at all. She'd stared death in the eyes, and she was done blinking. --- In the passenger seat, Mara adjusted her headset, scanning the terrain. “We’ve got thermal movement. Twenty-plus heat signatures ahead. Perimeter guards, probably snipers on the
The warning came just before dawn.A single flare fired from the watchtower.Crimson against the lavender sky.It wasn’t a call for help.It was a call to arms.Serena was already dressed when Mara burst through the west hall doors.“Movement on the ridge. Fifteen to twenty men. Armed. Black Sons.”Matteo swore, already buckling his shoulder holster.“How close?”“Close enough to smell the blood they plan to spill.”Serena tightened her gloves. “Then let’s show them what a legacy smells like.”They moved fast.No time for second-guessing. No time for fear.The estate's interior guards mobilized in seconds—rifles slung, armor thrown over cotton. Every man knew what was at stake.The Valentino name.The De Luca stronghold.And her.---By the time Serena reached the outer wall, the first wave had already descended.Black masks. Submachine guns. Tactical vests marked with a Roman numeral: II.She didn’t wait for orders.She climbed the southwest turret, picked off two intruders with dead
The villa smelled of gunpowder and roses.A strange combination of death and beauty. But perhaps fitting, Serena thought, as she stood alone in the grand southern wing of the estate, the silence wrapping around her like a funeral veil.It had been three days since the incident.Three days since she had ended Victor Romano’s life with her own blood-stained hands.Three days since she’d looked into the eyes of the man who claimed to be her father—who had held her mother in chains like a trophy—and watched the truth split her in half.Since then, she hadn’t slept.Not because she couldn’t.Because she didn’t want to.Sleep was for the safe. She was no longer safe.Victor Romano was gone.But his war had only just begun.---The courtyard garden—once filled with sun and serenity—now stood drenched in shadow and silence. The stone paths were slick with morning dew, and the roses she had once admired were trimmed back with brutal efficiency, their thorns sharper than ever.Serena stood whe
The clock read 3:07 a.m. Serena Vale stood alone in front of the mirror, lacing her boots with trembling hands. Dressed in matte black from throat to heel, she looked nothing like the pampered bride the council once underestimated. She was lean. Silent. Sharp. And for the first time, completely untethered. The message had said come alone. And she would. Because if the photo was real—if her mother was still alive—then no trap, no ambush, no army would stop her from getting her back. Matteo was still asleep. She left no note. Only a single dagger on his bedside table. It had been her father’s. If she didn’t return, he’d know what it meant. --- She took the Ducati. Fast. Silent. Deadly. The coordinates led her to the outskirts of Taranto, near the crumbling ruins of an old watchtower once used by the Black Dagger syndicate,a place Matteo had told her to never go near. A place that now glowed in the dark with low lights and the pulse of movement. Serena ditched the bike tw







