Katarina – POV"Vittorio!" I screamed again, my chest tight with hope.I took off like my soul had leapt before my body. Papi's giggles trailed behind me as I sprinted across the gravel, heart pounding. For a second, I thought the sky itself was shaking.The black jet sliced low over the trees like a damn predator. Thunder in its wings. Wind was kicking up the earth like it was announcing war.Valentino shielded his eyes, already pissed. “Fucking dramatic bastard.”I didn’t even hide my grin. My eyes were already stinging.Then I saw him.Descending the jet stairs in a black suit, crisp and cruel. No tie. His shirt open just enough to tease the ink on his chest. Vittorio De Luca. He walked with that slow, savage confidence—like he already owned the ground he hadn’t stepped on yet.I didn’t wait.I ran straight at him and launched myself into his chest.He caught me like he’d been waiting a lifetime.His arms snapped around me so tight my bones groaned. My feet lifted off the ground.
Katarina – POV“Papi, hurry!” I snapped, dragging the bag over my shoulder with one hand and grabbing his little wrist with the other. “We're not waiting another second.”He skipped beside me, stuffed bunny bouncing in his arm, mouth full of sunflower seeds. “Are we going to your house now?”“Hold tight, Papi,” I muttered, gripping his tiny hand in mine. “We’re almost out.”He nodded, clutching his stuffed bunny to his chest. His steps were uneven, but his face was lit up like we were going on vacation instead of escaping a goddamn crime scene.I paused at the iron gate. Blood still crusted under my nails. My shirt clung to my back, sticky with sweat. Giordano's stench felt like it was still on my skin even though his body was cooling in the hallway behind us.I didn’t answer Papi. I didn’t know what came next. Only that it wasn’t here.The gates were already unlocked. My freedom was a step away.I touched the iron handle. Cold. Heavy. The last line between me and the rest of my life.
Vittorio – POV At His Mansion,“Lock the fucking doors. Nobody enters and Nobody breathes unless I say so.”The heat slapped me the moment I stepped into Malva’s circle. The walls pulsed red from the fire in the center of the room. Sweat already gathered at my back, sliding down my spine. Smoke curled thick in the air, burning herbs mixed with blood, something sweet and rotten, something alive.Malva stood barefoot by the flames, her long braids wet with oil, her skin shimmering with sweat. She didn’t look at me. Didn’t speak. Just dropped bone after bone into the fire like she was feeding some starving god.“Sit,” she said, finally. Her voice cut through the smoke like a blade.I sat cross-legged across the fire from her, heart pounding against my ribs. The floor beneath me was hot. My palms burned where they touched it. I didn’t flinch."Let her live," I muttered under my breath. "Take anything from me. Rip my name off this earth if you want. Just give her back to me."Malva drop
Selena – POV“Vittorio, no!”I screamed.I didn’t mean to. It just ripped out of me. The sound bounced off the stone walls, sharp and raw.Scarface dropped like a ragdoll, blood splattering the gravel. His eyes stayed wide even after he hit the ground. Empty. Gone.I’d seen shit. I’d seen death. But not like this.Not this close. Not this real. Not from him.Vittorio didn’t even blink. Just stood there holding the smoking gun, calm like he’d just closed a business deal. His eyes were empty. Like a ghost took over.I felt like I couldn’t breathe.I took a shaky step back. My stomach twisted. My hands covered my mouth. I remembered that face—the man who stormed Katarina’s mother’s house, the one I barely escaped. And now he was lying there dead, murdered in cold blood right in front of me.“Why?” I choked, barely hearing my own voice. “Why the fuck did you kill him like that?”Vittorio turned. Slowly. His face was stone, but his eyes burned. “You should be thanking me.”“What?”“You’r
Katarina – POV"Is he breathing?"My whisper felt loud in the quiet room.I crept closer, holding the lamp in both hands like it might protect me. The flame flickered, casting long shadows across Giordano’s massive bed.His chest didn’t move. His eyes were half-open, like he’d been caught mid-thought. But something in me said—he’s still alive. That bastard was too stubborn to die easy.I moved to the edge of the bed, heart pounding.My fingers trembled as I leaned the lamp toward him. “Giordano,” I said low, almost afraid to wake a ghost. “You done?”Nothing.Then—his fingers twitched.“Shit!” I jumped back.I dropped the lamp. It rolled across the marble floor, stopped against the dresser.I froze. Staring. Waiting.His lips parted. A sigh left him—soft, broken.And then... silence.No twitch. No flinch. No rise and fall of breath.His body relaxed completely. Arms falling loose. Eyes going glassy. That last twitch? That wasn’t life. That was death finally grabbing him by the neck a
Vittorio – POV“Come here, baby… I’ve been waiting.” Her voice was soft and Sultry. Just the way I liked it.I blinked. And there she was. Katarina. Naked on my bed. Her long legs spread wide, robe open, body glowing like something out of a wet dream.I couldn’t breathe.She looked edible—skin glowing, lips parted, nipples hard, dripping wet between her thighs. Her eyes locked on mine like she could burn a hole through my chest. She was licking her lips, her eyes dark and hungry. She looked like sin and honey.“You’re back,” I breathed. “Jesus, look at you.”She smiled, slow and wicked. “I came for you, Vittorio. For this.” Her fingers trailed down her thigh. Then lower. She opened herself. “I killed him. Giordano. Now I’m yours.”I didn’t even blink. I crawled on the bed like a starving man. Crawled to her. Grabbed her thighs. Kissed the inside, trailing my tongue up and up until she shivered. She moaned, pulling me closer. “That’s it. Show me how much you missed me.”My li