LOGINSomething was wrong. I felt it before I even opened my eyes. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t obvious. It was quiet… too quiet. The kind of silence that pressed against your chest and made breathing feel heavier than it should. I lay still in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening. There was nothing. No distant footsteps. No low murmurs from the guards. No movement in the hallway. Just silence. My fingers tightened slightly against the sheets. This place was never this quiet. I pushed myself up slowly, my heart already beating faster than it should. Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe I was just getting used to Dante’s world and everything felt sharper now. But no…This was different. I could feel it in my bones. I dressed quickly and stepped outside. The moment I did, the feeling intensified. The guards were there, but something about them had changed. They weren’t relaxed—not that they ever really were, but this was different. Their movements were sharper. Their eyes more alert. They w
The morning light spilled through the tall windows, painting long shadows across the mansion. I moved carefully through the hallways, my senses on high alert. Every creak, every whisper of the wind felt amplified. I knew now this wasn’t just a home, it was a fortress, and every corner held secrets. My phone buzzed suddenly. I jumped, my heart lurching as I glanced at the screen. It was an unknown number. Hesitation clawed at me, but I answered. “This is Elena Rossi,” I said cautiously. A distorted voice hissed through the line, low and menacing. “You think you’re safe there? Think again. You’re in our city now. Watch your back.” Then the line went dead. My pulse raced, and a shiver ran down my spine. I knew it wasn’t just an empty threat—they were testing Dante, testing me. I shoved the phone into my pocket and found Luca in the kitchen, sipping his espresso. His dark eyes immediately scanned me, reading the tension I couldn’t hide. “Who called?” he asked, calm but edged with c
The quiet in Dante’s world always meant tension, not peace. I moved through the hallways, my footsteps almost silent against the polished marble floors. The soft hum of the city beyond the walls was drowned by the occasional creak of the old mansion, each sound twisting her stomach into knots. Even after weeks of living here, the sense of danger never left me. I paused outside the study, the heavy door partially ajar. Dante’s silhouette was barely visible through the dim light spilling from inside. He was seated at his desk, shoulders rigid, head bowed over some papers. I had no intention of interrupting him—yet curiosity, that relentless pull, drew me closer. The door creaked slightly as I leaned in, and Dante’s head snapped up. His dark eyes locked onto hers, sharp and unreadable. For a moment, I froze, unsure if I should step back or enter. “You’re lingering,” he said, voice low, almost dangerous. “I… I was just passing,” I stammered, attempting casualness i didn’t feel. My p
The morning after the ambush felt different. The walls, once comforting in their grandeur, now seemed like they carried whispers of the night’s danger. Even the sunlight streaming through the tall windows couldn’t dispel the tension that clung to the halls. I moved carefully, my senses heightened, every shadow and every creak in the floor sounding like a warning. I found Dante in his office, standing by the large window, arms crossed. His expression was unreadable, as if the night had carved lines of worry and thought into his face. He didn’t turn when I entered. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence at first, and that made my stomach twist. “Dante,” I said softly, stepping closer. “Can we… talk?” He finally looked at me, dark eyes sharp, but there was something behind them—something I couldn’t name. Concern? Tension? A vulnerability that I had rarely seen in him. “You shouldn’t be wandering around alone,” he said quietly, almost accusingly. “After last night… you could’ve been
I paced the marble hallway outside my room, the phone call from my father replaying in my mind. His voice had been desperate, trembling with fear, but he hadn’t said much. Just enough to know someone was after him… and that the danger was real.I tried to keep my thoughts calm, logical, but my pulse was racing. The shadows outside the windows seemed longer than usual, stretching like fingers trying to reach in. Every creak of the floor, every whisper of wind made me flinch. I couldn’t explain it, but I had the nagging feeling that tonight, something would happen.I was still lost in thought when I heard a low, almost imperceptible sound. The footsteps sounded soft, calculated, deliberate. My stomach tightened, and I froze, listening. The sound didn’t belong to anyone I knew in the mansion. Not Luca, not the guards. Someone had slipped in.Panic rose in me like a tide, but I forced myself to stay quiet, moving toward the window for a better view. Outside, the garden was covered in moon
The night air was heavy as I stepped onto the balcony of my room, the city lights stretching endlessly below like tiny, glowing warnings. I had tried to keep my mind off everything—Dante’s cold glances, Luca’s half truths, the shadow of the woman who had betrayed him, but the call I had received earlier refused to let me forget. My father. His voice had trembled over the phone, unsteady, fearful. He hadn’t revealed much, only that he was in trouble. But something in his tone had set off an alarm inside me. I had tried asking questions, pressing him for answers, but he had cut the conversation short, mumbling excuses about paperwork, about debts, about people who “wouldn’t let him be.” Now, standing on the balcony, I let the cool night breeze brush against my face, trying to think. The city felt alive, dangerous, aware. Shadows moved in alleys, cars sped past with headlights slicing through darkness. Every instinct in me screamed that my father’s troubles were not ordinary. I barel







