DELUCA "Now, now Elena. I think you should call me Deluca instead," Lucas mimicked my voice as he walked into my office that late afternoon. I glanced up at him with a glare."You're not done yet?" I asked. He’d been at it for hours, and it was getting on my nerves. Yes, I’d said it, but he didn’t have to be such an ass about it.Besides, it happened a day ago—he should have let it go by now."I can never be done. Hey, the shipment got delayed," he informed me as he came to take a seat in front of me, and my brows furrowed automatically in thought."What do you mean?" I asked, and he turned his laptop to face me."Here’s a live feed from the dock where our ship should’ve departed. But there seems to be a maintenance issue, and it’s being taken care of," he explained.I watched the video, but something seemed off. The guy in blue had been doing the same thing for over a minute—on loop."Lucas, this isn’t a live feed," I said to him, and he turned the laptop back toward himself."Of co
ELENA I stepped into the mansion and gave it a once-over, memories instantly surfacing wherever my eyes landed. This building held so much love and carried so many memories, but now I questioned if everything I thought I knew about the man I married was even remotely true—or was it all a farce? A lie? A cover he put up to keep me in the dark.Lorenzo had hurt people—children. I choked as I felt a sob begin to clog my throat, but I swallowed it and forced myself to go up the stairs.I went to my room and took a shower, staying in the bathroom longer than necessary. My skin had begun to prune by the time I stepped out.I dressed in my favorite pajamas and climbed into bed.I stretched out my hand and grabbed my laptop, then took the flash drive in the other.And then, I just sat there, staring at the two of them. If they were joined together, everything I knew about my husband might turn out to be a very big lie.But I could no longer run or hide from it. Inhaling deeply, I plugged the
DELUCA I was speechless, I just stared as the events unfolded before my very eyes. Elena Russo was a force to be reckoned with and she also knew what she was doing too. She just told Camilla off as though she was a pest to be dealt with lightly and the way she had handled herself earlier today was making me admire her the more. Not good enough for me because my pants tightened to the point of pain and I forced my hands into a fist to stop it from moving downwards to adjust myself.This woman was making me feel like a fucking teenager and as much as I liked it, I did not like the feeling of being this hard for someone who might never be mine."I'm certain you have no issues with the incident that just occured?" She turned to face me, her eyes staring straight at me and I returned the stare, then picked up a pen to twirl casually in my palms."I really don't care, what you do is up to you" I said to her and watched her smile before it fell off and I raised my eyebrows at her in questi
ELENA “Many things happen in this casino, but none like today,” the girl at the bar said as I stopped by her on my way to DeLuca’s office, just like he’d asked.I gave her a look, grabbed the cup of clear water, and downed it slowly.“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied once I was done, handing the cup back to her before turning to leave.“I know you do,” she called after me.I smiled faintly at her words as I walked into the dark hallway.At the intersection to my left, I paused and glanced at Lorenzo’s former office. The door was ajar, smoke drifting lazily out from inside.I shook my head to clear my thoughts and continued on my way, soon pushing open DeLuca’s office door.“Elena Russo, you are amazing.”I stopped in my tracks at that and glanced at Lucas, raising an eyebrow.“Lucas, I’ve got no idea what you’re on about,” I said, moving to take a seat in front of DeLuca.“I’m arranging for a table and other necessities to be delivered here so you’ll have a space of your own,”
DELUCA "What is happening here?" I barked out loud and they all took steps backwards with fear in their gazes."Someone answer that question or if you make me ask twice, your families will hold a funeral without your body" I said, my voice now low and someone began to speak, it was the bar girl."Mr Dante ordered for Miss to be beaten but they instead began to fight amongst themselves" she explained clearly and I commended her for being stable even when I could practically feel her fear from this door."Who was ordered?" I asked and she immediately pointed to four different men, all shaking their heads negatively."I wouldn't blame them, a million dollars stake was on it" Elena said as she sipped from a cup and I gave her a look of disbelief. "She's nuts" Lucas whispered to me and I couldn't agree more. Elena was becoming more and more surprising and it always kept me on my toes because I could never guess what she would do next, she was unpredictable like a wild card."Lucas, take
ELENA I got off the bike and just stared at it as a single thought ran through my head—This bike… was it bought with money made from dealing with those—The words couldn't even form. I fought with myself, trying to comprehend the lengths Lorenzo had gone to in his shady dealings.I heaved in a breath and walked into the casino. Everyone greeted me with smiles, but I could only force out a grimace.I wasn’t in the mood to smile, but I knew I had to—to keep up appearances.Still, I couldn't find it in me. So, I didn’t.“Oh my, my… the prodigal princess returns,” someone called out.I made no move to stop as I walked to the bar, where the bar girl stood grinning at me.She looked much more confident than before—ever since I gave her that gift.And that made me feel good.“Get me my usual, but make it stronger,” I said.She nodded and went to work just as Dante Moretti walked up to my side and slid into the seat beside me.“What do you want?” I indulged him with a cold tone.He glanced