VICENZO’S POV
I couldn’t sleep. Hell, I didn’t even try.
The whiskey bottle was nearly empty, the night dragged too long, and my nerves were frayed like live wires. I paced the length of the penthouse, shirtless, bruised, my jaw clenched tight. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the technician’s car engulfed in flames. I heard Mateo’s voice again, “he’s dead”. My fists curled, still raw and bandaged, aching with the need to do something.
This wasn't a coincidence. This was a message.
ROSA’S POVHe wasn’t smiling. His eyes dropped to the bag over my shoulder, then to Sofia’s small hand curled into mine. Something in his expression shifted. Concern, confusion, something more. Like he was trying to understand what was going on. “Going somewhere?” His voice was soft, not accusing. Just… watching, laced with concern. I blinked, my heart racing. “No. Just…just to Liana’s. For the night.” I couldn’t tell him I was running. I didn’t trust him and besides he was a Don, there was every possibility he could have heard about the Pacino household and
VICENZO’S POVMateo’s bullet cracked through the windshield and the car jerked hard, then the driver slumped over the wheel. Smoke rolled out from under the hood as the engine hissed and groaned. It screeched forward a few feet, tires catching on broken glass, before slamming into the stone steps outside the lobby.I didn’t wait. I tore out from behind the pillar, my gun drawn, my feet pounding against slick marble. My breath came in hard bursts but I ignored the pain coursing through my body. Someone was still in that car, I’d seen the flash. Whoever was in the backseat had opened fire on my building. My men. On me.
ROSA’S POVSofia’s scream tore through the apartment, high and desperate. I jerked back so fast, I almost knocked the plate off the coffee table. Salvatore jumped too, blinking like he’d just been slapped awake. I turned and saw her standing by the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Enzo!” she wailed. “I want Enzoooo!”I was already halfway to her, my heart pounding. Her cries weren’t the kind that faded, instead they sharpened with each breath, splitting through the quiet like glass.“Sofia, baby, what’s wrong?”
VICENZO’S POVThe shot hadn’t come from me. I didn’t realize it at first. Everything after the trigger squeeze was noise. The sound of rushing wind and the pounding of my own heart. I was shocked and I looked at Dante, he had that rotten sneer frozen on his face but he was unhurt. My gun hadn’t gone off. I blinked, confused.Then I heard the groan. Mateo.In my face off with Dante, I had forgotten we were in the middle of a shootout. The lines had blurred for me. I could only see Dante and hear his ugly words but there was Mateo. My men. I turned just in time to see him collapse behind the pillar, his hand pressed to his stomach, blood soaking through his shirt. The world slowed. My feet moved before my brain did, and I was at his side in seconds, cursing under my breath.“Fuck! Mateo, no no no…”He gave me a half-smile through gritted teeth. “I’m good. Just a scratch, boss.”He wasn’t good. There was too much blood for that. He had been hit on his chest and I feared the worst. I fea
ROSA’S POVI tried to call Vicenzo. Once. Twice. Then again. The phone just rang and rang until that hollow beep echoed in my ear. No voicemail. No answer. Just silence where his voice should’ve been.I wanted to throw the phone away. Instead, I just held it tighter. I couldn’t afford to make any rash decisions. Sofia had stopped wailing but was sobbing quietly now. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and winced as I touched the welts across my face. I felt my lips tremble as I was moved to tears. I gathered myself together and glanced at my daughter sitting down in a corner, her eyes puffy from crying and catarrh dripping down her nose. She didn’t speak when I met her gaze so I just picked her up and took her to the bathroom. We did everything in silence till I asked her. “Want to go see Liana?” My voice was soft and tired. She nodded and I blinked the tears away as we left the house together. When Liana opened the door, I must’ve looked like hell because she didn’t say anyth
(ROSA’s POV) The bass pounded in my chest, loud and unrelenting. Cigar smoke curled through the air, mixing with the scent of expensive whiskey and something filthier; the raw hunger of men who had too much power and no control. I adjusted the flimsy mask covering half my face, my fingers trembling. It wouldn’t do much if someone looked too closely, but it gave me a false sense of security. That was all I needed. Just one night. One chance to make enough for Sofia’s surgery. “Get up there, Rosa.” Liana’s sharp whisper cut through my hesitation as she grabbed my wrist, her nails digging in. She was the one who got me this job. “These men are loaded,” she hissed. “Dance like you used to, and they’ll throw money like it’s nothing.” My stomach twisted. But I forced my feet to move. The music shifted, slow and sultry, thick with expectation. The dim lights flickered over the crowd, revealing rows of eager eyes, waiting. I gripped the pole, my heart hammering. This w
ROSA’S POVThe silence in Vincenzo’s penthouse was suffocating. The moment we stepped inside, he let go of my wrist. I almost stumbled back, my heart racing. I should have felt relief, should have been glad he let me go, but instead, my skin tingled where his fingers had been, like his touch had burned into me. The place was huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows showing off the glittering city. Everything screamed power and control, black leather, dark marble, dim lights casting long shadows. A cage, I realized. A beautiful trap. Vincenzo watched me like he was figuring me out, his dark eyes trailing over me slowly. I felt exposed, like I was still standing under the club lights, like he could see right through me; to my fear, my desperation… and how much he affected me. I swallowed, forcing my voice to stay firm. “You had no right.” He turned, unbuttoning his cuffs, rolling them up as if he had all the time in the world. “No right to what?” “To interfere,” I snapped. “To d
VICENZO’S POV The moment Rosa’s bare feet ghosted across my penthouse floor, I knew she was running. I heard the door click shut behind her, the softest sound against the silence of the night. If I hadn’t been waiting for it, expecting it, I might have let her go. But I had learned my lesson a long time ago. Rosalinda Amato ran when things got hard. She had run from us once. She had run from me. From our love. She thought she could do it again. I pressed the bell that signaled Matteo, my right-hand man, to enter the room. Then I walked to the bar and carefully poured myself a glass of whiskey. I let the ice clink against the glass, watching the city through the massive window. I took a slow sip, allowing the burn to settle in my chest before I spoke. “She left.” My voice was calm, measured. It didn’t betray my feelings. Matteo, standing by the doorway, didn’t look surprised. “Do you want us to bring her back?” I tilted the glass in my hand, watching the amber liq
ROSA’S POVI tried to call Vicenzo. Once. Twice. Then again. The phone just rang and rang until that hollow beep echoed in my ear. No voicemail. No answer. Just silence where his voice should’ve been.I wanted to throw the phone away. Instead, I just held it tighter. I couldn’t afford to make any rash decisions. Sofia had stopped wailing but was sobbing quietly now. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and winced as I touched the welts across my face. I felt my lips tremble as I was moved to tears. I gathered myself together and glanced at my daughter sitting down in a corner, her eyes puffy from crying and catarrh dripping down her nose. She didn’t speak when I met her gaze so I just picked her up and took her to the bathroom. We did everything in silence till I asked her. “Want to go see Liana?” My voice was soft and tired. She nodded and I blinked the tears away as we left the house together. When Liana opened the door, I must’ve looked like hell because she didn’t say anyth
VICENZO’S POVThe shot hadn’t come from me. I didn’t realize it at first. Everything after the trigger squeeze was noise. The sound of rushing wind and the pounding of my own heart. I was shocked and I looked at Dante, he had that rotten sneer frozen on his face but he was unhurt. My gun hadn’t gone off. I blinked, confused.Then I heard the groan. Mateo.In my face off with Dante, I had forgotten we were in the middle of a shootout. The lines had blurred for me. I could only see Dante and hear his ugly words but there was Mateo. My men. I turned just in time to see him collapse behind the pillar, his hand pressed to his stomach, blood soaking through his shirt. The world slowed. My feet moved before my brain did, and I was at his side in seconds, cursing under my breath.“Fuck! Mateo, no no no…”He gave me a half-smile through gritted teeth. “I’m good. Just a scratch, boss.”He wasn’t good. There was too much blood for that. He had been hit on his chest and I feared the worst. I fea
ROSA’S POVSofia’s scream tore through the apartment, high and desperate. I jerked back so fast, I almost knocked the plate off the coffee table. Salvatore jumped too, blinking like he’d just been slapped awake. I turned and saw her standing by the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Enzo!” she wailed. “I want Enzoooo!”I was already halfway to her, my heart pounding. Her cries weren’t the kind that faded, instead they sharpened with each breath, splitting through the quiet like glass.“Sofia, baby, what’s wrong?”
VICENZO’S POVMateo’s bullet cracked through the windshield and the car jerked hard, then the driver slumped over the wheel. Smoke rolled out from under the hood as the engine hissed and groaned. It screeched forward a few feet, tires catching on broken glass, before slamming into the stone steps outside the lobby.I didn’t wait. I tore out from behind the pillar, my gun drawn, my feet pounding against slick marble. My breath came in hard bursts but I ignored the pain coursing through my body. Someone was still in that car, I’d seen the flash. Whoever was in the backseat had opened fire on my building. My men. On me.
ROSA’S POVHe wasn’t smiling. His eyes dropped to the bag over my shoulder, then to Sofia’s small hand curled into mine. Something in his expression shifted. Concern, confusion, something more. Like he was trying to understand what was going on. “Going somewhere?” His voice was soft, not accusing. Just… watching, laced with concern. I blinked, my heart racing. “No. Just…just to Liana’s. For the night.” I couldn’t tell him I was running. I didn’t trust him and besides he was a Don, there was every possibility he could have heard about the Pacino household and
VICENZO’S POVI couldn’t sleep. Hell, I didn’t even try.The whiskey bottle was nearly empty, the night dragged too long, and my nerves were frayed like live wires. I paced the length of the penthouse, shirtless, bruised, my jaw clenched tight. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the technician’s car engulfed in flames. I heard Mateo’s voice again, “he’s dead”. My fists curled, still raw and bandaged, aching with the need to do something.This wasn't a coincidence. This was a message.
ROSA’S POVI woke up on the couch, the blanket tangled around my legs, my heart racing before I’d even remembered why. Then the memory came crashing back. It was the call.That voice calling me Rosalinda Pacino. For a long time I’d answered to Rosalinda Amato that I’d almost forgotten that Amato was a false surname, a name I had borrowed to live a fake life…an ordinary life. The name felt like a curse in my ears, one I hadn’t heard spoken out loud in years. Not since I’d buried it along with the people who used to say it with p
VICENZO’S POVAfter my father left, I locked the front door and pressed my back against it, dragging in a breath that didn’t settle right in my chest.The silence of the penthouse pressed in like a noose. It was too quiet. Too clean. Too damn still for the storm inside my head. My father had sent the guards away when he came in and I didn’t feel like calling them back. I didn’t even take my shoes off, I just moved straight to the bathroom, peeling my shirt off as I walked. Blood had dried along the collar and smeared in streaks down my stomach, crusted over open scrapes and blooming bruises.
ROSA’S POVI couldn’t stop shaking.The door slammed behind me with a loud, final crack and I leaned against it, my chest heaving, and my hands trembling. My palms stung where they’d scraped the rough sidewalk trying to get between them, between Vicenzo and Salvatore, two men with fire in their veins and blood in their eyes. But it was Vicenzo’s voice that gutted me.He had meant every word of his threat and I couldn’t wrap my head around how fiercely Vicenzo loved Sofia even though I had told him she wasn’t his. He had told me he would kill me…me, if I let Salvatore near her. He didn’t know Sofia didn’t eve