LOGINLuther POV
“Have men watching over her , is that understood!” I said to Marco as he nodded affirmative. I stood outside for some time taking out one of my cigar when Marylin came out of the club with a lighter. “Mind if I join you?” She said as she brought up her hands to my mouth lighting up my cigar. “I saw what you did Marylin” I said as I pointed the cigar at her “Don’t blame me love” she said with smirk all over her face “Let’s just say I killed two birds with one stone” “I saw her and I used that opportunity to kiss you , mind you I’ve been wanting to do that “ she said as she touched her lips seductively “Why” “She doesn’t belong to this world Luther, can’t you see we are perfect “ “And who said that” I said back at her as I tried to hold my laughter, “Grrr….grrr!!!!!” Her phone rang as she picked it up “Ok” was all she said into the phone. “See ya love “ she said as she scurried off into her car and drove away “Marco, I need you to keep tabs on that lady, leave no stones unturned” “Copy that sir” The club’s energy shifted as soon as she walked in. Alessia Conti Vicenzo’s mother—glided through the entrance like she owned the place. Regal, calculated, and cold as ice in a diamond necklace. The room dimmed around her presence, as though even the lights dared not outshine her. She wore an emerald green silk gown that hugged her curves and glittered subtly under the lights. Her auburn hair was pulled into an elegant chignon, and her eyes scanned the room with quiet authority. I saw her before she saw me, though I doubted anything escaped her notice. When our eyes met across the club, something passed between us—old blood, unspoken history, unacknowledged alliances. Tho she wasn’t running the conti cartel anymore but something in my guts told me she was , infact she was more of the boss hiding under the shadows of being just the manager. Her head suddenly turned where I was. She didn’t smile. Neither did I. Still, as she approached with the grace of a queen, I stepped forward out of respect. Our families might be entangled in more secrets than we cared to admit, but in public, appearances still mattered. “Alessia,” I said with a polite nod. “Luther,” she replied, her voice silk-wrapped steel. There was a beat of silence. Not awkward—strategic. Calculated. She glanced around the club with an appraising eye. “Nice place. I didn’t expect you here tonight.” I gave a shrug. “Business, as usual.” Her lips curved slightly—just slightly. “Business,” she echoed, as if the word had layers only we could understand. Neither of us made a move to deepen the conversation. It wasn’t the place, and it certainly wasn’t the time. She offered a curt smile before turning and walking deeper into the club, disappearing into the crowd like a shadow slipping under the door. I turned back toward Marco, who was already watching me with a question in his eyes. “She’s not here for drinks,” I muttered. Just as Alessia disappeared into the velvet-draped corridors of the club, my phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I reached for it, already tense, the sharp vibration like a warning in my bones. I didn’t think much of it—until I saw the name glowing on the screen. VICENZO CONTI It was almost like a touche, just when I just saw his mum, that exactly when he called. I pressed answer, this time slower deliberate. “Speak,” I said, voice like steel. There was a pause, then his smooth, calculating tone filtered through the line. “Relax, Luther. That earlier message... just a precaution. You know how this world works.” I didn’t speak. Not yet. Let him keep talking. “I’ve thought about the deal,” he continued, his tone shifting into business mode. “I’m in. Let’s make it happen.” I raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden pivot. “Thirty percent. That’s your cut,” he added, with no room for negotiation. I leaned against the wall, watching the club’s glowing floor shift with bodies and movement inside. “Only thirty?” I said with a smirk, just to poke at him. “You get your hands dirty too fast, Luther. I do the cleanup. Thirty’s generous.” I let out a low laugh. “You’re lucky I like cleaning up messes.” Vicenzo chuckled, though there was something unreadable in his voice. “Tomorrow night. Everything’s set. The shipment will land at Dock 12. No delays. I’ll send the drop point an hour before.” “Everything is covered on my end,” I replied coolly. “Security, backup routes, trucks. No leaks. No loose mouths.” “Good.” He paused, then added, “And make sure no one hears about it especially Marylin. She talks too much when she’s drunk.” I didn’t reply to that. Because he wasn’t wrong. I didn’t even have time to tell him that we weren’t together anymore, from his tone it was obvious he didn’t know I am d rose were involved and very soon he would find out I took a final drag of the forgotten cigar and flicked it to the ground. “The agreement goes off,” I said, sealing the words like a contract. “No setbacks. No last-minute surprises.” Vicenzo’s voice dropped, cold and final. “Not this time.” “Was there a time things fell out with me Vicenzo?” I asked over the phone , it was more of a rhetorical question since we both know that we knew the answer. “No Luther” he said “But I don’t really want anything going bad “ he added “As do I, so that there would be no casualties , as you know so that you don’t get to increase my cut “ I said but indirectly I was teasing him and warning at same time of what the stakes would be if anything happened to my men. The line clicked. DisconnectedRose POVThe café lights reflected warmly on the table as I stirred my coffee absentmindedly, a soft smile tugging at my lips. Diana sat across from me, leaning forward with her elbows on the table, watching me closely. I couldn’t hide the way my thoughts kept circling back to Luther—the man who had turned my life upside down in ways I hadn’t expected.“You’re glowing,” Diana teased, narrowing her eyes knowingly. “Don’t even try to deny it. You’ve been thinking about him again.”I laughed softly, though I didn’t deny it. “Maybe I have. I don’t know, Diana… it’s different with him. He makes me feel… alive. Protected.”Her smile faltered, replaced with something colder. “Rose, you need to stop this fantasy before it ruins you. You think Luther is any better than Vicenzo? They’re cut from the same cloth.”Her words cut deep. My smile faded, and I set my spoon down with a quiet clink. “That’s not true. Luther isn’t Vicenzo. Don’t compare them.”Diana leaned back, crossing her arms. “Then
Luther POVThe night air was calm, almost too calm. I sat back on the veranda, the weight of the cigar burning between my fingers, smoke curling lazily into the evening sky. The glass of whiskey beside me glowed faintly under the warm light, the amber liquid swirling every time I lifted it for a sip.Moments like these were rare—moments when I could breathe, when the chaos didn’t come crashing down on me. But I knew better. In this world, peace was nothing but the silence before a storm.And right on cue, my phone vibrated against the wooden table. I glanced at the screen and couldn’t help the smirk that pulled at my lips.Vicenzo Conti.I took the call. “Vicenzo,” I greeted smoothly.“Luther,” his voice was hard, deliberate. He wasn’t in the mood for games. “I’m ready to make my payment. I know you have my shipment… and my men. I want them back.”I leaned forward, resting my elbow on the armrest, savoring his desperation. “Finally. Took you long enough. I was starting to think you’d
David’s POVThe sound of his footsteps announced him before the door creaked open. My older brother—Vicenzo—stood there, shoulders squared, jaw tight, eyes carrying that restless fire that never seemed to die.“I’m ready,” he said.The words dropped like lead between us.I leaned back in my chair, crossing one leg over the other as if he hadn’t just come demanding truths. My room smelled faintly of tobacco and leather-bound books, my haven, my retreat from his chaos. I let the silence stretch, watching his impatience grow like smoke choking a fire.“Ready?” I echoed at last, a soft smile tugging at my lips. “Ready for what, brother?”He stepped closer, the veins in his neck straining. “I’m ready to know who has the shipment.”Ah. So that was it. His pride had finally bent far enough to seek my help. I folded my hands over my knee, enjoying the moment.“And if I tell you?” I asked lazily. “What then? You’ll rush out there, guns blazing, and end up bleeding for cargo that might already
Vicenzo’s POVThe man trembled on his knees, blood still dripping from the half-bandaged wound on his side. His breathing was ragged, but his eyes held a kind of loyalty I hadn’t seen in a while—not the empty loyalty bought with fear, but the kind born of desperation and belonging.“Get him cleaned up,” I said after a long silence, my voice sharp enough that the guards jumped at the order. “He was one of our best men before all this. I don’t want him rotting away like trash. See that he eats. He’ll talk better with strength in his body.”The man looked up at me, surprise flashing across his battered face. “Thank you, Boss,” he whispered, as though those words cost him his last breath.I gave him a curt nod, then added, “And when he’s patched up, bring him to me. Alone. I’ll hear everything.”He was dragged out, and I stood in the silence again, my chest rising and falling with the rage that burned steadily. My mother watched me, swirling the wine in her glass.“You’re being merciful,”
Vicenzo’s POVAfter David left, silence stretched in the room. I leaned back against the desk, my arms folded, and my mother stood across from me, her glass of wine in hand. For a long moment, we just stared at each other.She was the first to break it.“Why is he back?” Alessia’s tone was flat, but beneath it lay the cold steel I knew too well.I rubbed at my jaw. “He claims he has information to exchange for money.”Her laugh was sharp, dry. “Information? And here I thought he wanted nothing to do with our world. He despised our money.”“He said it wasn’t the dirty money he wanted,” I replied, repeating David’s exact words with a bitter taste in my mouth. “He says he only has something to sell. Not to take.”I could see the twist of her mouth, the way her expression soured as though even David’s name was rot. Truth be told, I didn’t like him either. He opposed everything we did, always standing higher than us in his self-righteousness. And somewhere deep down, I knew he secretly enj
Alessia’s POVThe murmur of voices drifted faintly down the hallway, threading its way through the heavy silence of the house. I had been pouring myself a glass of wine in the sitting room, but the sound made me pause. Vicenzo’s tone was distinct—deep, controlled, carrying that casual arrogance that came so naturally to him. Yet there was another voice, one that stirred something sharper inside me.I moved quietly, my heels clicking against the marble with deliberate precision. As I drew closer to the study, the voices grew clearer. And then, as if fate itself had turned the knife deeper, I recognized it.David.My eldest. The son who had turned his back on me, on this family, on everything that bound us together. The son who thought himself above the dirt that fed us, above the blood that kept us alive. My lips pressed into a thin line as an old ache, half-buried beneath years of bitterness, surfaced.I opened the door.There he was. My long-lost boy. Not bent to my will the way Vice







