LOGIN“How did you find me in that hospital?”Luciano stared at me for a long moment.Then he leaned back in his chair.“You’re in no position to seek answers, darling.”I folded my arms across my chest.“Then I guess you’re in no position to get answers either.”One of his brows lifted.“You seem to forget who you’re talking to.”“And you seem to forget who you’re asking questions from.”The room fell silent.His cold blue eyes stayed on mine.“You are becoming difficult.”“And you’re becoming annoying.”A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.“I’ve also been called worse.”“Good. Add kidnapper to the list.”“Technically, I had you retrieved.”I stared at him.“You drugged me.”“You were panicking.”“I was escaping.”“You were naked.”“That wasn’t my fault.”His smirk deepened slightly.For some reason that irritated me even more.I leaned back in my chair.“You wanted answers.”“I do.”“Then answer my question.”“No.”“Then i am not saying a word”The room went quiet again.Luciano tap
“Boss.” Luciano’s man kept his eyes lowered. “You need to take this.”Luciano’s man kept the phone stretched out in front of him.The room fell silent.Luciano didn’t move.His gaze remained fixed on me for another second before shifting to the phone in the man’s hand.“I don’t want to take calls right now.”The henchman hesitated.For the first time since I had arrived here, one of Luciano’s men looked uncertain.“It’s important.”Luciano’s eyes narrowed slightly.The man said nothing else.He didn’t have to.Something passed between them.A look.Brief.Silent.But enough.Luciano stood. His chair scraped softly against the floor.He slipped the phone from the man’s hand before looking back at me.“Give me a moment.”Then he walked out.The door closed behind him.Silence rushed into the room.I stared at the spot he had just occupied.Three days.The words still echoed inside my head.Three days since the café, three days since Victor collapsed forward onto the table, three days si
“You bastard.”The words barely left my lips before the world tilted beneath me, the warehouse lights blurred into streaks of white and gold.The shouting behind me became distant.Muted.As though I had suddenly been shoved underwater.My fingers tightened against the front of Luciano’s shirt.For a second, I thought I saw something flicker across his face.Regret.Amusement.Pity.I couldn’t tell.The drug moved quickly through my body.Too quickly.My knees threatened to give out.Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.The last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward us.Then, voices.Muffled.Far away.“…Boss, please.”The darkness shifted.My eyelids felt impossibly heavy.The moment I opened my eyes again, the world slowly drifted back into focus.Shapes first, then colors, then sound.Luciano stood a few feet away from me.His back faced me.The black suit jacket he had wrapped around me earlier was still draped over
It was Luciano.For a moment, I was short of breath.The cold night air brushed against my skin, of all the people in the world, of all the places.It had to be him.Heat rushed to my face; the moment I gazed into his eyes.My arms crossed instinctively over my chest, doing a terrible job of covering anything as I took an awkward step backward.The concrete beneath my bare feet felt freezing.My dignity had apparently died somewhere between climbing through a warehouse window and crashing into the dirt outside.Perfect.Just perfect.His gaze moved over me, it felt like his eyes were piercing through my flesh, simply taking in the sight before him.Disheveled hair, bruised wrists, bare feet covered in dirt, a hospital band around my wrist.A woman who had clearly gone through hell.The sounds of shouting behind me shattered the moment.“Spread out, she couldn’t have gotten far!”“Check around the back,” another voice said.My head snapped toward the warehouse; flashlights danced throu
“Get her cleaned up before the boss comes or do you prefer to die.”The two men stood there for a moment longer. The first guy shifted on his feet, glancing at me before looking back at the second man.“She was like this when I brought her in,” he said quickly. “Tried to crawl away out of the straps. Fought hard even after the shot I gave her, that’s why she looks messed up. Not my fault.”The second man stared at him, face tight. “No excuses. Just do the correction.”They both turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind them.I stayed slumped in the chair for what felt like long minutes, breathing in and out, trying to gather whatever strength the latest injection had left me. The ropes weren’t on me yet, but my limbs still wouldn’t obey properly, but I could hear footsteps moving around outside the room.The door opened again. The first man returned with a woman beside him. She looked tired, wearing plain clothes, she kept her eyes down, hands clasped together.He walked
“You’ll get your answers when the boss is ready.” The shadowy man reached deeper into the van. His hands worked on the straps holding me down. The second the last one clicked open, my body slid forward and dropped onto the cold metal floor with a heavy thud. Pain flared hot through my bandaged arm. I gasped and tried to push myself up.He leaned down to pick me up. I twisted hard, shoving at his chest with my good hand. “Don’t. Get your hands off me.”He grabbed my shoulders anyway. “Why are you resisting so much? It’s a good thing you did. Makes everything a liitle bit more interesting.”I kept fighting, kicking weakly with my legs even though they felt like lead. “Interesting for you maybe. Let go. I don’t want this, whatever you’re planning, I don’t want any part of it.”He held on tighter, trying to lift me. “Come on, don’t stop making this difficult. You’re only hurting yourself more.”I pushed against him again, turning my body away as much as
“You would have to pull the bullet out.”Tomas gripped the steering wheel tighter, the car still rolling through the rain-slicked streets. “Miss Seraphina, that is not happening, I am not some back-alley doctor. You need real help, proper equipment, and someone who knows what they are doing.”I shi
“Luciano,” I gasped.The figure straightened up from the waitress, glass crunching under his boots. But the voice that cut through the chaos wasn’t the low growl I expected. “Miss Seraphina, are you alright? Talk to me!”It was Tomas. Heat rushed to my face as I slumped against the booth, embarras
The car jolted again as bullets slammed into the armored side. I gripped the seat so hard my nails dug into the leather.“Drive faster, damn it!” Luciano barked at the driver, his voice cutting through the chaos.I turned around to look out the back window. Two black SUVs were gaining on us, flashe
Watch this,” I said, my voice steady as I stepped onto the stage in that blood-red gown. The spotlight hit me hard. Two hundred of the most influential people in the room turned my way.I tapped the tablet once.The giant screens behind me exploded. Bank records. Contracts. Photos of dead bodies. E







