LOGINFIVE YEARS LATERMARA'S POV“Lia! If you put that muddy shoe on my white sofa, I swear I'll make you clean the entire house!”A burst of laughter came from the hallway.I closed my eyes.Five years.Five years of marriage, motherhood, unexpected surprises and two little girls who had somehow turned my once-orderly life into a permanent battlefield.Some things never changed.I placed the breakfast tray on the kitchen counter and glanced at the clock.Seven thirty.Sofia was already dressed for school, sitting at the dining table with a book in front of her. At fourteen, she had developed Dante's stubbornness and my habit of questioning everything.Lia, now ten, was still running around the house with one shoe on.“Where is your other shoe?” I asked.She stopped.Then she looked down.“I don't know.”I folded my arms.“Lia.”She grinned.“Maybe it ran away.”I stared at her.She burst into laughter and disappeared around the corner.I shook my head.The door opened behind me.“Good mor
MARA'S POV The morning of my wedding began with gunfire. Not the kind that shattered windows or sent people running for cover. This time, it was the sound of fireworks exploding above Blackwood Estate. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. For a few seconds, I forgot where I was. Then I heard Lia screaming excitedly from somewhere down the hallway. “Mummy! Wake up! It's your wedding day!” I laughed. Of all the things I had survived, I had never imagined that a little girl would be the person to wake me up on my wedding morning. I sat up carefully, rubbing my still-healing shoulder. The door flew open. Sofia rushed in, followed by Lia. Behind them stood two women carrying garment bags and makeup cases. “Today, you're not allowed to do anything,” Sofia announced
DANTE'S POV The first thing I saw when I entered the hospital room was my sister staring at the ceiling. Vivienne was awake. Her face was pale, her chest bandaged, and an IV line ran into her arm. She looked nothing like the confident woman who had once commanded the entire Blackwood mansion. For a moment, I stood at the doorway, unsure whether I should enter. This was the woman I grew up with. The woman who once held my hand when our father shouted at us. The woman who cried when I left home for the first time. The woman I had trusted with my daughters. And the same woman who had helped our enemies hunt us. I walked inside. She turned her head. “Dante.” I pulled a chair beside her bed. “How are you feeling?” She gave a weak laugh. “Is that what you came to ask?”
MARA'S POVThe ambulance doors slammed shut.Vivienne was inside, unconscious, with a paramedic pressing a dressing against her chest. Dante stood beside the vehicle, his expression unreadable.For years, he had protected his sister.Now she was fighting for her life because of the man she had chosen over her own family.I approached him.“Dante.”He didn't turn.“I should have seen it coming.”“You couldn't have known she would go this far.”“I left her in charge of my daughters. I trusted her with everything.”“You trusted your sister. She betrayed that trust. Those are two different things.”He finally looked at me.“What if she dies?”I took his hand.“Then at least she won't die without knowing that you gave her a chance.”He looked toward the ambulance.The paramedics closed the doors.“Hospital first,” I sa
DANTE'S POVThe old family residence had been empty for almost six years.My father built it before his death, back when the Blackwood family still pretended we were ordinary people. It stood outside the city, surrounded by high walls, thick trees and memories I had spent years trying to forget.Vivienne knew I would come.She also knew I would bring Mara.And she was counting on it.“Boss, we're five minutes away,” Victor announced over the radio.I glanced at Mara.Her injured shoulder was bandaged beneath her jacket. The doctor had insisted she remain at the hospital, but she had refused.“You should be resting.”She didn't look at me.“You've said that four times.”“And I'll say it again.”“Save your breath, Dante.”I sighed.“Do you ever listen?”“When the person speaking makes sense.”Despite everything, I almost smiled.
CHAPTER 26: WAR AT THE EASTERN PORTMARA'S POVThe gunshot shattered the silence.Then darkness swallowed the port.“DOWN!” Dante shouted.I dropped behind a stack of wooden crates as bullets tore through the air.Men were screaming. Weapons fired from every direction. Somewhere to my right, a vehicle engine roared to life.I couldn't see who had fired first.But I knew one thing.Rafael had planned this.“Dante!” I shouted.“I'm here!”His voice came from somewhere behind the container.I crawled toward him, keeping my injured shoulder low. A bullet struck the crate beside my head, scattering splinters across my face.I fired twice toward the muzzle flash.A man fell.“Victor!” Dante shouted into his radio. “Report!”Static.Then Victor's voice came through.“East side is compromised! We're taking fire from the lo







