He was far too young to remember when it all happened or to remember where he came from.All he knew was that he had been a slave of the Mirko Cartel and that he was standing naked in a row of boys – all ranging in age – as a man that smelt of money walked before them. Inspecting them with beady and scrutinizing eyes, turning over his shoulder to talk to their owner, referring to them as ‘the package’. His riding crop dragging against the floor behind him. He stared at the muddied ground, splotches of red scattered on the tiles, and held his breath when a pair of glinting black shoes, the ones like he would never own; stopped before him.

The last few months had been hard on everyone. The vendetta was in full swing now and Salvatore had retaliated to Luca’s attack by burning down Jayson’s warehouse. His counteract had been a major setback for Jayson’s business, but that had been the main purpose of it. The mafia boss had increased the security measures around the estate, other than that, nothing else had happened, they were all on edge about Jayson’s retaliation, but that didn’t stop them from continuing their work. “So we’re going to the Giordano’s?” Marco asked his brother in Salvatore’s office while the latter flipped through a pile of papers. “But Mrs. Giordano has been gone for five mo

Sofia was sure it hadn’t been more than a month since she began living with the Regnante heir. But one thing she was certain about was the fact that she didn’t like him, grateful for the fact that they hardly ever crossed paths given his routine of jogging, working and then whoring away the night. Yet despite that, they saw each other around breakfast, and she couldn’t help but exact her revenge on him for his behavior at the estate. She treated him like a speck of mud beneath her shoes, simply riling him up just so that he’d lose his temper and retaliate to her fancies. She saw that this Regnante had little to no control over his tongue when angered, and pointed out that it would be his downfall

The week Salvatore had given him off seemed to be exactly what Marco needed: managing to catch up on some much needed sleep, and teaching Sofia how to make dinner, clean, do the laundry, and even play chess. Overall, he managed to get back on his feet, as well as help Sofia become a more independent person than when she had arrived.

Serafina has been in an accident. The words echoed in his skull as the chill outside felt like nothing compared to the ice traveling down his spine. His breath stuck in his throat as he lowered the phone from his ear, his eyes unable to focus on what was in front of him while his mind raced with all the thoughts. His thoughts about the extent of her injury, about his parents, and Salvatore, about Alessio and her kids, about Jayson, and the vendetta.His heart thundered hard against his chest and his knees trembled at the words. Grasping the cold railing in front of him in an effort to try and remain standing, trying to clear his head so that he knows what he should do next.He didn’t receive any orders, he had to take matters into his own hand.The sound of the balcony doors sliding open behind him had him straight