𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀LAYLAAntonio scoffed at my words before replying, "As my brother said the other day, we've been at war with the Morellos for years now." I turned in my seat, determined to get my point across. "If I don't go back, Mato won't stop until he's destroyed everyone I love." "But this isn't about you, Layla. It's about Daniel. About us. It's never been about you. You are just a pawn he's using to put our family in checkmate. It's Daniel they want to destroy. It's our family they want to wipe out. Even if you go back and give your life in order to stop all of this, it won't. It will never stop." "I know this war between you and the Morellos will probably never end, but I will no longer be used as a weapon to torture Daniel. You and I both know that Daniel will put himself in harm's way as long as Mato has me. Your brother will never stop, and I've been the cause of Daniel's pain for too long." I shook my head as tears welled up. "No more. No more, Antonio. I can't do it anymore

𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 DANIELMy heart was in my throat as Antonio swallowed as if the words were struggling to come out. "While he held her…""Well?" I was growing impatient. "Spit it out!" "While Mato held her… he got her addicted to heroin." I thought my heart had stopped before, but I was wrong. Now I knew what it meant to have a heart eruption. I could feel the blast through every fiber of my being. "I don't understand," I whispered. My voice sounded broken. Kat stood. "My sister is now an addict, Daniel. He forced her to take the drugs so he could control her." For a few seconds, I allowed the words to sink in. I allowed it to settle in the pit of my stomach, to stew with the rage I had been feeling all morning. And then I grabbed the first thing I could find, a glass decanter, and threw it against the wall. The sound of my scream together with the shattering glass hit the roof with excruciating resonance. "Daniel, you need to calm down." I shot a warning glare at my brother. "Do n

𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀LAYLAI watched as Mato's smug grin turned arrogant. "See, I helped you, and I was smart about it too.""What did you pay him?" I glared at him. "What did you pay my father to write that fucking letter?"He cocked his head, his gaze sweeping from my neck, to my lips, to my eyes. "I paid him more than he would make in two lifetimes." He licked his lips. "And it was worth every cent because now you're mine. Mine to take care of, and mine to defile."Bile crept up my throat, and my chest burned with equal parts disgust and craving. "All you know how to do is destroy lives.""Sometimes the strong need to eliminate the weak to thrive."I almost laughed in his face. "Strong? Do you think you're strong? What, by turning an innocent woman into an addict? By taking her son away from her? Are those the actions of a strong man? An honorable man?"The corners of his lips twitched, a malicious sneer forming on his ugly motherfucking face. "Who said anything about honorable?"Disgust fil

𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 DANIEL The sound of an approaching car momentarily grabbed my attention, and I bit down on my cheeks as I watched it near us. Even though my attention was on the car, I was hyperaware of every man currently taking part in this standoff.Stefano righted himself and straightened the sleeves of his jacket. "It seems you're having difficulty accepting that Layla has moved on with my son. Maybe he can convince you."The car stopped, and my heart beat wildly inside my chest as I watched Mato get out. If hate had a moment in time, this would be it.The sight of his ugly motherfucking face made me want to rip out his goddamn spine through his throat. It took every shred of self-control not to end him right there and then.My hand itched, the weight of my gun at my back making me aware of how much I wanted to put a bullet in his skull. And the smug grin he had on his face as he got out of the car made the urge to kill him even stronger.Matteo inhaled deeply. "Ah. There's nothin

𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 DANIEL Antonio took a seat beside me, his eyes fixed on Luca chasing the birds. "You two have been spending a lot of time here lately." "Yeah. Luca loves the garden." Antonio placed his hand on the bench and then glanced around. "I love what you did with it. You know," he waved around, "the whole re-doing of the back garden." I snorted. "Re-doing?" "You know what I mean." "Yeah, well. You should thank our little sister for that. She did all this." "Our sister will make a good mother someday." "She sure will." Vanessa was a godsend through all this. Luca had immediately taken to her, and even though she couldn't fully take his mother's place, she had done a fine job being a substitute while he adapted to his new surroundings. New family. "How is he doing?" Antonio asked while watching Luca play. I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. "He misses her." "That's to be expected." "I just wish I knew how long it was going to take." Antonio placed his hand on