[LIZZY]My mind had blown a million times over by the time I scrambled out of my frozen state of mind and followed him out. But when I found him nowhere in my sight, that was the point, when I really started to panic.“Joey!” I ran in and out of the rooms, into the kitchen, and out into the garden, calling for him. Nowhere. I couldn’t find him nowhere. Where the hell did he go? That too so fast?“Joey? Where are you baby?” The ground beneath my feet threatened to split and swallow me down, and the world around me spun as worst-case scenarios raced through my mind. I didn't want to believe Vector would harm a child, but after what I'd seen, after what he'd done to his parents, I wasn't so sure. Something told me he couldn't be trusted. Vector, like Vladmir Perazzo, the boss, had little tolerance to spare. I'd never seen him snap in real life—or kill, for that matter—but I knew what he was capable of. I knew he was the worst.Ignoring the weird looks I got from the guards standing at th

[VECTOR]"Vector, lo sai che non ti tradirò mai." The man spat out—literally spat out, with all the drool sprinkling in the air. I scrunched up my nose in disgust—because how could you not—and sighed deeply into my chest.[Vector, you know I will never betray you.]The truth was, I didn’t know.I had no idea who, when, or how someone close to me was going to stab me in the back. Trust had never been one of my strong suits. Especially when the worst betrayal had always come from those whom I trusted the most. Fortunately, I'd learned to swim my way through the treacherous seas. I'd come up with a way to ensure that no one had a knife or a bullet hidden behind their back that they might use to put me down.And two hours ago, Luciano Cresto failed me when he broke my trust by accepting money from an unknown account that I had no idea about. Now, there were a lot of questions on my mind. I could use this time to torture him until his disgusting mouth dropped all the names and jobs he was

[LIZZY]I shouldn’t have poked the lion with a stick.Although Vector Alfonso was more like a cruel, bloodthirsty royal Bengal tiger, I didn't think it really made a difference when I was stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.In hindsight, I should have expected this when I begged him to let Joey stay with me. That was obviously dumb from the start. Why would I deliberately bring that little kid into this world of devils and monsters? But when it comes to Joey, logic is thrown out the window and plunges into the Mariana trench, leaving me nothing but the primal instinct to protect him at all costs. I knew what I was signing up for when I refused to part with Joey. I knew I was the only one who could keep him safe. I just knew.So here I was, willing to go to any length to keep the devil away from that little boy.Joey was left with Vector's guards, who continued to give him rides on their backs one by one. Which, to be honest, was a very strange sight to have. Every time Joey

[VECTOR]“Good,” I say over the phone as I exit my room, the suit blazer still wrapped around my arm. I make a beeline for the stairs. “Send someone to inspect the goods at the dock. I don’t want another disaster like the last one. I hate it when our men are being arrogant instead of focused on the job.”“Well, it’s not really their fault,” Marcus says from the other end of the phone, his voice a little softer and drowsier than usual. A piece of soft music plays in his background, and I can bet a billion dollars that he just put his younger son to sleep. He’s only a year old. “Power is like crack to a foot soldier; they often abuse it.”I roll my eyes and steal a quick glimpse towards Lizzy’s room. It’s closed. I’m willing to bet another billion dollars that she’s expecting me to burst through that door any moment now. What she doesn’t realize is that I could have had her the moment I laid eyes on her, the moment I found her four years ago, the moment she crossed the road in front of

[LIZZIE]Guided by the two brawny mafia men, I stumbled into an unknown chamber, or at least that’s what I assumed it to be. My eyes were still adjusting to the sudden darkness caused by the hood they had thrust over my head. I mentally prepared myself for the worst-case scenario when a sudden, ear-splitting shriek tore through the stillness, making me jolt in terror. Out of nowhere, a chorus of voices boomed.“SURPRISE!”The room burst into a dazzling light as the hood was peeled off from my face.I was greeted with an explosion of colors and sounds that sent my senses into overdrive. The room was filled with balloons of all shapes and sizes, popping one after another, sending confetti raining down on me, fluttering and swirling through the air in a whirlwind of colors. The shimmering glitters adorned every corner of the room, creating a sparkling effect that made it seem like I was standing in a sea of stars.Amidst the chaos, I could hear laughter and cheers, and I realized that th