Chapter 361

ANGELOI woke up with sweat on my chest and blood in my mouth.The fan above was dead. The air was heavy, full of mildew, smoke, and piss. My shirt stuck to me, soaked from another night of tossing around on this rat-ass mattress. My ribs felt like someone had jammed glass inside me. My eye was still shut halfway, purple and puffed. Lip cracked open again when I sat up.Two days. That’s how long it’s been since that prick laid hands on me.Marco fucking De Luca.He didn’t just beat me—he humiliated me. In front of everyone.I reached over for the pack of smokes, pulled one out with shaky fingers, and lit it with my busted lighter. My hand trembled from the pain but I didn’t care. Took a deep drag, then pushed off the bed, feet hitting the tile with a loud slap.Everything in my body screamed. From my jaw to my back. But I stood anyway. Dragged myself to the small balcony.The door creaked like it hadn’t been opened in years. Outside, Naples smacked me in the face with its heat. Sweat

Last Updated : 2025-05-26

Chapter 362

SARAHI hadn’t seen Marco all day. It was starting to feel strange.The sun had already climbed halfway through the sky by the time I got up. I stretched slow, my limbs still heavy from sleep. His side of the bed was cold. Pillows untouched.I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Where the hell did you go?” I mumbled.No note. No call. Just silence. But I didn’t panic. Not yet.I got dressed and stepped out of the room. The hallway was quiet, faint sounds of sweeping and dishes clinking came from downstairs. The air smelled like lemon cleaner and something warm—bread maybe.I found the maid in the living room, dusting the shelves. I moved beside her, grabbing a rag from the table.She looked up, startled. “Miss, you don’t have to do that. Please.”I waved her off. “I want to. I’m not just gonna sit around like a ghost.”She hesitated. “Mr. De Luca would not like—”“Marco’s not here,” I said. “And I’m not made of glass.”She didn’t argue again.We moved through the house in quiet rhythm. Dusting,

Last Updated : 2025-05-27

Chapter 363

THIRD PERSONSarah woke slowly, the morning light slipping through the curtains, soft and quiet. Marco’s arm was draped across her waist, his chest warm against her back. She didn’t move right away. Just stayed there, breathing him in. His body was relaxed, heavier than usual, like he was finally getting real sleep.“Still alive?” she mumbled.Marco grunted behind her. “Barely. You tried to drown me last night.”She smiled, eyes still shut. “You pushed me in first.”He shifted, pulling her closer. “Self-defense.”She laughed, soft. “You call that self-defense? I saw the way you were smiling. You liked it.”Marco pressed his lips to the back of her shoulder. “I liked seeing you laugh.”Sarah rolled over slowly to face him. His eyes were half-open now, soft, no edge to them. She ran a hand through his hair, fingers brushing along his temple.“You look peaceful,” she said.He didn’t answer at first. Just looked at her. Really looked. Then he said, “Yeah… it’s been a while.”Something in

Last Updated : 2025-05-27

Chapter 364

********Angelo kept pacing, his boots dragging like weights across the greasy floor. He looked like he was holding something back, something hot behind his eyes. Enzo flicked the blade open again, watching it snap with a soft click. That sound had become normal in the room, like a clock ticking. Tension was thick. Nobody was joking anymore.“We gotta do something, Angelo,” Enzo said. “We’re sitting here like rats in a hole while that prick’s face is on the news.”“We are rats,” Shenzo muttered. “He made sure of that.”“No,” Enzo said, pointing his blade. “He made sure we looked like rats. There’s a difference.”Angelo stopped pacing and stared at him. “So what? You wanna go loud? You wanna shoot at his car, and get clipped before you even light a fuckin’ match?”“You got a better plan?” Enzo snapped. “’Cause right now all I hear is ‘no.’ No to bombs, no to kidnappin’, no to makin’ moves.”“That’s right,” Angelo said. “Because those moves get us killed. We go loud, we’re dead by sunri

Last Updated : 2025-05-28

Chapter 365

SARAHI woke up slow, the kind of slow where you don’t know what time it is and don’t care. The room was quiet, soft light pouring in through the curtains. It smelled like coffee and warm air. The sheets were tangled around my legs. I stretched, let my head sink into the pillow for one more minute. Then I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and yawned.Marco’s shirt was hanging off the edge of the chair. I grabbed it, pulled it on. It was loose on me, warm from the sun, and smelled like his skin—clean and faintly like smoke and that cologneo his.I padded out of the bedroom barefoot. The hallway was quiet, only the low hum of the espresso machine in the kitchen and a soft voice humming in Italian. The maid. Marco’s voice came next, low and smooth, saying something I couldn’t catch.I stepped into the kitchen and saw him standing there, shirtless, leaning on the counter like he had all the time in the world. The maid was pouring two tiny cups of espresso. He looked over his shoulder at me and smil