Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas : Kabanata 151 - Kabanata 160

A BROTHER'S SHADOW"Some men spend their whole lives trying to step out of shadows that were never really there."~ LEONARDO JNR'S POV ~The call came at 4 AM. I was already awake, staring at the ceiling of my shitty studio apartment in Queens, counting water stains and wondering how I had ended up here."He knows," Pedro said without preamble. My fixer never wasted words. "Your brother knows you've been sniffing around the shipping manifests again."I sat up, running a hand through hair that hadn't been washed in three days. "How much does he know?""Enough. He's got people watching you now. Real ones, not the babysitters he used to send."I laughed, but it came out hollow. "Babysitters. Christ, is that what he called them?""Leo….""I'm not a fucking child, Pedro. I'm twenty-eight years old. I've got an MBA from Wharton and three years of real experience in logistics. But to Alexandro, I'm still just Leonardo junior fuck-up son who can't be trusted with anything important."Pedro wa

NO ROOM FOR SAINTS"In war, there are no innocent moves. Only necessary ones."~ ALEXANDRO'S POV ~The whiskey tasted like defeat.I sat across from Mario at our usual table in the back of Luciano's, watching him light another Cuban while I pretended to care about quarterly reports. The restaurant was empty except for us and the staff who knew better than to listen."You look like shit," Mario said, blowing smoke toward the ceiling. "When's the last time you slept?""Sleep's overrated.""So is martyrdom." He leaned back in his chair, studying me with those sharp blue eyes that missed nothing. "Let me guess. Princess is still giving you the cold shoulder after the warehouse clusterfuck?"I took another drink instead of answering immediately. Mario knew everything about my world…had been my right hand through every war, every betrayal, every bloody decision that built this empire. If anyone understood the weight I carried, it was him."She's been sneaking out," I said finally."Can y

EXPOSURE"The truth has a way of surfacing when you least expect it to breathe."~ LAUREN'S POV ~The bathroom tiles were cold against my bare feet. I stared at the small white box in my hands, wondering when my life had become a series of moments I wasn't ready for.Two pink lines. Clear as daylight. Clear as the nausea that had been my constant companion for weeks.Pregnant.I wrapped the test in tissue and buried it deep in the bathroom trash, then sat on the edge of the tub and tried to process what this meant.A baby. Alexandro's baby. Growing inside me while our world crumbled around us.The timing was catastrophic. Viktor hunting us. Julian circling like a vulture. Alexandro keeping secrets that grew bigger every day. And now this.I pressed my hands to my still-flat stomach and tried to imagine explaining this to anyone. To Sophia. To my parents. To Emily, who would probably demand to know if I had lost my mind.To Alexandro, who looked at me now like he was trying to solve a

ALL QUIET"Sometimes love is the only language left when words have failed us."~ LAUREN'S POV ~The doctor's office felt calm compared to the chaos of my life.I sat on the examination table, paper gown crinkling with every nervous shift, waiting for Dr. Hammond to confirm what my heart already knew. The pregnancy test showed a clear result, but I wanted this moment of definite confirmation before my life changed completely."Well, Ms. McQueen," Dr. Hammond said, pulling off her gloves with a gentle smile. "Congratulations. You're about six weeks along, and everything looks perfectly healthy."Six weeks.Six weeks of a secret growing inside me while I watched the man I loved consume himself with protecting me. Six weeks of a future I couldn't imagine but desperately wanted."Any concerns?" she asked, making notes."When do most people tell the father?"Dr. Hammond's eyes softened. "There's no right answer to that. Some share immediately, others wait. Trust your instincts."My instinc

COLD HANDS"Sometimes the most dangerous enemy is the one you never see coming."{Playlist suggestions: “Right here” by Chase Atlantic}~ LAUREN'S POV ~The package was waiting on my desk when I returned from lunch. A small, unmarked package sat quietly among press releases and interview requests. It seemed ordinary, except for the way my name was written on the label. The careful block letters looked intentionally impersonal.I should have thrown it away. Should have called security. Should have learned by now that anonymous packages in this world never brought good news.Instead, I opened it.The first photograph slipped out like a confession I wasn't ready to hear.Vanessa and me, stepping out of Storm Media's building last Tuesday, both of us laughing at something she had said about our editor's new haircut. The camera had caught us mid-stride, professional women having a normal moment in what I had thought was a safe space.The second photo made my blood freeze.Alexandro openi