Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound by blood and lies: Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

Eli’s POVThe first shot shattered broke us all into war.Gunfire erupted in every direction like an orchestra of death echoing through the trees. Bullets tore through bark and flesh alike. Smoke from the guns curled around the us. Screams, orders, battle cries—I couldn’t tell whose side was winning, just that people were falling, bleeding, dying.Matteo vanished into the heat of it all like a beast, moving with deadly precision as he took down enemy after enemy. Luca fought at my side, back-to-back, his blade gleaming in the light, slicing through the chaos.I fired until my arms shook, until my hands were blistered and my ears rang.Evangeline’s men didn’t retreat. They surged.We ducked behind a fallen tree. Luca’s shoulder was bleeding, but he didn’t stop. His breath was ragged, jaw clenched.“You good?” I shouted over the gunfire.“Not dead yet,” he growled.A flash grenade went off nearby, white light blinding. I staggered, vision reeling, and someone tackled me to the ground. M

Eli’s POVI didn’t realize I had pulled the trigger until I heard it.The sound of the gunshot echoed through the chaos of the clearing like thunder—deadly, final, irreversible. For a split second, everything around us froze: the sway of the trees, the howl of wind, the distant crackling of burning brush. Even my heartbeat paused, stunned into silence.I stood there, breath caught in my throat, hand still extended, fingers wrapped tight around the gun like it had fused into my skin. Smoke flowing lazily from the barrel, going into the cold air like a ghost.She didn’t move at first.Evangeline.Her eyes widened slightly, blinking as if the sound had woken her from a dream. Her gaze dropped to her stomach and so did mine. A dark crimson stain was already spreading through her gown. Her fingers, adorned with the same rings she used to wear when tucking me in at night at her house, hovered shakily over the wound.It was only then I noticed it—real, genuine fear in her eyes.The woman who

Eli's povThe mansion had never been this quiet. Not even before the war.There were no more shots, gunshots. Nothing.But now… the silence felt final.The kind of silence that came after a storm—where the wind held its breath and everything you knew had been leveled to rubble.I sat on the edge of the garden bench, the stone cold beneath me. The roses Ricardo once tended stood tall, but there were no petals today—just stripped stems and browning leaves. It was like even the flowers were mourning him."You're up early." Matteo's voice broke the stillness, low and hoarse from a night with little sleep.I didn’t look at him. “Didn’t sleep.”He walked over, sitting beside me. We were both quiet for a moment. Just breathing. Just existing. I could feel the pain of everything sitting between us, unspoken but loud.“Gabriella called,” he said. “She asked if we were okay.”“Are we?”Matteo laughed, but it was hollow. “No. But we’re breathing.”We both went quiet again, the kind of silence th

Eli’s POVThe sun didn’t rise with pain anymore.Not like it used to back when our mornings were filled with grief, uncertainty, and mourning. Now, it just slipped over the horizon with it's usual ease, casting soft gold across the glass windows of our base in New York.Home.It was a strange word to use for a building full of ex-killers, reformed gangsters, and broken legacies, but this place—this life we were rebuilding from the ashes—was the only thing that felt close enough.La Sovrana Famiglia.The Sovereign Family.A name born from blood, lied, and loss. We took the remnants of Ricci, Moretti, and Rossi and sewed them into one family, ruled by Luca and Matteo with an iron fist that I both admired and wanted nothing to do with.I could never be a Don.That title... it felt like a chain waiting to suffocate me. Luca had laughed when I told him. Matteo had raised a brow and asked, “Are you sure?” But they both respected my choice.I wasn’t born to rule.I was born to survive.But t

Eli's povOne year later....The silence was killing me.Something was happening that I didn't know and that was very frustrating and a bit saddening.For the past week, the house had felt… off. There wasn’t one specific thing I could point to. It was the way Matteo’s gaze lingered just a second too long when he thought I wasn’t looking. The way Luca answered questions with smiles that didn’t reach his eyes. The way conversations suddenly changed course when I entered a room.And I was losing my damn mind trying to pretend it didn’t bother me.I sat at the breakfast island, cradling a warm cup of espresso in my hands, staring at the back of Luca’s head as he stood by the stove flipping eggs. Matteo wasn’t around yet. Just me and him.“Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?” I asked, keeping my voice even.Luca glanced back at me, his dark hair mussed, his shirt slightly unbuttoned, and he gave me that practiced smile—the one that used to work on me before I learned better.“Nothing’s