21| Defiance.

ALMA “This dress looks really perfect on her, Mr. Visconti. But if you don’t like it, we can—” Chloe started to say, but I interjected. “No!” I quickly said. The will to defy him coursed through me and I tilted my head as I stared at him. “Now, why should I change the dress? I like it.” He didn’t say anything, his eyes lingering on my chest area. I looked down at my chest and I knew immediately that it was because my titties were out. Made men liked to protect their properties, and as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that he owned me. But I wasn’t going to let him have his way this time. Choosing my wedding dress was the only decision he had allowed me to make since he abducted me, and I was not going to allow him to decide for me now. His jaw clenched and I saw the fury burning in his eyes at my defiance. He cast his gaze at Chloe. “Can you excuse us?” “Sure,” she nodded and quickly dashed out of the room. Once it was just the both of us alone in the room, he stood on his

Last Updated : 2025-08-20

22| Tania’s Offer.

ALMA I had to choose another dress that wasn’t revealing. It was clear that he wanted me to look like a nun on the wedding day. But I didn’t care about that because I didn’t give a damn about the wedding. Once we were done at the bridal shop, Lazzaro led me to the car waiting outside for us and held the door open for me. As I entered, he slipped right beside me, resting his arm around my shoulder. His hand on my skin caused tingles to ripple through me, and I swallowed against my dry throat. He cleared his throat. “Where do you want to have the wedding?” “The question should be, ‘Do I want the wedding?’” I retorted. His fingers grabbed my throat, forcing me to look at him. The muscles on his face tightened as he stared intently at me. “What did we say about disrespect, Alma? I will not tolerate it.” “Then take me back to my father,” I groaned, my chest heaving up and down. His eyes held a promise of danger, but tell me why that attracted me, making me crave him more. His lips… o

Last Updated : 2025-08-20

23| A Warning.

LAZZARO“Get out of my house, now!” I growled at Lucia, pointing at the door.The guards by the gates were definitely going to get punished for allowing her into my premises. She might be my mother-in-law, but I didn’t want any of them in my building. Only Alma. And that’s because she had a purpose here.The sight of every single member of the Martelli family stirred dangerous emotions within me, urging me to tug out my gun and drill a bullet through their heads for what they had done to my father and my sister. I could never forgive any of them.Alma, however, was the only presence I could tolerate. One I burned for, even. I’d use and bend her until I couldn’t stand her anymore.“I want to see my daughter now!” Lucia had the audacity to talk back by at me.Rage boiled through me as I took threatening steps towards her, my eyes fixed on her.“Mama?” Alma called, and I looked up to see her standing at the staircase’s landing. She quickly descended and rushed to her mother, embracing h

Last Updated : 2025-09-09

24| Living Daylights.

LAZZARO“What do you want?” she asked as she tried to reach for her gun.But I quickly pointed mine at her. “Move an inch and I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”Her nose twitched with fury, though she had a hint of fear in her eyes. “Whatever it is that you want, we can settle it between us. Just not here. Leave my family out of it.”“Actually,” I found the nearest chair and settled on it, crossing my legs, “I think this is the perfect place to discuss such a matter.”“Leave my family out of it!” she repeated with a groan.“I am not going to hurt them. Yet.” My eyes narrowed like a storm as I leaned forward. “I have only come here to warn you. But next time, it won’t be just a warning.”“Mr. Visconti, is this a threat?”“Take it however you want to. But know this. I know your family. I know where you live. And don’t think moving is going to save you, because I can get whatever information I want.” I leapt to my feet and walked towards her, the frown masking my face hard. “I could

Last Updated : 2025-09-09

25| Love? A stretch.

LAZARRO“I traced the black SUV from that night back to the bar they were at before they carried out the operation. There was one other Russian with them, but he didn’t follow them for the operation. He got into another car and drove off,” Elias explained his findings.“Who is he? And do you have his address?” I groaned into the phone.“Stepan Chernov. I’ll forward the address to you now,” he replied.“Okay. Thank you.”The moment the call ended, I dialed Mario’s line. “Prepare about six men. We are going to burst someone’s brain,” I told him over the phone.Mario, including six of my men, met me in the manor’s parking lot. Mario and I took one car, while the rest took two other cars as we drove to the address Elias had sent. We didn’t waste time breaking down the door and barging into the house. Stepan was on the couch, naked, with a woman sucking the motherfucker while he watched porn on the TV.The TV was so loud that he hadn’t even noticed us coming in, but the moment he did, he

Last Updated : 2025-09-12

26| Wild Orchid.

LAZZAROAfter Mario sent the location, I drove straight to Wild Orchid strip club, parked my car by the curb, and observed the surroundings before I could take any action. I needed to make sure that this wasn’t a trap.Stepan had received a text message from one Sergei after repeated missed calls from the same person. He had texted him to remind him about a meeting and urged him not to be late. Fortunately, their chat history was still intact, making it easy for us to get the agreed location of the meeting. Mario had questioned Stepan, and he insisted that it was just him and his friend meeting up and nothing suspicious. But I didn’t believe that.A knock sounded on the door and I turned to see Mario standing by the passenger’s side of the car. I unlocked the car and he slipped inside.“What’s the plan, boss? Whoever Sergei is has been calling,” he said, handing the phone to me. Just then, a text popped on the screen.It read: “Where the fuck are you?”“Caught up in traffic. I’ll be