บททั้งหมดของ BOUGHT,TAMED AND TAKEN : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

The north wing was quiet.Too quiet.Aria sat at the edge of the new bed—an ornate, canopy-draped thing with silk sheets and a view of absolutely nothing. No windows. Just walls. The security detail Luciano promised stood outside the locked door, but that didn’t make her feel any safer.It felt like a gilded panic room.Like a cage.Luciano hadn’t come back yet. He’d gone to deal with the breach, to “clean up the rot inside,” as he’d put it, but that was hours ago. And the silence since was gnawing at her. The weight of everything Matteo had said still echoed in her chest, burning with confusion, fear… and something darker.Luciano had lied by omission.And now someone inside his own house had betrayed him.She stood, barefoot, and began pacing. She was used to control, to knowing her own steps, her own freedom. But here, she was just a piece on Luciano’s chessboard, even if he swore otherwise.A soft knock on the door startled her.“Who is it?” she asked, voice sharp.“It’s me.” Luci

The silence between them shattered like glass.Luciano stood at the edge of the dimly lit room, fists clenched at his sides, jaw set tight, his chest rising and falling as if every breath was a war. Aria sat on the edge of the velvet settee, her fingers trembling slightly as they curled around the silk hem of her dress. The air between them was tense—charged with something raw, something neither of them dared to name.“Why didn’t you tell me?” Aria finally broke the silence, her voice small but sharpened with a kind of hurt that struck him like a blade.Luciano didn’t move for a moment. Then, slowly, he walked toward her. “Because some truths, cara mia, don’t bring freedom. They only chain you deeper.”Her eyes were stormy, brimming with confusion and betrayal. “You knew my father was involved in the trafficking ring. You knew what they planned to do with me.”He didn’t flinch, but the shadows under his eyes deepened. “Yes.”She stood then, her posture brittle. “And still, you bought

The air was heavy with tension as Aria sat in the dimly lit office across from Luciano. The last twenty-four hours had felt like a slow descent into madness—starting with the arrival of that letter, and ending in a call Luciano hadn’t shared details about. She watched him now, silent and unreadable, as he poured himself a drink.He hadn’t spoken to her since returning, only giving her a look she couldn’t quite name—something between dread and determination. The silence between them wasn’t cold, but electric. It hummed with everything left unsaid.“Talk to me, Luciano,” she said finally, her voice lower than usual, a soft plea wrapped in courage. “You promised me no more secrets.”He turned toward her slowly, the amber liquid in his glass trembling slightly with his grip. “I received an offer,” he said. “One that changes everything. But it comes with a price.”Aria’s stomach tightened. “What kind of offer?”Luciano sat beside her, his eyes shadowed. “There’s a council—a hidden one. The

Aria’s breath hitched as Luciano slammed the door behind him. The echo resounded like a verdict.She stood in the center of the room, her hands still trembling from the confrontation with Lorenzo. Her skin burned where the gun had been pressed against her temple. But more than anything, it was the expression on Luciano’s face that refused to leave her mind—rage, disbelief… and something dangerously close to fear.Luciano paced the length of the study, fists clenched so tightly the veins on his forearms were stark. He didn’t speak. Didn’t look at her.“I didn’t know,” Aria whispered finally. “I didn’t know Lorenzo would come here. I didn’t even know he was alive.”He turned sharply, eyes flaring with a fury she wasn’t sure she could withstand. “And yet, he called you his possession. He acted like you were still his to claim.”“He’s not. I swear to you, Luciano.”He stalked toward her, each step deliberate, slow, as if he was holding back a flood. “You don’t get it, do you?” His voice w

Rain lashed against the windows of the estate as if the storm outside had been summoned by the one inside.Luciano stared down at the screen in front of him, the blinking red light on the security panel like a taunt. No breach. No camera glitch. No sign of struggle.She was simply gone.“I don’t understand,” Aria whispered, wrapping Luciano’s discarded shirt around her shoulders as she approached from behind. “She wouldn’t just leave. Not now. Not after what she told us.”Luciano didn’t respond right away. His jaw was clenched so tight, the muscle beneath his skin ticked violently. He finally spoke, his voice low, rasped.“She was the one who told me he was dead. Years ago. I believed her.” He looked at Aria, eyes shadowed. “And now she tells me he’s alive… and disappears?”“You think she lied?”“I think,” he said bitterly, “my sister has always played her own game.”He stood and grabbed his jacket. The tension in his frame was unreadable—part rage, part fear, all pressure.Aria reach