All Chapters of MINE TO CLAIM : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The Black Mercedes Benz had barely pulled up to her parent’s house in the Street when Camilia saw them. Reporters. At least a dozen of them crowded around her parents’ front gate, cameras ready, microphones extended like weapons. Her heart sank as she realized there was no avoiding this.“Miss Moreles! Miss Moreles!” The shouts started before she even opened the car door. “Can you comment on your victory against Jonathan Pierce?”“How does it feel to beat one of the country’s most successful defense attorneys?”“Is it true you’re only twenty-eight years old?”The questions came from all directions as she stepped out of the car, her travel bag clutched tightly in her hand. Camera flashes went off like strobe lights, temporarily blinding her as she tried to navigate through the crowd toward her front door.“Please, I just want to get home,” she said, but her voice was lost in the chaos.“Miss Moreles, what’s your relationship with Santos Parallax Corp?”“Are you planning to join Jona

The conference room in the basement of Santos Parallax Corp was thick with cigarette smoke and the kind of tension that came from discussing death for a living. Eight men sat around the steel table, each one capable of killing without hesitation, each one reporting directly to Dario Santos.“The Selvarra situation needs immediate attention,” Dowan Finn was saying, his polished accent thick as he gestured with scarred hands. “The Torrino family thinks they can move product through our territory without paying tribute.”“They’re wrong,” replied Magnus, cleaning his fingernails with a switchblade. “Dead wrong.”Dario sat at the head of the table, his expression unreadable as he listened to reports of territorial disputes, unpaid debts, and rival organizations testing his boundaries. These men were his instruments of violence, his answer to problems that couldn’t be solved with money or negotiation.“What about the dock workers union?” asked Benedetto. “They’re still refusing to cooperat

Ava had been feeling strange for two days now - dizzy spells that came without warning, waves of nausea that struck at odd hours, and an exhaustion that sleep couldn’t seem to cure. She had tried to convince herself it was just stress from the assassination attempt, but Dario had taken one look at her pale complexion that morning and insisted she stay home.“Dr. Reeves is coming to check on you,” he’d said, adjusting his tie in the bedroom mirror. “I don’t want you going anywhere until we know what’s wrong.”“I’m fine. It’s probably just—”“Ava.” The firmness in his voice had stopped her protest. “Please. Just let him examine you.”Now she sat on the edge of their bed, watching Dr. Reeves pack his medical bag with the kind of efficiency that came from decades of house calls to people who valued discretion above all else. The older man’s face was carefully neutral, but she could see something in his eyes that made her stomach flutter with nervous anticipation.“Well?” she asked when

Rohan’s desk looked like a hurricane had swept through it - contracts scattered across the surface, three different phones charging at once, and stacks of reports that seemed to multiply every time he looked away. Being Dario’s right-hand man meant carrying the weight of an empire on his shoulders, and with recent events, that weight had tripled.He was reviewing security protocols for the fifth time that morning when his personal phone buzzed against his elbow. He glanced at it with irritation, planning to ignore whatever distraction was trying to pull him away from work.But when he saw Camilia’s name on the screen, his priorities shifted without conscious thought.“Any chance you’re free for coffee this afternoon? I know you’re probably buried in work, but I have something I wanted to discuss with you.” Rohan stared at the message for a long moment. He had seventeen meetings scheduled, six reports that needed his immediate attention, and a conference call with the Astoria office

NOVASPIRE TECH GROUP Leandro was reviewing quarterly projections when his office door flew open without warning. He looked up to see Riley Martinez storm in, her usually composed demeanor replaced by something that looked dangerously close to fury.“We need to talk,” she said, closing the door behind her with enough force to make the frame rattle.“Good afternoon to you too, Riley. Is everything alright?”“Don’t.” She moved to stand directly in front of his desk, her hands planted on her hips. “Don’t give me that casual, innocent act. I know what you did yesterday.”Leandro leaned back in his chair, studying her face. Riley had been a good friend from the force, had seen him at his worst during the breakup with Ava, had been the one to keep NovaSpire running when he had been too destroyed to function. He had never seen her this angry.“What exactly do you think I did?”“You had lunch with Ava.”“Yes, I did. Is that a crime now?”“It is when you’re playing games with a woman who’s i