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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Daddy's Bargain: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

52 Kabanata

Chapter 30 – The Exchange

Azrael’s POV“Uh..yes. Everyone from here to Palermo is talking about it. Don, her father doesn't even know yet.”“How's that possible?” I pinched the tip of my nose.Marco cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. “Her guards searched the whole building. Cameras wiped, phones dead. They think it was a clean job.”I exhaled through my nose, a habit I’d picked up over years of trying not to explode. Alessia. Missing. The last person I wanted to care about and the only one whose disappearance could start a war.Celeste stood frozen beside me, her hand hovering near my arm but not touching. I didn’t look at her.“Get me every contact in Palermo,” I said to Marco.“Now.”“Yes, boss.” He left, closing the door quietly. Celeste’s voice was small. “You think Santoro took her?”“Probably,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it. Santoro was sloppy, loud. This…this was too clean.I rubbed a hand over my face. “Go upstairs, Celeste.”“I’m not a child, Azrael.”“I didn’t say yo

Chapter 31 – Okay

Celeste’s POVI waited up for Azrael.Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, that he’s getting to me, that I’m catching feelings for him. But that’s not it.At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.I just wanted to find out why Alessia was missing. That’s all. I threw my leg over the side of the bed and paced the room, talking to myself like a crazy person.“Technically, this isn’t my fight, and I should be glad Alessia’s gone, right?” I muttered, glancing at the window like it could argue with me. “She’s the ex. The one who claims she’s pregnant. So… good riddance.”I stopped, sighing. “Except… I’m not glad.”Because no matter how much I wanted to pretend I didn’t care, I did. I couldn’t stand her, but I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her either. And mostly, I didn’t like what her disappearance was doing to him.Azrael hadn’t come to bed. I’d heard his voice through the floorboards hours ago, giving orders.Now the house was quiet. I glanced at the clock, and sighed. It was al

Chapter 32 – Blood

Azrael’s POV“Don’t follow me.”Those were the last words I’d said to Celeste before I left the house. She didn’t argue this time and she didn’t even look at me. By the time we reached the meeting point outside Palermo, the sun had gone down. The air smelled of diesel and salt. We’d chosen the docks. Everyone knows the docks is neutral ground, if such a thing even existed in Sicily anymore.My men were already in position, waiting. Marco stood beside me, his forehead wad tight. “You sure about this, boss?”“No,” I said. “But we’re doing it anyway.”He nodded once and adjusted his gun.Across the dock, headlights cut through the dark. Three black cars rolled to a stop. Even before the doors opened, I recognized the arrogance in the way they parked like government officials, in suits and Prados. Senator Rivera’s men.Then the old man stepped out.Even in the dim light, the old bastard carried himself like he owned the world. Expensive suit and his Silver hair combed back. No hesitation

Chapter 33 – The Dead Don’t Lie

Celeste…When the front doors opened, I knew before I saw his face that something terrible had happened.Azrael walked into the house, clenching and unclenching his jaw, he was completely soaked in seawater and blood. His shirt was torn, and his knuckles were bruised, and his eyes….God, his eyes…looked like someone had ripped the ground out from under him.“Azrael?” I stepped forward. “What happened?”He didn’t answer at first. He just pulled off his jacket and threw it on the floor. It landed with a wet slap. Marco stayed by the door for a moment, watching us like he wasn’t sure whether to speak or disappear.“Out,” Azrael commanded. He didn't even need to shout.Marco nodded and left, closing the door behind him.I swallowed. “Where’s Alessia?”He looked at me then, really looked at me. “She is dead.”The word hit me like a slap. “What?”“She’s gone.”“That’s not possible.” I shook my head. “No—”“She’s dead, Celeste.” he insisted, raising his voice a little.“No,” I said again, lo

Chapter 34 – The Storm Breaks

Azrael’s POV“Again,” I said.The shot rang out, echoing through the training yard. The bullet split the target clean through the center.Still, it wasn’t enough. I reloaded, fired again, and again—each pull of the trigger louder than the last.The smell of gunpowder burned my nose. My palm stung from the recoil, but I didn’t stop.Marco stood a few feet behind me, arms crossed. “Boss,” he called out. “That’s the third clip.”“Then load another,” I said.He didn’t move. “You’re not thinking straight.”I turned my head slowly. “That’s new?”He sighed, rubbed his jaw, and nodded toward the scattered shells at my feet. “You’re burning out your aim, Azrael. That’s not how you fix this.”I looked back at the shredded target. “You have a better idea?”“Yeah.” Marco took a step closer. “Get some sleep. Eat something. Let me handle the jet.”I paused mid-reload. “Jet?”“You said it yourself, you're going to New York.” He studied my face carefully. “Are you still planning to go?”I clicked the

Chapter 35 – A Daughter for a Daughter

Celeste’s POVThe engines stopped before he could even reach the gate.At first, I thought it was Marco’s men returning but they had not even made it out of the house at all.Azrael’s convoy stopped short, but the gate was open.I was watching from the top of the stairs, barefoot and clutching the railing. The house lights spilled across the courtyard, and through the iron gate, a new line of Prados rolled in.Every guard around the property stiffened. No one moved and no one breathed.Azrael stepped out of his car and I could tell from the way he was pinching his forehead that he hadn’t expected this.“What the hell—” Marco started, but then the door of the first car opened.And everything went still.A tall man stepped out, dressed in black, his white hair slicked back, his coat brushing against the gravel as he walked. I didn’t need to be told who he was.I've heard Azrael say his name several times. Don Romano, Alessia’s father.The Don of Palermo, and Azrael’s mentor. His ghost a

Chapter 36 – The Devil’s Debt

Azrael’s POVThe taillights vanished through the gates.I stood there, gun still in hand, useless now. Romano’s men lined the perimeter like shadows carved out of stone. If I so much as raised my weapon, they’d open fire. And Celeste….Celeste was in one of those cars. I could not take any chances. I could’ve fought. I wanted to. But there’s a difference between bravery and suicide.So I watched her go.When the engines finally died into silence, I turned and walked back inside. My boots left a trail of mud and blood across the marble. No one dared stop me.In the kitchen, I went straight for the whiskey. Poured until the glass was half full and swallowed it like it was water. Then another.She was gone.Taken by the only man I’d ever respected. The man who’d saved my life, taught me to shoot, to rule, to survive. The man who’d become more of a father to me than my own ever was.And now he wanted to trade blood for blood.Maybe he was right. Rivera had killed his daughter, my unborn c

Chapter 37 – The Deep End

Celeste’s POVI was losing my mind and I was bored too.The house felt like a cage after Azrael left. The guards were everywhere like statues with earpieces. I couldn’t even sneeze without one of them twitching. At some point I just thought, Fine. If I can’t leave, I’ll at least enjoy the pool.So I changed into a swimsuit, grabbed a towel, and marched straight to the courtyard. The water was sparkling, the sky that lazy Sicilian blue, and for the first time in days I let myself breathe.Honestly? Swimming was the only thing that still made sense.When you’re underwater, no one can ask you about your feelings. Or your homicidal husband. Or the fact that your father might’ve accidentally started a mafia war.I slipped into the pool, cool water curling around me, and for a minute, everything disappeared….the shouting, the gunshots, the endless arguing in my head. It was just me and the water.Of course, my bodyguards were still on duty, all in black, all looking like they’d rather wrest

Chapter 38 – The Island

Azrael’s POVI woke up to the sound of waves.Not the calm kind but the kind that crash and pull back, crash and pull back, like they’re trying to remember how to breathe. For a minute, I thought I was still falling. The smell of salt burned my throat.My body ached everywhere. My chest felt heavy, my arm was bandaged, and my head… my head was full of fog.I tried to move, but the pain hit so sharp I almost blacked out again.“Don’t move,” a voice said softly.I blinked, and the light hurt my eyes. When it cleared, she was there, standing over me, a very beautiful woman.She was barefoot, wearing a simple linen dress that looked too white for this place. Her hair was a strange, silver-ash color, long and wild around her shoulders. And her eyes….her eyes were green, like sea glass.For a second, I thought maybe I was dead. “Where…” My voice cracked. “Where am I?”She crouched beside me, her hand resting lightly on my shoulder. “You’re safe,” she said. Her accent was soft, and Mediterr

Chapter 39 – The Ring

Celeste’s POVTwo days.That’s how long it had been since the Don told me Azrael’s plane went down somewhere near the Mediterranean coast.Two days since I stopped sleeping, stopped eating, stopped pretending to breathe normally.I kept telling myself they were wrong. Azrael De Luca couldn’t just… vanish. Men like him didn’t die. They survived everything.But that morning, the Don’s men came to the villa and said they’d found bodies. Two of them. One was confirmed as Marco. The other… they wanted me to see for myself.So here I was. Palermo General Hospital. The halls smelled like antiseptic and metal and fear.The Don walked beside me, silently. His presence alone made people move out of the way. Everyone knew him. The great Don Romano. The man even Azrael had feared once.I didn’t say a word. My hands were shaking so bad I tucked them under my arms.When we reached the morgue, a doctor in a white coat came forward. “They were found near the crash site,” he said quietly. “The plane b

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