All Chapters of BOUND TO THE BEAST : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

POV: LucaThe smell hit me first. Smoke. Ash. Death. I stood at the end of the long driveway, staring at what remained of my ancestral home. The mansion where fifteen generations of Morettis had lived, loved, schemed, and died was now nothing but blackened stone and twisted metal.The morning sun cast long shadows across the ruins, making the destruction look even more apocalyptic. Part of the east wing had collapsed completely. The grand staircase where my grandfather had descended every morning for forty years was gone. The library that had housed books dating back to the 1600s was a pile of smoldering rubble.Everything. Gone."Boss." Marco appeared beside me, his face smudged with soot. He'd been here all night, coordinating the cleanup. "You shouldn't be here yet. The structure isn't stable.""How many?" My voice came out flat, emotionless. I couldn't afford emotion right now.Marco's jaw tightened. "Twelve dead. Seven wounded, three critical. They're at the private hospital."Tw

POV: AriaThe envelope sits on my desk like a loaded gun. I've been staring at it for twenty minutes now, my father's familiar handwriting blurring through unshed tears. "To my daughter, Aria. To be opened only after my death."My hands shake as I reach for it. The paper is expensive, cream-colored, the kind my father always used for important documents. The seal is red wax, stamped with our family crest. The crest that means nothing now. The family that's fallen so far we'll never climb back up.I break the seal. The wax crumbles in my fingers, and I unfold the letter slowly, almost afraid of what I'll find inside. My father's handwriting fills three pages, neat and precise even though I know he must have been desperate when he wrote this.My dearest Aria,If you're reading this, then I am gone, and you are in the hands of Luca Moretti. I know you must hate me. I know you must feel betrayed beyond measure. And you should. What I did is unforgivable.But please, let me explain.My vis

POV: AriaThe gun is pointed at my chest. I can see down the barrel, see Dmitri's finger on the trigger. My heart pounds so hard I think everyone in the room must hear it."Aria, get down!" Luca shouts again.But I can't move. My body has turned to stone.Then everything happens at once. Luca lunges toward me, his hand reaching for the gun under his jacket. But he freezes when three more board members stand, each pulling weapons from under the table.Giuseppe Ricci, Italian. Paulo Santos, Portuguese. And James Chen, who I thought was just an accountant.All pointing guns. All aimed at either me or Luca."Nobody move," Viktor says calmly, like we're discussing quarterly reports instead of murder. "Please, let's all stay civilized.""You bought them," I whisper, understanding flooding through me. "All of them."Viktor spreads his hands, the picture of innocence. "I simply made them understand where their loyalties should lie. The Bratva is very persuasive."My mind races. Four guns. Mar

POV: AriaI press my face against the window, looking down at the coffee shop across the street.Twelve people. I count them twice to be sure. A young mother holding a baby. An elderly couple clutching each other's hands. Three men in business suits. Two teenage girls who look like sisters. A waiter, barely twenty, trembling as Viktor's men point guns at his head.Ten minutes to decide if they live or die."We're not surrendering," Luca says behind me. "There has to be another way.""What other way?" I turn to face him. "We can't shoot our way out. There are thirty of them, three of us. By the time we make it to the street, those people will be dead.""Then we call for backup. My men...""Won't get here in time." I glance at the clock. Nine minutes now. "You know they won't."Luca's jaw clenches. Marco stands by the door, checking his weapons. Elena watches us both, her face grim."There's always another option," Luca insists. "We just need to think."But I've already thought. I've ru

POV: AriaBlood. So much blood.It spreads across the pavement beneath Luca's body, dark and warm. My hands are soaked with it, pressed against the wound in his chest. The bullet hole is small, almost innocent looking, but blood keeps pumping through my fingers."Luca, stay with me!" I scream. "Don't you dare close your eyes!"His eyes flutter. Unfocused. His lips move but no sound comes out."Medic!" Dante is shouting. "We need a medic now!""No time," Marco drops to his knees beside me. "We have to move him. Dr. Russo's clinic is ten minutes away.""He won't make it ten minutes," I sob. The blood won't stop. Nothing I do stops it."He'll make it." Marco's face is grim but determined. "Boss is too stubborn to die. Help me lift him."Dante appears with two other men. They slide their arms under Luca's body."On three," Dante says. "One, two, three."They lift. Luca's head lolls back, and a horrible gurgling sound comes from his throat."Move!" I scramble after them as they carry him t