All Chapters of STOLEN BY THE DON: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

"You are dangerous," Sienna corrected. "But you're also something else. Something I'm still trying to figure out, that's why I keep painting you, trying to capture whatever truth exists beneath the surface." Luca found another canvas, this one showing two women who looked identical but were rendered in completely different color palettes. One in soft pastels, the other in harsh, bold strokes. "Serena and I," Sienna said quietly. "Or what I imagine we'd look like side by side. I don't even know what she looks like in person, have only seen photographs but I can imagine the differences, can see how our lives have shaped us into different people despite sharing DNA." "You'll meet her," Luca promised. "Once I've resolved the situation with the Marchesis, once it's safe, you'll get your meeting." "Will I?" Sienna asked. "Or will there always be some reason to delay, some threat that makes it too dangerous?" "I promise," Luca said firmly. "However long it takes to make it safe, howeve

"Six, maybe seven," Sienna said. "Old enough to understand I was different from kids who had real families, young enough to still hope someone might adopt me, might want me permanently." "Did anyone try?" Luca asked. "Did people ever consider adopting you?" "Twice," Sienna said, something painful flashing across her face. "Once when I was seven, a couple came to meet me, seemed nice, said they were looking for a daughter. We met three times, they asked me questions, I tried so hard to be perfect, to be exactly what they wanted." "What happened?" "They chose a different kid," Sienna said flatly. "A younger girl, blonde, bubbly, everything I wasn't. The social worker told me they wanted someone with 'less baggage,' someone who hadn't been in the system as long. Apparently, even at seven, I already carried too much damage to be desirable." Luca felt rage building on behalf of the seven-year-old she'd been. "That's unconscionable." "That's adoption," Sienna said. "People wa

I took someone who'd earned their freedom and imprisoned them again, and I don't know how to live with that knowledge." "Welcome to consequences," Sienna said. "This is what it feels like to actually confront what you've done rather than justifying it as love or fate or destiny." "I deserve worse than guilt," Luca said. "I deserve to lose everything, to have my empire crumble, to die alone knowing I destroyed the one thing that mattered but none of those consequences seem to be coming. Instead, I just have to live with knowing I'm a monster while continuing to act like one." Permission to feel bad without actually changing anything? Some kind of redemption that lets you keep me while feeling less guilty about it?" "I don't know," Luca admitted. "Maybe I just need to say it out loud, need someone to witness that I understand how unforgivable this is. I can't seem to confess to anyone else, can't show this vulnerability to Matteo or my men but with you, I can't hide behind j

"I wanted to say...." Sienna paused, struggling with words. "These changes, the freedoms you've given - they matter. I don't want to give you absolution, don't want you to think this erases everything but I also don't want to pretend they're meaningless when they're not." "Thank you for telling me," Luca said quietly. "That means more than you might think." "Don't," Sienna warned. "Don't take this as encouragement or validation. I'm just being honest, acknowledging reality. The reality is that being able to walk freely through the estate makes captivity slightly more bearable, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest." "Understood," Luca said. "No expectations, no misinterpretation, just acknowledgment that small changes have small impacts." Sienna moved into the study, examining the bookshelves that lined one wall. "When we meet the Marchesis tomorrow, when I finally see Serena. What happens if she rejects me? What if she doesn't want a sister who represents everything he

Matteo noticed first. It was subtle - he absence of something rather than the presence but over weeks, the pattern became unmistakable.Luca hadn't brought anyone to the estate, hadn't disappeared to discreet hotels, hadn't maintained any of the casual liaisons that had been routine before Sienna. They were in Luca's study reviewing security arrangements for the Marchesi meeting when Matteo finally brought it up, unable to ignore the elephant in the room any longer. "When's the last time you saw Gabriella?" he asked carefully, referencing the woman Luca had been casually involved with for over a year. Luca looked up from the documents, confused. "What? Why are you asking about Gabriella?" "Because she called me yesterday asking if you were alright," Matteo said. "Said she hasn't heard from you in three months, wondered if something had happened." "Three months?" Luca repeated, genuinely surprised. "Has it really been that long?" "Apparently," Matteo confirmed. "And it's not jus