All Chapters of Crowned in Carnage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Elena knew the man on the gurney was not going to survive the moment the paramedics pushed him into the ER. He had two gunshot wounds to the chest and another in his lower abdomen. He had already lost too much blood before he even reached the hospital. When she checked his pupils, they reacted slowly, a sign his brain was no longer getting enough oxygen. She had seen this pattern too many times to count, and she knew that no matter what she did next, this man was already gone.Still, she tried because saving people was her job, and she took that responsibility seriously. She called for blood and positioned herself over him, starting chest compressions while her team moved around her with the smooth coordination of people who had done this countless times. She was fourteen hours into a brutal shift and running only on bad coffee and muscle memory, but her hands stayed steady, and her focus stayed sharp as the monitors beeped around her and the resident fumbled with the intubation kit.

Damien’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his face stayed calm. He held his whiskey and watched Elena without saying a word. She understood he was testing her again. He wanted to see what she would ask for and whether she knew how to push back. She could feel her heart racing, but she kept her voice steady as she set down her glass. She told him she wanted access to everything, every financial record, every operation, every legitimate business and every illegal one. If she was going to be the Donna, she needed to understand the empire she was stepping into. She refused to be a simple figurehead he used for appearance.Damien’s mouth curved in something that was not quite a smile. He said she wanted full transparency in a world built on secrets. Elena held his gaze and told him she wanted to know what she was walking into before she tied her life to his. He claimed she was smart enough to be useful. Then he could prove it by giving her the information she needed and letting her help run thi

The elevator ride felt much longer than it was. Elena knew it lasted only seconds, but the silence made it stretch. Damien stood across from her with his hands in his pockets. He watched her closely. The look made her skin feel warm. She could not tell if the heat came from him or from her own reaction to his gaze.When the doors opened, she stepped out first. He followed. She walked into the living room and stopped in the center. Avoiding this would not help. She turned to face him.He had loosened his tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone. The small disorder made him look more human. It also made him feel more dangerous. Elena asked if they really had to do this tonight. Damien said they did not have to do anything she was not ready for. Still, the deadline was real, and waiting would not make it easier.He poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to her. He kept the other. He said they should talk about expectations before anything happened.Elena drank half the glass

Elena woke slowly, dragged out of sleep by sunlight pouring through tall windows she did not recognize at first. For a few disoriented seconds, she lay still and tried to make sense of where she was, why the sheets felt unfamiliar, and why her entire body ached as if she had been run over. Then memory slammed back into her all at once, sharp and merciless, and her stomach twisted as she remembered the warehouse, the gun in her hands, and the man who had fallen when she pulled the trigger.She squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The image was burned too deep. Two shots. Center mass. Exactly as she had been taught.When she finally opened her eyes again, Damien was already awake. He stood near the windows with his back to her, fully dressed, phone pressed to his ear as he spoke in low, urgent Italian. His posture was rigid, his voice controlled, and it was the same tone she had heard him use the night before when everything had gone to hell. Watching him like this made something

The drive back to the penthouse passed in heavy silence. Damien sat beside her with his phone pressed to his ear, speaking in low, urgent Italian. Elena watched the city blur past the window, barely seeing it. Her mind stayed fixed on the meeting with Richard and the message that had followed so quickly. Someone had known about the meeting. Someone close enough to move fast. Close enough to warn them while they were still sitting in the coffee shop.The thought she didn’t want kept circling back. Damien could be the leak.She hated herself for thinking it, but she couldn’t push it away. He had known about the meeting. He had the most to lose if his father was exposed. It would be easy for him to play both sides while she trusted him blindly. Wanting to trust him did not mean it was smart. Survival demanded caution, even when it hurt.When they reached the penthouse, Damien went straight into his office to make more calls. Elena stayed behind, alone with the documents Richard had given