All Chapters of Vows of Ruin: Til vengeance do us part : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

32 Chapters

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SUICIDAL ATTEMPTS. IF TRIGGERING, PLEASE AVOID.GABRIELE'S POV I went into my study after Carmela stormed off.Her words from before echoed in my mind.“You couldn't save her, so you're going to save me. Whether I want it or not. Because I'm the replacement, right?”The whiskey bottle on my desk caught the lamplight. Half-empty. Or half-full, depending on how you looked at it.I reached for it and poured without measuring.The burn was familiar. Welcome.I poured another glass.My hand trembled slightly as I lifted the glass. Not from the alcohol, but from something else.From the way Carmela had looked at me when she'd said it. Like I was pathetic.Like I was broken.Like I was exactly what I was: a man trying to resurrect the dead through the living.I set the glass down. Pressed my palms flat against the desk to ground me.Breathe in.One. Two. Three.Control. I needed control.But my control had been slipping for months now. Since the moment they'd

CHAPTER TWELVE

CARMELA'S POV Marco's schedule sat open on my phone screen.Meeting with port supervisors:10AM to 11AM.Which meant I had exactly one hour to search his office, find the financial records Gabriele had mentioned, and get out before anyone noticed.I sat at the vanity, my notebook open in front of me, reviewing my timeline one last time. I'd already mapped out the route—down the east corridor, past the library, third floor on the left. Two guards rotated every four hours. The next rotation wasn't until noon.I had plenty of time.I'd spent the last week memorizing every detail. Marco's schedule, his guards’ rotations, the layout of the east wing. All of it committed to memory because I couldn't afford to fuck this up.Not when I was this close.The plan was simple: Get to the office by 10:05. Search the desk first, then the filing cabinets. Take pictures of anything useful. Be out by 10:50.Clean and foolproof.I checked my watch. 9:47 AM.I had thirteen minutes left.The bedroom door

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CARMELA'S POV Every instinct screamed at me to demand answers—where had Elena been? What had she been doing? But showing that kind of desperation would tell Marco everything he needed to know.I swallowed the questions burning in my throat and kept my expression blank.“What are you talking about?”“Elena.” He said her name like a caress that made my skin crawl in disgust. “Beautiful, clever Elena. Always asking questions. Always poking her nose into places it didn't belong.”“Don't talk about my sister.”“Why not? She's relevant. Seeing as you seem to be following in her footsteps.” He leaned closer. “Tell me, Carmela—may I call you Carmela?”“No.”“Tell me, Mrs. Conti, what exactly are you looking for? What do you think you'll find in my office that's worth risking your husband's wrath?”I forced myself to meet his eyes. To not show fear.“I already told you. I was fucking lost.”“And I already told you that I don't believe you.” His smile never wavered. “But that's fine. We can pl

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CARMELA'S POV My hands tightened on the wheel. I was in the midst of the city surrounded by witnesses. They wouldn't try anything here, would they?The SUV accelerated and pulled into the lane beside me.I glanced over but couldn't see through the tinted windows.The SUV drifted closer. Too close.My chest felt too tight, too small for the terror expanding inside it. Adrenaline flooded my veins.They were going to hit me. Ram me off the road. Make it look like an accident—The car swerved towards me.I jerked the wheel to the right. My car jumped the curb and clipped a mailbox.The SUV swerved away at the last second.It didn't hit me. It just came close enough to terrify me.Close enough to send a message: We could have. We chose not to this time.I slammed on the brakes. My car screeched to a halt on the sidewalk, half in the street.The SUV drove off and just disappeared around the corner as if nothing had happened.I sat there, shaking. People on the sidewalk were staring, and so

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS GRUESOME SCENES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME READERS. READ CAREFULLY.GABRIELE'S POVFour days.It took Angelo four fucking days to find the bastard who drove that SUV.Four days of watching Carmela move through the house with bruises on her palm. Four days of her flinching every time a car passed too close. Four days of barely controlled rage simmering in my chest.But Angelo finally delivered.The fucker was in the basement.I stood in my study, staring at the report Angelo had compiled.Dmitri Volkov. Age 34. Russian member. Works for Viktor Kozlov.The same Viktor who had made veiled threats at the gallery. Who had been circling my territory for months, waiting for a weakness.He had found one. Or so he thought.I read the rest of the report. He had a shell company in Delaware. Had three previous assault charges, all dismissed—known associate of the Kozlov Bratva but no direct ties to anyone in my famiglia.So this was the Russians, making

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

GABRIELE'S POVThe basement smelled like copper and piss and death.I looked at my bloodstained hands and the knife that was still dripping with blood.This was who I was.A monster. A killer.And anyone who threatened what was mine ended up exactly like this.Dead in my basement.I pulled out my phone and called Angelo as I walked to the door."It's done," I said when he answered. "Send the cleanup crew. Dispose of the body and leave no trace.""Already on it, Don.""I'm going to clean up. Ensure Carmela doesn't come downstairs.""Understood.""Good." I paused. "And Angelo? Increase surveillance on Kozlov. I want to know every fucking move he makes. Every person he meets. Everything.""You think he'll make another move?""He just tested my defenses and found them weak enough to try again. So we must make sure he knows—make sure everyone knows—that touching my wife means death. Slow, painful death.""Understood."I hung up and climbed the stairs from the basement. The house was quiet.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

GABRIELE'S POVOne week.Seven days since I put a bullet in Dmitri Volkov's head.Seven days since Viktor Kozlov went silent.No retaliation. No threats. No movement.Just silence.It was worse than war. At least in war, you knew where your enemy stood. This? This was waiting for a blade you couldn't see.I sat in my study, the whiskey bottle three-quarters empty. Maybe more. I'd stopped counting after the fourth glass.The room spun slightly when I stood, but I didn't care. I needed to sleep. Needed to shut my brain off before I did something stupid like put another bullet in someone—or myself.I made my way upstairs, steadying myself against the wall once when the floor tilted.Weak. Pathetic.I reached our bedroom door and pushed it open.The lights were dim. I thought she'd be asleep already—it was past midnight.But then I heard it. The sound of water shutting off. The bathroom door opened.And she stepped out.Steam billowed around her like a ghost materializing. She wore only a

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

GABRIELE'S POVI pushed two fingers inside her, feeling her clench around me. She was tight—so fucking tight—and hot and perfect.Her hips bucked against my hand involuntarily."That's it," I murmured, pumping my fingers slowly. "Your body knows what it wants even if you don't want to admit it.""I hate you," she gasped, but her hips were moving with my hand now, chasing the friction."I know." I added a third finger, stretching her. Her back arched off the bed. "But you still want this."I curled my fingers inside her, finding that spot that made her cry out. Her hands scrabbled at my shoulders, nails digging in deep enough to draw blood."Stop—don't—" But her words contradicted her body, which was tightening around my fingers.I pulled my hand away, ignoring her frustrated sound.She helped me shed the rest of my clothes—or maybe she was tearing them off. I couldn't tell. Her hands were everywhere, pulling and pushing simultaneously, like she couldn't decide whether to draw me closer

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CARMELA'S POVI should have locked the bathroom door.That was my first thought when I heard the bedroom door open. My second thought was that it was late—past midnight. Gabriele rarely came to bed before one AM anymore.I stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around me, and found him standing just inside the room.Drunk.I could tell immediately. The way he swayed slightly, the glazed look in his eyes, the looseness in his shoulders that was never there when he was sober."Gabriele?" I kept my voice neutral. "Are you drunk?"He didn't answer. Just stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.Then he moved forward, and I saw something shift in his expression. Something dangerous."Elena," he breathed.Ice flooded my veins."I'm not—"But he was already reaching for me, his hand cupping my jaw with surprising gentleness."I missed you," he whispered, and the raw pain in his voice made something twist in my chest. "God, I missed you so fucking much.""Gabriele, stop—"He kissed me.His

CHAPTER TWENTY

CARMELA'S POV I woke up to the soreness between my legs. It was evidence of last night.The sheets were tangled around me and I could smell him on my skin—his cologne mixed with sweat, whiskey and sex.Gabriele's side of the bed was cold, which meant he'd been gone for a while.I couldn't look at him yet without wanting to either kill him or vomit.Maybe both.I looked down at my body and felt bile rise in my throat.There were bruises everywhere. Purple fingertips on my hips where he had gripped me. A dark mark on my neck where he had bitten. My breasts were tender, nipples sensitive from his rough treatment.I was marked and claimed by the one man I hated.And the worst part?I could still feel the ghost of his cock stretching me, filling me, the wetness between my legs that was partly him.He’d come inside me.The thought made me want to claw my skin off.I forced myself to walk to the bathroom, each step a reminder of what he'd done. What we'd done.No. What he’d done.I didn't

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