جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

(**Ivan Dominic Point of View**)Freedom carried a scent that I had almost forgotten.After five years inside prison walls, the world outside felt unfamiliar, as though the air itself had changed while I had been gone. The wind tasted colder against my skin, sharper in my lungs, carrying traces of rain, gasoline, and distant city smoke that prison air had never allowed.The heavy iron gates behind me groaned slowly as they opened, the metal grinding against itself like an old beast waking from a long sleep. The sound echoed through the quiet morning, deep and hollow, and for a moment it felt less like a door opening and more like a warning closing behind me.I stepped forward at an unhurried pace, rolling my shoulders as if I could somehow shake away the invisible weight that had settled into my bones during those five long years.Five years...Five years of concrete walls that never changed, steel bars that never moved, and endless nights filled with the silence of men who had nothin

(**Ivan Dominic Point of View**)Gregori leaned back in his seat, studying me with the quiet attention of a man who missed very little.“You never told me the entire story about that girl,” he said after a moment. “The one who sent you to prison.”My jaw tightened slightly. “There is nothing to tell.”Gregori raised one eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “You spent five years in prison for her, Sin. That is… unusual for you.”Silence settled between us.Gregori was right… Men like me did not go to prison for strangers.I exhaled slowly and turned my gaze toward the window as the gray streets of Detroit slid past outside the car.“I only remember her name,” I said finally.Gregori waited.“It was Sierra.” I finally told him the name that haunts my mind for these past five years.“Last name?”I paused for a moment then I shook my head. “I... I forgot.”Gregori frowned slightly at that answer.“She was running for her life,” I muttered quietly. “A young girl asking me for help… that alone was

The flash of cameras had long ago become something I learned to endure. Photographers lined the entrance of the studio like soldiers preparing for battle, their cameras already raised before my car had even come to a complete stop. The moment the door opened, bright white lights exploded in every direction. “Bella! Over here!” “Miss Smith, look this way!” “Bella, give us a smile!” The voices overlapped in excited chaos, each photographer fighting for a moment of my attention. In this world they knew me as Belvania or Bella Smith, the name my agency had chosen as my stage identity. I stepped out of the car slowly, allowing Bethany enough time to smooth the fabric of the cream-colored coat resting over my shoulders. My heels touched the pavement with practiced elegance as I lifted my chin slightly, offering the cameras the composed smile they expected. It was a performance. Every movement, every glance and every step. Modeling had taught me how to move like someone the world admi

That night, after returning to the hotel, sleep refused to come easily. The city of Milan glittered outside the tall windows of my suite, its golden lights stretching across the dark horizon like a quiet sea of stars. Normally the view would have calmed me, but my mind refused to rest. Carlo’s words continued repeating in my thoughts. ‘Our marriage.’ The way he had spoken about it had not sounded like a suggestion but it sounded like a business deal. A transaction that had already been discussed somewhere behind closed doors. Without me as the one who should have a say about this. The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became and then a troubling realization struck me, that ‘I did not even have my father’s lawyer’s phone number.’ For years, my uncle had handled everything himself. Every legal document. Every financial matter. Every decision regarding my inheritance. Yes, I had never needed to contact the lawyer directly, it’s always him. Until now… I have to ask

Rough hands forced me into the back seat of a dark vehicle before I could even gather my thoughts, and the heavy door slammed shut beside me with a sound that felt far too final. For a moment, I could only sit there, frozen, my breath caught somewhere between my chest and my throat. Oh God, what is happening?! Two large men occupied the space on either side of me, their presence suffocating in its silence. Neither of them spoke, yet their rigid posture and cold expressions made it painfully clear that asking questions would lead nowhere. The air inside the car felt heavy, thick with the scent of worn leather, cigarette smoke, and something faintly metallic that lingered at the back of my throat. Fear settled slowly but firmly inside my chest. My wrists were not tied, yet I did not need restraints to understand that I was trapped. Every movement of mine was monitored, every breath measured against the quiet tension surrounding me. As the car began moving, the city lights