บททั้งหมดของ The Last Month of No Masters: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

Victoria was the woman from Dante's first 'Month of No Masters.' It had only lasted twenty-seven days.She was a civilian who had stumbled into our twisted game, and the truth had left her bitter.Dante brought her into the fold as compensation.After years in this life, the once-inconspicuous civilian girl had been forged into an elegant and striking woman.I raised the glass of whiskey in front of me and toasted her. "I didn't bet on anything."A capo, slurring "long live freedom," passed by with a wink. "Our future Donna must be praying that Boss doesn't get snatched up by some little vixen out there, so he'll come crawling back to you.""Right, Aurora?"Victoria shooed him away, then turned back to advise me, "He's playing, so you should play too. Why tie yourself down to one man?""You should go find some fun of your own. There are plenty of men in New York."I swirled the ice in my glass and leaned closer to her ear. "If you want to win big, bet with me. You won't regret it."Vic

Dante was a man who lived by rules, but for Scarlett, he broke them again and again during the "Month of No Masters."The night of the party, he never returned to the apartment.I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Manhattan, and in a way, it was peaceful.Time seemed to slow as I methodically erased all traces of us from the penthouse apartment.I called the family's legal advisor on his encrypted line. Within forty-eight hours, I initiated the liquidation process for all our joint assets.On the fifth day, Dante called, the roar of a sports car in the background.He asked, breathless, where I had put the ivory-gripped Browning pistol engraved with the Corinni family crest.At that moment, I was tossing a framed photo of us into the fireplace. I told him where it was in a cold, detached voice.On the tenth day, he sent a man to pick up a few custom suits.I went into the music room, where the limited-edition vinyl records that had once chronicled our shared tastes were sto

When Dante pushed open the door of the abandoned warehouse at the docks, he saw only Scarlett, perched on a rusted oil drum.There was no rival gang, no gunfight. Just a shallow scrape on her leg.Realizing Scarlett had faked her own kidnapping to lure him here, Dante was furious.But the feel of her soft body pressed against him made his anger falter.Scarlett held her wrist up to him, her eyes red. A red mark stood out starkly against her pale skin.She looked wounded. "They really did cut me, but I was so afraid I'd never see you again that I didn't let them cut too deep. Otherwise, how would you ever see me again, Dante? I really don't want to live without you."A flash of pity crossed Dante's eyes, but his words were sharp. "Next time, find a sharper dagger."Seeing he was angry, Scarlett giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Alright, alright. Next time, I'll just throw myself from a skyscraper. A real lover's leap for our tragic passion."She thought Dante would melt int

I made my new home in a centuries-old estate deep in Tuscany.It was surrounded by mountains, and the only road in or out had two checkpoints with armed guards.I deleted all my social media accounts. I cut off all ties to New York's high society.My days were spent restoring Renaissance-era paintings and pruning the white roses in the garden.I wasn't going to entomb myself over a mafioso who couldn't keep it in his pants.I restored a few famous paintings with my mentor. He wanted to push me onto the international stage, but I refused.I wasn't ready for Dante to find me yet.Occasionally, Bella would call on an encrypted line."Aurora, Dante has completely lost it.""He's unleashed the entire Corinni intelligence network. He's thrown the whole Manhattan underworld into chaos.""He spends every night getting drunk on hard liquor in his private bar. When he's drunk, he grabs hold of other bosses, his eyes red, and demands to know if they're hiding you. He keeps asking how he managed t

The Corinni family's skyscraper headquarters in Manhattan was pure chaos today.Even from Florence, I could watch the farce unfold on a live stream via an encrypted channel.Scarlett had climbed to the edge of the rooftop. She was wearing a maternity dress, swaying precariously in the harsh wind."Let her come out! Let the bitch who stole my man come out!"She sobbed, her accusations hurled at the media below, who had swarmed like sharks smelling blood."I'm carrying Dante's child! Aurora is the one who's driven us to this!"The scandal spread like a plague through the mafia world.But I sat under the grapevines in the estate, calmly sipping a cup of black tea.Marco looked a little worried. "Aurora, are you sure you don't want to ask? What if she..."I turned the phone's live stream toward him. Scarlett was crying and screaming on the roof, hysterical, but she was a safe distance from the edge."She's not just performing for me. If she heard my voice, it would force her hand. She migh