All Chapters of The Underboss's Kingdom : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Abuela’s breathing was soft tonight. Shallow, but steady. A small victory. I sat on the edge of her bed, brushing a damp cloth across her forehead. The fever had finally broken an hour ago, and the relief hit me so hard I had to sit down before my knees gave out.“Gracias, mija,” she whispered, voice thin as paper.“I’m right here,” I murmured, smoothing her hair back. “Always.”Her eyes fluttered closed, and I stayed until her breathing evened out. Only then did I slip out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me. The house felt too small these days. Too quiet. Too heavy.Eight years ago, I ran to save my life. I didn’t know I was saving someone else’s too. I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left Salvatore. Didn’t know I was carrying a piece of him, a piece of us, until it was too late to turn back.And by then, Hector had already found me. I had no choice. I had to disappear. I had to protect my baby. I had to protect Salvatore. Even if it meant breaking my own heart.Now Ga

I hadn’t slept in three days. Wolf and I had been running all over the damn state, putting out fires Juan kept lighting just to piss me off. Meetings, threats, cleanup, more threats. By the time I finally crossed back into Kansas City, all I wanted was my bed, a shower, and maybe a bottle of whiskey I didn’t have to share. But my phone buzzed before I even hit my driveway. Three clubs. Two men at each. All of them Juan’s. Trying to pull girls out the back doors like they owned the place.So instead of sleep, I ended up at Velvet Lace the, club I used as my base of operations. The one that made the most money. The one Juan kept poking at like he was begging me to snap.Rick met me at the back entrance, sweating like he’d run a marathon.“Boss,” he said, out of breath. “We handled it. Security’s got the guys in holding. But, uh… you should know, we got a new girl behind the bar. She’s killing it. Customers love her.”I didn’t give a damn about a new bartender. “Good for her,” I muttered

My hands were still shaking when I walked back toward the bar. Not because of Salvatore. Never because of him. But because of the look in his eyes. Shock. Hurt. Something I didn’t have a name for.And underneath all of it…the fear that once he found out about Gabe, he’d never forgive me.He deserved to know. He needed to know. But the thought of him looking at our son and seeing betrayal instead of love made my stomach twist. I slipped behind the bar, forcing my breathing to steady.Marco took one look at me and gasped dramatically. “Girl. What happened? You look like you saw a ghost. Or worse, Rick shirtless.”I huffed out a laugh I didn’t feel. “I’m fine.”“You are not fine,” he said, leaning in. “You were gone forever. Did the boss chew you out? Did he flirt? Did he fire you? Did he...”“Marco,” I cut in, “please.”He blinked, then softened. “Okay. But you’re telling me eventually.”I nodded, grateful for him in a way I couldn’t explain.The night dragged on, loud and bright and ex

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Salvatore stood there, waiting for me to keep talking, waiting for the truth I’d buried so deep it felt like digging up a corpse. I wrapped my arms around myself. “There’s more.”His jaw tightened, but his voice stayed steady. “Tell me.”“My stepfather’s name is Hector,” I whispered. “Hector Marquez.”Salvatore went still. Completely still.Like the name punched the air out of him.“Marquez,” he repeated, voice low, dangerous.I blinked. “You… you know that name?”He didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked one of his own.“Your stepbrother,” he said slowly. “Is his name Juan?”My stomach dropped.“How do you know that?” I breathed.He exhaled once, sharp. “Because Juan Marquez has been poking around my clubs for weeks. Looking for someone. His stepsister.”My blood ran cold.“Me?” I whispered. “Why would he? He warned me. He protected me from his father. Why would he want me now?”Salvatore’s eyes softened for the first time since I walked in. “S

Rafe stood stiffly in front of my desk, waiting for my reaction. The picture on his phone burned into my vision.Sara. My stepsister. The girl I warned. The girl I protected. The girl I thought I’d never see again. And now she was here. In Kansas City. In Ricci territory.I forced my voice steady. “Where was this taken?”“Red Velvet,” Rafe said. “The guys said she was behind the bar. Someone called her Sara. They sent the picture right before they were grabbed.”I studied the image again. She looked older. Tired. But still her. Still the girl my father wanted, the girl I helped escape.“Get everything on her,” I said. “I want her entire life on my desk, by yesterday."Rafe nodded and left. He returned three hours later with a thick folder and a look that told me he’d found something big.“Boss,” he said, placing the file down, “you’re gonna want to sit for this.”I didn’t. I opened the folder. Sara Vega. Not Delgado. Not Marquez. Smart. Very smart.“She changed her name legally,” Rafe