The Bunker

"The entrance is just ahead."The duplicate's voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed through the narrow tunnel like a warning. We had been walking for nearly an hour, the catacombs twisting and turning beneath the city like the veins of some ancient beast. Now, at last, a sliver of light appeared in the distance, spilling through a cracked stone doorway.Dante raised his hand, signaling for us to stop. "We don't know what's waiting on the other side. Valentina could have the entire bunker wired.""She does." The duplicate turned to face us, her expression grim. "I helped her set the security system. Motion sensors, pressure plates, tripwires. If we trigger any of them, the whole place locks down and floods with gas.""Then we need a way in that doesn't trigger the sensors." I stepped forward, studying the doorway. My mind was racing, piecing together every bit of training Dante had drilled into me over the past weeks. "There has to be a blind spot. A maintenance passage or an old s

Ler mais

The Matriarch Bargain

"She betrayed you again."Valentina's words slithered through the war room as the live feed showed Sarah Kane being dragged through the catacombs. Her face was streaked with blood, her wrists bound with zip ties. Two of Valentina's soldiers held her at gunpoint, their faces blank and merciless. The countdown clock still glowed on the screen behind us, eight minutes and forty seconds remaining.I stared at the woman who'd raised me. The woman who'd sold Enzo, abandoned me at sixteen, and now led Valentina's men straight to our escape route. Every time I thought she'd hit rock bottom, she found a new way to betray me."Sarah made a deal with me twenty-two years ago." Valentina circled the war room table, her heels clicking against the concrete floor. "She would raise my child in ignorance, and in exchange, I would let her live. But she got greedy. She started skimming money, selling information to the Castellanos, building her own little empire behind my back." Her smile was razor-thin.

Ler mais

The Public Eye

"The world knows everything."I stared at the headline on my phone, the words blurring as tears burned my eyes. The catacombs were cold and dark around us, but the chill that ran through me had nothing to do with the damp air. Somewhere above, in the glittering city that had once felt like a prison, every news outlet, every rival family, every enemy we'd ever made was reading about my secret marriage and my unborn child.Dante took the phone from my trembling hands, his jaw tightening as he scanned the article. "This is Valentina's doing. She leaked the story before she escaped.""How? We only signed the contract an hour ago. How could she possibly know?""The mole." Elara's voice was grim. "Sarah must have told her. She's been feeding Valentina information since before we entered the tunnels. She probably heard about the marriage through the duplicate or one of Marco's men."I looked at the duplicate, who stood near the tunnel entrance with her weapon still drawn. Her face was unread

Ler mais

The Face on the screen

"That's not me. You have to believe me. That's not me."The words tumbled from my lips as I stared at the tablet, my heart slamming against my ribs. The duplicate stood at the podium in front of the Moretti mansion, her dark hair swept back, her posture perfect, her smile warm and inviting. She wore a simple black dress and pearls, the picture of elegance and grace. She looked exactly like me. But the eyes were wrong. They were too cold, too calculating. And when she spoke, her voice was mine but hollow, like an echo in an empty room."I know the woman you've been reading about in the papers," the duplicate said, her voice carrying across the crowd of reporters. "Essa Kane. She's an imposter. A fraud who's been manipulating Dante Moretti and the entire Moretti empire for weeks. I'm the real Essa. The one who was stolen from her family as a child. The one who's been fighting to reclaim her identity ever since."Dante's arm tightened around my waist. "We need to get inside. Now."Marco

Ler mais

Todos os capítulos de The Don's Forbidden Claim: Capítulo 51 - Capítulo 54

The Bunker

The Matriarch Bargain

The Public Eye

The Face on the screen