All Chapters of The Don's Forbidden Claim: Chapter 81 - Chapter 88

"You're different. I can feel it. What did that stone do to you?"Dante's voice was rough with fear, his gray eyes searching mine for something he recognized. I was sitting up in bed, my body humming with a power I didn't understand. The penthouse was quiet. Lyra was asleep in the next room. Enzo and Elara were guarding the door. Marco was coordinating security. And Lucian's presence was peaceful in my mind for the first time since I'd learned he existed."I'm still me," I said, but the words felt hollow. "I'm just... more.""More what?""I don't know. The guardian said I'm a bridge now. Between worlds. Between life and death. Between light and shadow." I looked at my hands, at the faint glow that pulsed beneath my skin. "I can feel things I couldn't feel before. Souls. Energies. The heartbeat of the city. It's like I'm connected to everything."Dante sat beside me on the bed, his hand finding mine. His grip was warm, grounding. "Can you still feel me?""Always." I lifted his hand to

"Don't come near me. I don't know what I'll do."The words scraped past my lips, but they weren't mine. They belonged to the thing inside me. The ancient evil. The first darkness. It was using my voice, my body, my face. And I couldn't stop it.Dante stood at the end of the hallway, his weapon drawn, his face a mask of grief and fury. Enzo and Elara flanked him, their eyes wide with horror. Marco's men had surrounded the building, but no one dared approach. Not after what they'd seen."Essa. Fight it. You're stronger than this." Dante's voice cracked. "You've beaten everything they've thrown at you. You can beat this too."He doesn't understand. The thing inside me laughed. He thinks you're still in there. He thinks he can save you. He doesn't know I've already won.I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to run into Dante's arms and never let go. But my body wasn't mine anymore. My hands moved without my permission. My lips curved into a smile that wasn't mine."He's right, you

"The boy you lost is not lost. He's a key. And the first evil will use him to unlock the end of everything."The words echoed in my mind as I stared at the text message, my blood running cold. Lucian. My son. The boy who'd sacrificed himself to save his sister. He wasn't gone. He was a key. And the first evil was coming to claim him.Dante was already mobilizing. Marco's men swept the city for any sign of the original Serpents. Enzo and Elara coordinated with the council, assembling every available soldier, every weapon, every resource. Lyra was safe in the penthouse, surrounded by guards, but I could feel her fear through our connection. She knew something was wrong. She just didn't know what.I stood on the balcony, staring at the city lights, my hand pressed against my chest where Lucian's presence used to be. It was empty now. Hollow. He was still alive, I knew that. But he was far away. Trapped. And I couldn't reach him."Essa." Dante's voice came from behind me. "We have a lead.

"You're telling me there's something older than the primordial darkness? Older than the thing that created the first evil? What could possibly be older than nothing?"Salvatore Greco's voice was sharp with disbelief. The council chamber was tense, the five Dons seated around the table, their faces a mixture of fear and skepticism. Dante stood at my side, his hand on my back, his presence a steady anchor."The ancient texts speak of a being that existed before creation," I said. "Before light. Before dark. Before the primordial forces that shaped our world. It's called the First God. It created the primordial darkness as a weapon. A tool. And now that I've destroyed its weapon, it's coming to collect.""The First God." Greco's eyes narrowed. "You expect us to believe in gods now? We're men of business. Men of power. We don't deal in fairy tales.""Fairy tales don't destroy cities. Fairy tales don't kill armies. Fairy tales don't possess your children and try to use them to end the worl