All Chapters of Forbidden By Her Mafia Stepbrother : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Dinner ended exactly as it began. Stiff, quiet, and suffocating.Viola didn't wait for Vanessa or her mother to stand up. The moment Rafael pushed his chair back, she slipped away from the table. She kept her head down, tracing the edge of the hallway until she found the heavy glass doors leading to the east terrace.She pushed them open and stepped into the cool night air.Her chest heaved as she took a slow, uneven breath. The anxiety that had been wrapping around her throat all evening finally loosened. She leaned against the stone railing, wrapping her arms tightly around her ribs.It was quiet out here. Safe.A sharp, metallic click broke the silence.Viola froze.In the far corner of the terrace, a small flame flared in the dark. It illuminated a strong jaw, the faint scar near the mouth, and a pair of cold amber eyes.Sebastian.He closed the silver lighter with a snap. The scent of tobacco drifted through the cold air as he exhaled a thin stream of gray smoke. He didn't move fr

The study in the Hierro estate always smelled the same. Old leather, expensive scotch, and decaying power.Sebastian stood near the massive mahogany desk, looking out the large window that overlooked the manicured gardens. He wasn't wearing a suit jacket, just his dark shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. He took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling the smoke against the glass, completely ignoring the man sitting in the heavy leather chair behind him."You cannot keep running your operation from the forest," Rafael snapped, his gravelly voice rising. "You are the head of the Hierro family now. The Spanish Boss. This house is yours. The families, the legacy, all of it. You belong in that chair, Sebastian. In this house. Ruling the way your blood demands. Not playing cartel king in the dirt."Sebastian didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. He just tapped the ash from his cigarette into a crystal tray.Rafael had been giving this same speech for three years. He couldn't stand that his son

The silence in the drawing room stretched, thick and unbearable.Viola's heart hammered against her ribs. Every eye in the room was fixed on her, but the only ones she could actually feel were his. Sebastian's striking amber gaze pinned her in place, heavy and unreadable through the curl of his cigarette smoke.She opened her mouth. Her throat seized."I, I don't," she managed, her voice barely a broken whisper.Vanessa's laugh cut through the room before she could say anything else. Light, tinkling, the kind of laugh she used at dinner parties when she was about to be devastating."Oh, do forgive her, Sebastian." Vanessa stepped gracefully into his line of sight, her smile all sympathy and poison. "Viola doesn't really speak. She mostly just stands places until someone tells her where to stand. We keep her around out of pity, honestly.""Even the staff manage full sentences," Octavia murmured into her wine glass, and Vanessa laughed again, delighted.Something hot crawled up Viola's n

Two days passed in a blur of bone-deep exhaustion.Viola scrubbed the marble floors and polished the heavy furniture of the guest suites until her knuckles were raw. The Hierro estate was buzzing with chaotic energy as the staff prepared for the massive upcoming celebration. Her mother, Octavia, was ruthless, treating Viola less like a daughter and more like an unpaid servant, determined to make her useful before the cartel guests arrived.Viola's legs still carried a dull ache from the freezing cathedral floor, but she pushed through the physical pain without complaint.Amidst the grueling labor, there was one quiet relief: Sebastian was entirely absent.He had not appeared at dinner. She hadn't seen his massive frame looming in the library, and she hadn't caught the scent of his dark tobacco in the hallways. Viola didn't know where he had gone, and she was simply thankful that she didn't have to navigate the weight of his amber eyes tracking her every move."Viola."Her mother’s sha

The heavy silence stretched between them, thick with the smell of smoke and the terrifying heat of his skin. Viola stared into his striking amber eyes, completely trapped by the sheer gravity of his presence.Then, reality violently snapped back into place.Viola jerked her head back, ripping her chin out of his firm grip. She stumbled backward, scrambling to her feet as her shaking legs barely held her weight.Sebastian’s large, scarred hand was left hanging in the empty air."I—I'm sorry," Viola stammered, her voice breathless and panicked.She didn't wait to see his reaction. She didn't dare look back. She spun around, bolted for the heavy oak door, twisted the handle, and ran out into the empty corridor.Sebastian didn't move. He sat perfectly still in the leather chair, his hand still suspended in the space where she had just been. His cold, predatory eyes tracked her retreating back, watching the terrified little rabbit flee until the heavy door clicked shut behind her.Viola di