All Chapters of Ruining Draco: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

SELENA'S POVThe Victorian Masquerade Ball was one of the most prestigious events in Florence. It was a gala built on a foundation of three pillars... Money, Power, and Influence.Every person who mattered, or who thought they mattered, attended.Crystal chandeliers illuminated the grand ballroom while a live orchestra filled the air with elegant, sweeping classical music.Men wore perfectly tailored tuxedos and elaborate, gold-leafed masks, while women drifted across the polished marble floor in designer gowns worth more than some families earned in a decade.I should have felt out of place. I was, by nature, a woman of simpler tastes, someone who preferred the the solitude of the hillsides to the suffocating opulence of a ballroom. Yet, standing there, I didn’t feel out of place... not entirely.I was Selena Fortezza, after all. My family name carried weight in the city, but even then, I was under no illusions. I wouldn’t have received an invitation if not for Enzo... a special secr

SELENA'S POVThe moment I escaped the balcony, I didn't stop walking. My heels clicked sharply against the polished marble floor as I hurried through one of the estate's quieter corridors. My pulse was still racing from the confrontation, my cheeks burning with equal parts anger and humiliation.The arrogant bastard.Who did he think he was?No one ignores me. Pffft... The memory alone made me want to slap him a third time.The corridor stretched long and empty before me, illuminated by ornate wall sconces that cast golden pools of light across the floor. Unlike the crowded ballroom, this section of the estate remained relatively deserted.Good... I needed a moment to breathe, a moment to regain my composure. As I rounded a corner, muffled sounds drifted through one of the partially opened doors ahead.I slowed instinctively... A woman's soft giggle echoed into the hallway then came a breathless laugh. Followed by a low masculine murmur, my nose wrinkled immediately.Seriously?I res

SELENA'S POVThe first gunshot rang out exactly when my mouth was already poised to whisper “I do” to the man who had spent the last twelve months turning my life into a masterpiece of ordinary miracles.For a single, disorienting second the world held its breath. The violinist’s bow hung in the air, the candles flickered, and Enzo’s smile... bright, mischievous, the very thing that had made me think our future could be written in the same ink as the vows we were about to exchange... vanished, replaced by a hollow stare.I remember that moment clearer than any of the screaming that followed, clearer than the patch of red that stained the marble floor, clearer than the way the stained‑glass windows behind the altar exploded into shards of colored shards.I remember the exact instant the warmth left Enzo’s eyes.“Down!” He shouted, voice cracking with a fear I had never heard him make. It was not the low, affectionate murmur he had whispered against my cheek while adjusting my veil this

SELENA'S POVThe city lights blurred past my tear-streaked face. The road wound farther from the cathedral, from Enzo’s lifeless body, from my shattered wedding. And yet something else... something darker, had been etched into my mind... the calm, untouched face of a man who seemed to view my tragedy as nothing more than a scene in a play he’d directed.Two hours later, Alessio steered us into a hidden underground passage beneath an abandoned industrial complex on the city’s outskirts. ”Agent Nox” Alessio said to the intercom. The massive steel gates groaned open, revealing a fortress that belied the name “El Paso.” Armed guards perched on elevated platforms, scanning the endless rows of concrete walls with cold, bored eyes. The deeper we went, the colder the air grew, as if the walls themselves were siphoning heat from our bodies.We stopped inside a massive compound where monitors flickered with live feeds of the city above... police cars weaving through streets, news anchors de

SELENA'S POV“...You’re going to make Draco Castellano fall in love with you.”For several seconds, I genuinely thought I misheard him. The room became deathly silent... even the faint humming of the monitors sounded distant beneath the violent pounding of my heartbeat. I stared at Salvatore in disbelief, waiting for someone... anyone, to laugh and tell me this was some cruel misunderstanding.“What?” I whispered.His expression never changed. “You heard me.”A sharp laugh escaped my throat, hollow and broken. It wasn't amusement, it was a shock. “You can’t be serious.”Salvatore folded his hands behind his back calmly, as if he had not just suggested I willingly walk into the arms of the people who murdered Enzo. “Draco Castellano is not merely Dante’s eldest son,” he said evenly. “He is the future of La Casa delle Ombre. The brothers absolutely trust him. Even their patriarch Dante relies on him more than anyone else inside the organization.”“And that means what exactly?” I snappe