All Chapters of The Don's Captive Queen : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The heavy fabric sat like weights on my shoulders. One of the maids had dropped it on my bed at dawn.a structured, blood-red silk dress with sharp lines and a high collar. It wasn't an outfit chosen for comfort. It was a brand. A bright, unmissable signal to everyone in this house that I belonged to the Moretti property ledger now."Move," Matteo said from the open doorway. He didn't look at the dress. He just held the door open, waiting."I'm moving," I said, pulling the stiff red fabric down over my hips.I followed him out of the eastern wing, down a flight of concrete stairs I hadn't seen before, and deep into the lower levels of the estate. The air down here changed. It lost the scent of old wood and polished marble, replaced by the sharp, stinging burn of rubbing alcohol and heavy bleach.Matteo stopped in front of a frosted glass door. He pushed it open and nodded for me to go inside. "Sit."The room looked exactly like an upscale hospital clinic, except there were no windows a

"Stay here," Damiano said. His voice was drop-dead cold, his eyes locked on Leo’s laptop screen before he lifted his head to look at me. "Leo, with me. Matteo, secure the perimeter.""What about the server?" Leo asked, grabbing his phone as he hurried to keep up with Damiano’s sudden, long strides. "The download is already at forty percent. If they bridge the firewall, our entire shipping network goes dark.""Cut the physical landlines at the downtown exchange," Damiano barked, his hand already slamming the office door open. "Kill the power to the block if you have to. Just halt the transfer.""Damiano, wait!" I called out, taking a step toward the mahogany desk. "If my father is the one downloading those files, he won't use standard ports. He knows how you track IP routing!"He didn't even turn back. "I don't need financial theories right now, Valentina. I need this handled."The heavy oak door swung shut behind them. The electronic deadbolt gave a loud, metallic click as it engaged,

The backless black gown felt like a straightjacket. The silk was tight, molding against my skin so closely that taking a deep breath was a physical struggle. Two of Damiano’s maids had spent an hour pulling the zipper up, smoothing down the fabric, and ignoring the way I pulled away from their hands."Get in," Damiano said, holding the door of the armored SUV open."I don't want to go to this gala, Damiano," I said, stopping on the gravel driveway. The evening air was cool against my bare back, but my blood was boiling. "If you want to parade your power, do it without me.""You don't have a choice," he said, his face an unreadable mask. "The council is meeting tonight. Marco Vane is looking for any sign of weakness after what happened with his daughter at the club. You are coming, and you are going to play your part.""A part?" I scoffed, but Matteo stepped up behind me, his massive shadow blocking the light from the house. I had no running room. I scrambled into the back seat of the

The lock groans. The thick wood of the door splinters."Get in the stall," I hiss, grabbing Bianca by the vest fabric and hauling her toward the very end of the marble row. "Now, Bianca! Move!""Val, wait, we can just tell them—""Shut up and move!" I shove her violently inside the furthest stall. The metal latch clicks as she slides it across. I lean against the painted door, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard it feels like a physical punch. "Don't breathe. Don't look out. If they see you with me, they will kill you. Do you understand? Dead. Do not make a sound."The main restroom door doesn't just open; it flies backward, the heavy brass handle slamming into the plaster wall, leaving a deep crater.I spin around, blocking the view of the back stalls with my body.Damiano steps into the room. He doesn't look amused. His jaw is locked, his dark eyes instantly sweeping every square inch of the white marble lounge. Behind him, Matteo stands in the doorway, his massive shoulders

"Get him up! Move, move, move!" Leo’s voice roared through the deafening echo of the garage sirens.Before I could drag air into my lungs, two security guards hauled Damiano’s massive, bleeding body off mine. His dead weight rolled away, leaving me exposed on the cold concrete. Another pair of hands snatched me by my arms, dragging me backward so fast my heels scraped the ground."Get her in the secondary truck! Now!" Leo yelled, firing three blind shots into the upper tiers."Leo, he's losing too much blood!" I choked out, my chest heaving as I hyperventilated. The copper stench of his blood was all over my face, soaking the entire front of my black gown. "He's not moving!""Shut up and get in the truck, Valentina!" Leo shoved me hard into the back of a secondary armored vehicle. The metal doors slammed shut behind us with a heavy, pressurized thud, cutting off the sound of the gunfire.The truck slammed into gear, the tires screeching as the driver tore away from the venue. I was th