All Chapters of Vengeful Obsession : Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

~Vincent~I woke up to the sound of rustling.I rubbed my eyes and looked around, still half asleep. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was.Luciano's room. I turned my head and found him already standing in front of the wardrobe, getting dressed. He glanced at me through the mirror.“Morning.”His voice was calm and as cold as usual.“Morning,” I mumbled, my voice still groggy.“Food would be here soon. Feel free to go back to your room. I won't be back till night, not sure yet. Guards will be stationed all over the house, so you'll feel safer.”I pushed myself up against the headboard.“Ohh. Can I call Hugh over then?”“No. That'll be when I'm in the house with you.”I frowned slightly. That was strange, but I didn't question it.“Okay.”Luciano finished dressing and walked toward me. He stopped beside the bed and pulled out his phone.“I already put my number in your phone. Weird you never had it.”“I didn't—”“Call me if anything's wrong.”I stared at him for a moment be

~Luciano~Carlos was waiting for me the moment I stepped through the front doors.He didn’t speak until the staff had cleared the hallway and we were alone near the study.“Your husband was in there,” he said, tipping his head toward the closed doors. “This afternoon.”I stopped walking.Carlos leaned a shoulder against the wall, voice dropping into the familiar, easy tone like he was bored already. “Found him standing by the bookshelf. Hidden compartment wide open. That PRIVATE file just sitting there with the lid up. He didn’t take it, but he was definitely looking.”I turned my head slightly. “And?”“Had something shoved under his shirt. Kept his hand glued to his chest the whole time I was talking to him. When I asked what the hell he was doing, he said he was looking for a book. Claimed he dropped his phone and noticed the wood sticking out.”Carlos huffed a quiet laugh that had no real humor in it.“Kid was shaking like a leaf. Tried to play it cool. Didn’t work.”I stared at th

~Vincent~I waited until dinner.Luciano sat at the head of the table like the day had tried to kill him and lost. Sleeves rolled up, top button undone, that same unreadable calm on his face. I pushed food around my plate and made a decision.I needed him to stop watching me so carefully.After the soirée, after the study, after Carlos caught me with my hand on that compartment, Luciano’s attention had turned into something heavier. Something that felt like he was waiting for me to slip again. If I kept acting shaken or careful, he would only dig deeper. So I put the old version of myself back on. The one that got under his skin on purpose. The one that made him roll his eyes instead of study me like a problem.I leaned back in my chair and kept my voice light.“I want Hugh to stay here for a few days.”Luciano didn’t look up. “No.”“That was fast.”“I don’t need strangers in my house.”“He’s not a stranger. He’s my friend. And I’m already stuck here, so what’s one more person?” I til

~Luciano~Carlos found me in the study just after four.“We have a name on the leak,” he said, dropping a thin folder on my desk. “Lower seat. One of Don Von’s old men. He’s been selling routes for months. Got greedy after the last shipment.”I opened the folder. It contained a photograph, short list of transfers, times, amounts. Just enough to end a life.“Where is he?”“Down in the basement. ”I closed the folder. “Keep Vincent upstairs. I don’t want him wandering while I’m busy.”Carlos nodded once and left.I stayed seated for a moment, turning the brass chain between my fingers. The metal was warm on my skin. Vincent’s chain. My mark. The one I still hadn’t returned.He had tried to leave last night. Dressed in black, quiet shoes, heading for the side gate like he thought I wouldn’t notice. I still didn’t know what he was chasing in the dark. That bothered me more than I wanted to admit.I set the chain down and stood.The basement was cold and poorly lit on purpose. The man was