All Chapters of The Mobster's Witness: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter Twenty-One For the first time since this nightmare began, Damien did something completely unexpected. He stopped. Not permanently. Not because the danger had disappeared. But because he was exhausted. Three days after we escaped the old estate, he gathered everyone in the study and said four words that left the room silent. "We're taking a break." Victor stared at him. "From what?" "Everything." "The search?" "Paused." "The ledger?" "Locked away." "The Black Circle?" "Tomorrow." Victor looked genuinely confused. "Boss, tomorrow?" Damien leaned back in his chair. "Yes." He looked at me. "We've spent every waking hour chasing secrets. Every person we question gives us another name. Every name leads to another lie." His gaze remained on mine. "And I refuse to let this consume her." Something warm spread through my chest. Victor nodded slowly. "And the wedding?" Damien's eyes didn't leave me. "That happens." My heart skipped. "The wedding?" He nodde

Chapter Twenty-Three"Now let's see what kind of wife you really are."Adrian's words hung in the night.I couldn't move.Damien stood several yards away, his hands bound behind his back. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and his suit was torn at the shoulder.A gun was pressed against his temple.My mother stood beside me, gripping my wrist."Lena," Damien said quietly.His voice was controlled.Too controlled."Don't do anything."I stared at him."Are you hurt?""I'm fine.""You don't look fine."A faint smile touched his lips."I've looked worse."Adrian laughed."Still trying to reassure her."Damien's eyes never left mine."Because she's frightened.""I'm not frightened."He raised an eyebrow."Liar."Despite everything, my heart tightened.That tiny exchange felt strangely normal.Like we were still on the balcony.Like we hadn't just discovered that our wedding might have been part of a twenty-year-old plan.Like he hadn't been taken hostage.Like my mother hadn't just t

Chapter Twenty-Five Lena The phone kept ringing. Again. Again. Again. Nobody moved. I stared at the dark corner of the warehouse where the sound was coming from. My mother's words repeated themselves inside my head. Your father is still alive. Damien's father. Marcello De Luca. A man who was supposed to have died years ago. A man whose name had followed Damien like a shadow. A man who had apparently been connected to my mother, my father, the Black Circle, the ledger... And now me. "Damien," I whispered. He didn't answer. His face had lost all expression. Not anger. Not fear. Nothing. That frightened me more than anything. I reached for his hand. He looked down at our intertwined fingers. Then at me. "She said my father is alive." "I heard her." "My father." "I know." His jaw tightened. For a moment, he looked like the ruthless man everyone feared. Then his eyes softened when they met mine. "Stay behind me." I shook my head. "No." "Lena." "I'm not

Chapter Twenty-Seven Lena Every door in the mansion stood open. Every single one. The front doors. The doors to the library. The dining room. The bedrooms. Even the small doors leading into rooms I had never paid attention to. They were all open. Waiting. The sight sent a chill through me. My mother stood beside me, pale and trembling. Damien was in front of us, gun raised. His eyes never left the mansion. "Nobody moves," he said. I stared at him. "Why?" "Because this is exactly what he wants." "Marcello?" Damien nodded. "He wants us inside." My mother whispered, "And if you enter, he won't let you leave." I looked at the house. For nineteen years, I had thought of it as a place. A mansion. A home. A place where I had grown up. But now I realized something. It had never been a home. It had been a prison. And apparently, I was the prisoner everyone had been waiting to release. I stepped forward. Damien immediately grabbed my wrist. "No." I looked at h

Chapter Twenty-Nine Lena Someone was laughing beneath us. Not loudly. Not wildly. Quietly. Almost patiently. As if whoever was down there knew we would eventually find them. My mother grabbed my wrist. "Run." But I couldn't move. I stared at the floor. The sound came again. A low, chilling laugh. Damien immediately raised his gun. "Where?" My mother shook her head. "Below us." "We know that." "No." Her eyes widened. "You don't understand." She pointed toward the floor. "That's where they kept him." "Who?" She looked at me. "Lucian." Damien's face hardened. "My father's brother." She nodded. "Marcello wasn't the only De Luca who knew about the Circle." "Why was Lucian down there?" "Because he discovered the truth." I looked at the floor. "And they locked him away?" "For nineteen years." My stomach twisted. "Nineteen years?" My mother nodded. "Nobody was supposed to know he survived." I looked at Damien. "Does your family have a secret basement p