Lahat ng Kabanata ng Claimed By The Five Mafia Brothers : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Aria POV thursday starts wrong. coffee. 6:32am knock. “morning,” luca says. hands me the cup. “morning,” i say. but no one’s eating. marco’s scrolling. jaw tight. dante’s pacing. nico’s stopped mid-set. enzo’s watching the front door. “what,” i say. luca doesn’t look at me. “she called.” “who.” “you know who.” the name hits anyway. victoria. “and?” “she’s coming,” nico says. “today.” “here?” “to the house,” dante says. “says it’s ‘family business.’” the kitchen goes quiet. “she doesn’t have business here,” i say. “tell her that,” enzo says. 3pm. tires on the driveway. no text. we’re in the living room. me on the floor. them standing. the door opens. red dress. heels. sunglasses pushed up in her hair. she stops when she sees me. “well,” she says. “little vale.” “victoria,” luca steps forward. “what are you doing here.” “visiting,” she says. eyes drag over all of them. then back to me. “since when,” she asks, “do we share houses n

Aria POVVale Tower. 47th floor.The elevator dings and opens into glass.Chicago is under us. Cars like ants. Sky the color of steel.And I feel so small I could disappear.Luca’s hand finds the small of my back. Warm. Steady.“Stay behind me,” he murmurs. His voice is low enough that only I hear it.“I won’t,” I murmur back. My throat is dry. “I’m not hiding.”He doesn’t argue. His jaw ticks once. That’s Luca for _fine_.The double doors ahead are already open.Her first.Victoria Caruso.Red dress. Sharp enough to cut. Seated at the head of a table that isn’t hers, like she was born owning it. Legs crossed. One hand wrapped around a glass of water. No ice.She doesn’t look up when we walk in. She doesn’t have to. She already knows we’re here.Him next.My mom.Isabella Vale.Power suit. Black. No jewelry. No makeup that you can see. Her hair pulled back so tight it has to hurt.She’s standing at the window with her back to us. When she turns, her eyes find mine.Once.A nod. That’s

Aria POV“Absolutely not.”Luca’s voice cuts through the kitchen. Final.I’m standing by the island with my phone in my hand. Victoria’s text is still on the screen._8am. The Bean & Bloom. 5th and Halsted. Come alone._“It’s a trap,” Enzo says from the couch. He doesn’t even look up from the monitors.“Obviously,” Nico agrees. He’s spinning a knife on the table. “She wants you isolated.”“She wants me scared,” I say.No one argues with that.Isabella walks in from her office. She’s already dressed. Power suit. Heels. Hair pulled back tight.“What’s the move,” she asks.Luca looks at me. Only me.“You don’t go.”I meet his eyes. Dark. Tired. Protective in a way that makes my chest hurt.“I have to,” I say.“No.”“She has photos of my dad, Luca. What if she releases them? What if she edits them? What if she says he was with her?”“Then we deal with it,” he says. “After the feds have her.”“By then the damage is done,” I say. My voice shakes but I don’t let it. “I need to see what she w

Aria POVThe clock says 1:17am.I haven’t slept.No one has.The house feels different tonight. Tighter. Like we’re all holding our breath and waiting for it to break.“48 hours,” Isabella says. She’s standing at the head of the table. No suit. Just black pants and a white shirt. Hair in a clip.She looks more dangerous like this.“The contract was filed an hour ago,” she continues. “Extortion. Threats. Mention of the warehouse. We have enough.”“So why are we waiting,” Marco asks.“Because Mr. Caruso has 48 hours to respond to our terms,” Isabella says. “After that, the feds knock. And we don’t do this halfway.”Luca hasn’t spoken in 20 minutes.He’s next to me. His thumb is rubbing circles on the back of my hand under the table.He’s not looking at anyone. He’s looking at me.“Terms?” I ask.“If he signs over the warehouse and steps down from 3 board seats, we don’t go public,” Isabella says. “If he doesn’t, we burn him.”Nico whistles. “Damn. Cold.”“It’s war,” Isabella says. “Cold

Aria POVVale Tower. 42nd floor.My mother’s guest room.It’s 12:17pm.The room doesn’t smell like anything. The Moretti house smelled like garlic and coffee and Luca’s soap and the lemon cleaner Nico used after he cooked. This room smells like hotel sheets and cold air and money I didn’t earn. It’s clean and empty and it makes my chest ache.I’m on the floor with my back against the bed, knees pulled up, arms locked around them. I haven’t made a sound in 40 minutes.Downstairs, Isabella is in the war room with the feds. She left the Moretti house as soon as I called her from the lobby. Dragged all 4 of them with her because they refused to let me come here alone. Marco is in my mother’s kitchen. I heard a plate break about 10 minutes ago. Nico is in the gym hitting the bag over and over. Enzo and Dante are in the study with phones pressed to their ears, moving money, moving pieces.All 4 of them followed me here after the bridge.No one is in here.Because I said, “Give me space.”So