Behind me, Marco yelled, “Thirty seconds!”
Dante’s gaze flicked toward the cooler.“You should run, Moretti.It’s what your blood does best.”
Then he disappeared — gone before the echo of his words had even died.
I turned and grabbed Marco by the collar.“Out!”
He pulled the cutter free, severed the last wire.The red light went dark.
The room inhaled.Then — silence.For half a second, I thought we’d made it.Then the floor shuddered.Not an explosion — an implosion.The back wall buckled, collapsing inward, brick and dust rolling.
“Mia!”I ran through the haze, lungs burning, calling her name.The dust was so thick, it labored my breathing.A shape stumbled into view — small, shaking, coughing.Her.I reached her just as she fell into me.
“Are you okay, my love?”I pulled her close to me.Her finger pointed and my eyes followed.Under a massive piece of fallen debris lied Dante.
“You found her… good everything is okay.”Marco came running with a flashlight, until his light caught the body.“About fucking time he got what he deserved.”
The Gallos and Di Fiore’s had history, even with the Moretti’s, but no longer.If tonight taught me anything, it was that this legacy was tarnished beyond repair and my wife needed to be my main priority.
39
ENRICO
One week later…
My shadow loomed justbeyond the threshold.
“Imagine it, the rolling hills of Tuscany, the bustling streets of Rome, the water in Venice.”
Mia's laughter followed.“It sounds wonderful, but with Enrico's business, you know…”
My gaze hardened, the softness around my eyes transforming into steely resolve.Mia's happiness was my responsibility, her dreams now intertwined with the legacy I bore on broad, unyielding shoulders.Her longing didn't escape me; it seeped through the barriers I meticulously constructed around my world—one ruled by power and fear.
“Travel could do wonders for us,” Catrina pressed on, unaware of me eavesdropping.“A break from all this...intensity.”
Intensity—a delicate euphemism for the life I ensnared her in, a world painted in shades of grey and red, where every luxury bore the taint of hidden threats and whispered allegiances.Mia’s life had been in danger from the moment she said I do.My sister was right.Without another word, I pulled back from the doorway, the decision already carving itself into my conscience.I was a man accustomed to making decisions that altered fates, and now, I was poised to alter course once more.My mind worked like a well-oiled machine, strategies and plans slotting into place with the precision of a master chess player.
The heavy door to the study swung open.As it clicked shut behind me, sealing me in the sanctuary of my own making, I knew that whatever it took, I would carve out a piece of the world that Mia longed to see and lay it at her feet.For her, I would move heaven and earth.Because in the dark web of my world, where love is both a weakness and a strength, I would ensure that for Mia, it became a gateway to the world.She deserved everything she desired and more.
I snapped open my laptop and booked a private jet.Non-stop, maximum privacy, fitting for someone of Mia's standing by my side.My hand hovered over the keyboard, the darkened room reflecting in the silver band on my finger—a symbol of the ties that bound me to her.
A ghost of a smile threatened to break through the stoic mask I wore as I imagined Mia's reaction.This gesture, this grand display of affection, was more than extravagance—it was a testament to my commitment, a way to bridge the chasm that my world once forced between us.
This trip was a promise of escape, an olive branch extended towards a future brighter than the shadowed past we navigated.Ever since she was kidnapped, things had been different between us.Like maybe she finally understood that this marriage wasn’t a sham.
I rose from the desk, the chair pushing back with a soft scrape against the hardwood floor.Through the empty corridors, my footsteps resonated like a drumbeat, heralding a change that was both feared and revered within the walls of our home.The door to the dining room swung open, Mia and Catrina still talking about their ideas of the perfect vacation.
“Ladies, good morning.”
Mia lifted her gaze, and I stood, holding out two opulent envelopes.“What is going on, my love?”
“Pack your bags,” I announced, a smile touching the corners of my mouth, a rarity that softened the harsh lines of my features.“We're going to Italy.”
The magazines slipped from her fingers.This was my doing, my decision—a step away from the darkness.Mia's guarded walls crumbled under the weight of the gesture.
“Italy,” she breathed out, disbelief mingling with delight, “you're serious?”
Catrina's squeals pirouetted.“You’re the best brother ever!”
