He would come for her.
And now—
He had.
The realization settled in my chest like ice.
“How?” My voice trembled. “How did he locate her?”
“And Ciro... how on earth did you know I had a sister?”
His gaze stayed fixed on mine, steady and unblinking.
“It’s my job,” he said, voice calm but firm, “to know everything about anyone who joins this family.”
A beat.
“Background checks. Family trees. Hidden siblings. Every detail—every connection—ends up on Vincenzo’s desk.”
My stomach twisted.
“He’s been too buried in wars and betrayals to go through it all. The finer details get overlooked.”
The night air suddenly felt too thin.
Tears burned behind my eyes, threatening to spill.
“Ciro...” I whispered, breaking. “I... I need your help.”
The word came out desperate.
My hands trembled as I clutched my own arms tighter, as if I could physically hold myself together.
“I need her far away from Ruslan,” I said, my voice breaking.
“He’s a monster... he’ll ruin her. He’ll make her suffer for everything I did to his sister. She’s innocent—she doesn’t even know any of it.”
Ciro shook his head slowly.
“Ruslan Baranov isn’t just powerful,” he said. “He’s untouchable. His reach goes beyond anything El Chapo ever had—more ruthless than any hunted man alive. If your sister is his wife now... she belongs to him. He’d burn cities to the ground before letting her go.”
The words rang in my skull.
“I’m sorry, Elena. There’s no extraction team in this world that could pull her out.”
My knees weakened slightly.
The ground beneath me felt unstable—like everything I stood on was shifting.
No.
No.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not because of me.
