DON’S POV

My father walks into my office and the first thing he says is “You must kill the girl”. That is how I am greeted by him as he stands staring at me from across the wooden desk in my office, his blue eyes filled with rage. I adjust my shirt and suit and mask my irritation.

The Moretti’s have corrupted bad blood with the Vasallo’s for almost a century, fighting for dominance over the city’s upper territories. After crossing the line, my father wants me to kill and dispose of their eldest daughter Elena Moretti.

“ You must be calm and patient, because patience is a virtue”. I grit through my teeth.

My father grumbles.

He may have the strength to be the boss, but he is blinded by vengeance and he is ignorant. Too into his old fashioned way of thinking and heavily disagreeing with not working or associating with non-Italians. If it were up to him, the Moretti household would have been wiped out years ago, but I did not agree to his decision.

The Moretti’s are way more useful to us alive than dead. No one is better at laundering money through Manufacturing firms than the Moretti boss. No one knows the law like him. He racks up millions in tax fraud yearly turning illegal reserves into legal ones and we can’t afford to lose his allegiance, even though I want to choke him with my bare hands.

I walked towards the door, then I realized that Rico wasn’t here, I clenched my jaw “ Where the fuck is Rico?”

My father rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand. “He’s downstairs”

Rhaegal, my husky accompanies downstairs as I stroll down the hallway of my business condo.

I hear moans echoing through the guest room, before I swing it open.

And there was my cousin, comfortably fucking one of the maids. They are both half naked, covered in sweat and engaged into some fucked up shitty experiment. I felt disgusted by the sight of them both.

This is why I have a different building for my personal use and a different one for business.

I stare at them both. Rico curses under his breath as he pulls out of her. The girl turns away from me, her back arched as she’s tied up to the bed frame, she might as well be a wallpaper for me. But no, I am disgusted.

Rico shoots me a glare “ You should learn how to knock”

“ And you should learn how to keep your pants on and shut the fuck up”. I responded ,shooting death glares at him.

I gave a week's break to him after he returned from Italy before assigning him a task, and he hasn’t accomplished it. I should slit his throat right here and now, but he is a sick motherfucker who might probably enjoy the whole thing and smile while dying.

I gestured into the girl. “International pussy didn’t satisfy you enough?”

Rico shoots me a grin while pulling up his clothes “ There’s nothing better than the ones at home”

“ Stop fucking sluts,” i snap “ and start doing your job right. And also untie her so she can do hers too”.

He sighs and walks up to her, loosens the main knot and she struggles to untie herself. Then he kisses her and lands a slap on her ass before adjusting his clothes and following me out. The fucker bends down to pet Rhaegal.

I glare at him “Get your filthy hands off him”

But Rico scoffs, scratching Rhaegal’s head. “But he loves me.” then turns to Rhaegal “Don’t you Ray boy? huh , now tell Don how much you love me”.

Rhaegal grunts back in response.

I give them a blank stare. Rico must have finally gotten the message because he straightens up. “ He won’t speak”

I scoff “ Let’s see about that”

Rico leads me down to the basement, opening the door wide. I walked in and it seemed darker than the last time.

“Quick warning” Rico stops me “ He’s a tough nut to crack.”

The basement is cold due to poor insulation, I deliberately never fixed it because most men fold from the cold and hunger.

In the center of the room, there is a body tied to a chair, I flick the switch on.

I looked at the man on the seat and all I could see was fear, he reeked of it. I guess Rico worked into him well, but not well enough. My little cousin must be getting soft, it’s probably all the time he spends fucking pussies that is making him soft.

Don’t get me wrong, I love pussies. I worship them even, but there are few things better than sex.

One of them is revenge.

And I am about to get my revenge on the Moretti’s. Slowly and painfully

“Knox,” I glanced at him, flashing him a nice smile.

I pulled a chair from the corner and set it right in front of him. I slipped off my suit and hung it at the back of the chair before sitting down.

Knox raises his head slowly and looks at me, shooting glares at me with his eyes swollen and red. “ Fuck off Don Vasallo” he spits on my shoe.

I clench my jaw and resist the urge to snap the fool's neck.

“ Come on knox,” I lean back “ You know those will come off and i’ll let you go, if you just tell me what I need to know.” He freezes.

He shakes his head “Bullshit.”

I lean forward “ Why would I joke around?”

“ Knox,Knox,Knox,” I sighed “ What am I going to do with you?”

“Untie me, then we will see what happens” he sputters.

Rhaegal barks from the entrance of the basement. My lip tugs into a smile, because Knox here wants to play fair and that’s hilarious.

“ Oh i have no interest in playing games right now Knox,” I pull out my gun and point it directly to his forehead “And i don’t like playing fair. But I assure you that if I get you untied, it would take seconds to be done with you. But then I won't be able to enjoy torturing you, and where’s the fun in that?”

Confusion covers his face “ But w…why?”

“ He took something precious from me,” the anger in me erupts, “ Something I can't get back.”

“ Just…..just fucking kill me, because i have nothing to say to you.” he says sputtering blood.

I smile “ come on now knox. I know my cousin introduced you to some traditional method. But I have more.”

At the entrance Rico stands there and gives me a blank stare, like I am some asshole and he is better than me. bullshit , he is as evil as me. And that is what we are. Cruelty runs in our blood.

I return my focus back to my captive. “ I’ve learned a few things myself. There is this one the FBI electrocutes you until you are weak”

“ But my favorite is the one where they lie you down and trap a rat on your chest with a metal pot and start to heat the pot. The poor thing has no choice but to eat through you to escape the heat” Knox is pale, but not giving the reaction I want. I’m getting bored.

Sighing I walk over to the corner of the wall and collect the spider, it crawls onto my hand gently like a lazy servant. When I walk back to Knox, he is completely pale. Frozen up. The spider dances around my tattooed knuckles as I bring my hand close to him. A shiver racks through his body, he shifts back whilst struggling with the strap on my hand.

“Please wait” he sobs.

There we go.

“ I guess she begged the same way,” I say ‘ but you didn’t listen, did you?”

His eyes widen and he is reminded that he is not the innocent little victim he was playing to be. Turns out Knox tried to get lucky with one of the Moretti cleaners against her will.

I could just kill him now, but I need more information from him before he dies.

“ What is his weakness?” I ask calmly.

The spider crawls down my finger, inches away from falling on his neck. Who knew Knox would be scared of a spider more than getting eaten through by a rat.

Knox shakes with fear “His…..his daughter! Fuck!”

“ Tell me something I don't freaking know” I grit through my teeth, I am running out of patience.

“ He has another one,” Knox says, trying to get away from my hand.

“Ahhhh please, he has another one and she is his weakness.”

The room goes silent “ How old is she?” I ask with a smile on my face.

“Seventeen”

And it dawns on me, Eight years younger than me. I pull my hand away from him and return my little spider. The grip on my gun tightens. She is too young. Too damn young.

“ You'll let me go now , right?” Knox says with relief.

“ Yes I will let you go Knox,” I say, “ I’ll let you go straight to hell.”

He doesn’t have time to register what is going on before I pull the trigger, straight through his forehead. His blood splatters all over my face and clothes. Great, fucking great.

“What the fuck man, did you have to do that?” Rico curses at me.

I light up a cigarette “He was annoying me”

Rico walks out cursing about how it will be hard to clean up the mess.

I take a long drag from the cigarette, as I glance at the dead body

“ Maybe I’ll see you there”

EMILIA’S POV

I remember when I was ten years old, my father used to warn us never to step into his office.

He said it calmly, like a suggestion.

Like a rule that mattered.

My sister listened. She always did. She nodded, stayed in her room, kept her hands clean and her shoes polished. She learned early that obedience earned safety.

I learned something else.

Curiosity was louder than fear.But I was never obedient and as a child I was always curious.

The office sat at the end of the west wing, separated from the rest of the house like a sealed wound. The hallway leading to it was always empty, always quiet, always colder than the rest of the house. The kind of quiet that pressed against your ears and dared you to make a sound.

The door was old-fashioned. Solid. Heavy.

But my father underestimated the children. Especially bored ones.

The key was hidden behind the third book on the hallway shelf. Accounting, Volume Two. I didn’t know what accounting was, but I knew the book was never dusted and never moved. I knew how to tilt it just enough to feel the metal catch release behind the wall.

The first time I stole the key, my hands shook so badly I nearly dropped it.

The second time, I was calm.

By the third, it felt like the house itself expected me to do it. And took out one of the spare keys and kept it to myself, so i could lock myself in without any suspicions from father.

Inside, the office smelled like leather, smoke, and something darker, something sharp that sat at the back of your throat. The walls were lined with shelves filled with files I couldn’t read and books no one ever touched. The desk was massive, carved from dark wood, scarred in places like it had survived things it wouldn’t talk about.

I learned where to hide.

Behind the heavy curtains if I needed air. Under one of the desks if voices came too close. Between the filing cabinets where the shadows were thick and forgiving. I could make myself small. Invisible. I was very good at that.

That was where I learned the truth about my father.

Men came into that office angry and left quiet. Some arrived loud and confident and walked out pale, eyes darting, hands shaking as they adjusted their jackets. Names were exchanged like currency. Numbers like weapons.

I learned that my father didn’t just run businesses.

He ran people.

And then there was the name that kept returning, circling every conversation like a vulture.

Don.

The first time I heard it, I didn’t know why my chest tightened.

“Don doesn’t negotiate,” one man said once, voice tight.

“He doesn’t have to,” my father replied. “He wins.”

They spoke about him like he wasn’t a man but a force. Something unavoidable. Something violent and precise.

Cold.

Cruel.

Calculating.

I pressed my ear harder against the desk when I heard the reason his name mattered so much.

“He wants an alliance,” my father said.

Silence followed. The heavy kind.

“And the price?” someone finally asked.

I remember holding my breath. I remember my heart pounding so hard I was sure they could hear it.

“A marriage.”

My fingers curled into the carpet.

Not me. Never me.

“She’s perfect,” another voice said. “Obedient. Quiet. Beautiful.”

My sister.

They talked about her like she wasn’t a person. Like she was land. Territory. A peace offering wrapped in silk and handed over to a man who terrified grown criminals.

I didn’t know what Don looked like then. I didn’t know his age or his face or the sound of his voice. But I knew he wasn’t the kind of man you said no to.

And I knew my sister wouldn’t survive him.

When the meeting ended, I stayed hidden long after the door closed. Long after the echo of footsteps faded. My chest hurt in a way I didn’t understand yet.

That was the first time I realized our lives were already decided.

Years later, nothing has changed except for me.

I grew up in shades of black. I learned to move quietly, speak sharply, and listen more than I talked. My father tried to keep me hidden, out of sight, out of danger.

But you don’t grow up brushing against hell without learning its shape.

I know the rules now. I know the bloodlines. I know the names that still make rooms fall silent.

And I know Don.

Not just as a name whispered behind closed doors but as the man who is supposed to marry my sister.

The man who looks at our family like something he already owns.

The man who doesn’t know yet that I am not obedient.

And if he thinks slipping a ring onto one of us will bring him peace.

He’s about to learn how wrong he is.

EMILIA’S POV

We were having lunch when Dominic, my father’s right hand man, walked in panting. Then turns to papa

“ There is an emergency Mr Moretti.” Papa excuses himself from the table and walks to his office while Dominic follows him.

As always I was curious and decided to follow. I turned to Elena and she looked at me worried.

“Don’t go there Emilia, papa could catch you.”

“ He won’t, I will be quick” then i quickly walked towards papa’s office. Thankfully Mama had gone out, else I'd be in a lot of trouble.

I slowly creeped towards the door, thankfully he didn’t close it completely.

“ One of our informants has been missing for days” Dominic spoke “We haven’t been able to reach him”

“Who?” Papa asked.

“Charles Kingston”

“Knox?” Papa said. He went silent for a while. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or scared. “He won’t say anything”

Dominic stayed silent.

I heard him mention Don’s name again and how he had his own men when he was Fifteen. Anytime papa mentioned his name he said it dreadfully. “ So say Salvadore isn’t running the Vassallo Companies and operations anymore?”

“ The boy took over since he was Fifteen” Dominic responded. “He was still young when he was handed over everything. He is way smarter and stronger than his father

“They say he can sniff fear from anyone”

I heard footsteps approaching and I immediately hid beside the hallway shelf.

I watched Adrian, another one of papa’s trusted men, walk into his office and he closed the door.

I let out a sigh and walked back downstairs slowly, so as not to make a sound.

I remember when I watched papa kill someone and i told Elena but she never believed me until she bumped into them carrying a body out. Papa used to hide these things away, but now he does it without carrying. Probably because we are now older.

I am seventeen and Elena is three years older than me.

After leaving papa’s office I walk to Elena’s room and sit on the bed beside her. I look at her knowing I can't tell her that papa wants to marry her off to someone he doesn’t like. It has always been her dream to marry for love, have a fancy wedding and dance with her charming prince. I let out a sigh as she turned to me.

“Are you okay Emilia?” I nodded and just hugged her.

“I want you to braid my hair” She laughs and pats for me to sit on the floor.

She puts on her favorite com how to win a guys heart in 1 month

“Arrrrgggghhhhh” I let out a groan “ Come on Ellie, don’t tell me you believe all this stuffs”

She looks at me, shushing me before turning back to braiding my hair and watching her show.

She finished braiding my hair and I just sat there chewing on my nails, not paying attention to the screen. Elena has made me watch this show countless times.

Elena is like a Disney princess, I’d say Rapunzel with her blonde hair, long lashes, always acting like one. Don't curse. Always fold her legs when sitting, and wear colourful fits. She’s just so beautiful. She is every man's dream.

And there’s me. Absolutely different, always wearing black fits, curses out. Doesn’t like being told what to do.

I just climb her bed and go cuddle her, she hugs me back and we just lay there watching her favorite shows.

…

“ Elena!” We hear papa’s voice, rough and stern as it booms throughout the hallway. We spring up from the bed and I hold onto Elena’s hand.

I should have known better than to ignore the conversation in papa's office.

Papa knocks and walks into Elena’s room alongside mama both of them dressed like they were going somewhere.

I stare at them as mama tugs a dazed Elena from beside me, pulling her out of my hold leaving the room.

I know the cause, I know it too well. I turn to papa with tears in my eyes.

“ This can’t be real papa”

I don’t have to have to say much for him to understand. He just stood there silent.

“ Papa answers me ” as my voice grows louder as the tears roll down my eyes.

He lets out a sigh, running his hand over his tired face.

“ You’ll understand one day Askim.”

Elena might be older than me, but she is naive,soft and the Vassallo’s will devour her. The thought of it makes the tears run hotter down my face.

No this can’t happen.

I turned to papa “ Let me take her place”

“No! You are still young.” his eyes flashed with anger “ Now go to your room, this conversation ends here.”

I hold back a scoff, it’s funny because they ran illegal businesses and broke countless laws. But now they wanted to keep things legal.

I knew he won’t let me take her place, I am Emilia – papa’s favorite, most cherished, protected and given a normal life. He gave me a normal life, I was allowed to attend high school and I will be leaving for college soon, but no one could know about me. To the world Damien Moretti had one daughter–Elena.

I look up to see Elena walking down the stairs in a pink ball gown, her hair packed into a ponytail.

This can’t be happening, I have to find a way and stop them. I run to Elena, I hold her hand and smile softly “ You do not need to do this Ellie, think about your future”

Mama gives me warning icy look, then turns to Elena “Do not listen to her” she turns and cups Elena’s face “ They will treat you right and give you everything you want”

“ Lol,So you guys are just going to give out your daughter to a man that is dangerous” I scream as I look at my parents and scoff. Papa just stands there without saying a word.

“ Emilia, your room now!” mama said to me while throwing death glares at me.

I stay rotted at my spot.

I watch as papa’s men walk in from the back, Dominic whispers something into papa’s ears. Then there came a knock on the front door.

Papa finally speaks up “Go to your room now Askim”

I still don’t move, which makes them more frustrated.

Ellie finally speaks “ Please Emilia, go to your room”

She looked almost desperate. I take a step back from them, sighing. I walk upstairs slowly and stand in a hidden spot as I watch Elena and mama go to papa’s office. She walks like the obedient child that she is. I stand and watch the servants open the front door and papa greets some group of men.

But one man stood out the most.

Don Vassallo.

He had brown hair, broad shoulders, and was tall. Hate to admit but he was handsome, he was every woman's dream man, but not mine.

Just like he was my family's nightmare, I will make sure I am his worst nightmare.