k SUV –

, an oppressive silence reigned, heavy with the unspoken ramifications of the brutal attack. The air was thick with the cloying metallic tang of blood, a stark reminder of the violence they had just endured, and the acrid scent of gunpowder clung to their c

te, his orders precise and demanding. The immediate threat had been quelled, the attackers neutralized with ruthless efficiency, but the sheer audacity of Don Moretti's gambit, the dep

ing agony that threatened to consume her. With trembling hands, she had ripped a jagged strip from the ruined hem of her once-pristine wedding dress, tying it tightly around the bleeding wound, a desperate, makeshift tourniquet that offered only minimal relief

aged, her voice a weak, scratchy rasp

his inner thoughts, before returning his unwavering attention to the road ahead. "Somewhere your father's reach doesn't extend." A bitter, ironic undertone laced his words. In his d

nse of betrayal. Her father's actions were a gaping wound, far deeper and more agonizing than the one in her arm. The life she had meticulously navigated, the carefully constructed facade of a powerful mafia princess, had b

lization settling in her bones like a layer of ice. "H

on. He likely calculated that the simultaneous deaths of the De Luca heir and his new bride would plunge my

in the air, heavy with the we

g only a cold, hard assessment. But within their dark depths, Seraphina thought she detected a flicker of something akin to... acknowledgment

arriage, conceived as a strategic alliance, had been violently shattered before it even had a chance to take root. In its place, something unexpected and pote

alls, topped with razor wire and patrolled by armed guards who instantly recognized Rafael's vehicle, shielded the opulent mansion from the outside world.

d with the unquestioning obedience his name commanded, was already waiting, his expression grave as he took in Seraphina's pale face and blood-soaked dress. As the doctor began the meti

a cold, hard resolve. Her father had made a catastrophic miscalculation. He had underestimated her resilience, her capacity for a burning, all-consuming rage. And in his de

afael turned to her, his expression still unreadable, his eyes like chips of polished obsidian. "Re

o. We talk now, Rafael. My father didn't just threaten me; he actively tried to end my life. He signed my death warrant the

unwavering resolve in her voice. "And what precise

g in the sterile silence of the medical suite, a promise etched in blood an

culating resolve that now burned in her own eyes. It was a smile that held no

ying in that stark, sterile room. The scarred earth of their unwanted marriage would now become the battleground for their shared venge