ice, examining the f

hair pulled back. Those ocean-blue eyes that had momentarily q

d through

spitalized. Father, runs a rundown garage and is a drunkard. Moth

equented some questionable establ

tly and tossed it onto h

ttered to himself,

e was actually consid

name rolled around in his head like a marble in an empty jar

ud, trying hard to discourage himself. Her file sho

vowed to never love any woman again and that's why he's

years since he lost her. He could still picture her amber eyes, gorgeous face and long dark hair vivi

family enterprise. That birthright belonged to Lucious, his elder brother. But where Pedro had been forged in their father's fire,

to grooming Pedro as his true successor, shapi

ther's world of ruthless business dealings, swift violence, and iron control. He'd become the perfec

l He

le smile and good heart, she'd shown him a different way to exist. In her arms, the constant vigil

had been sma

Nazzareno family, a rival Mafia clan. Worse, she had been leaking his secrets to her family, sabotag

ght was genuine, every profession of love from her. Consumed by anger and suspicion, he imprisoned H

ered the very words she had said to him before her death. He could still picture the look i

r me at all and instead, I'm getting tortured and tormented each day by you. You never loved me like you claimed. And I am cursing you today. Until a virgin falls in love with you whole

had materialized in her hand and she stabbed herself in the chest with it. Pedro was ins

y stabbing wound on her chest. It was as if Pedro had hallucinated the whole scenario, except for the evident motionl

had more secrets than he had imag

tmare for the Mafia boss, especia

against his chair. He had been studying that little file

curse mark since the hand of the clock hit 12 AM

his chair, inhaling sh

o an expressionless mask as he pushed the pain down deep, locking it behind an iron will. No

," he co

in Pedro's presence, Rico carried himself with a practiced confidence t

he?" Ped

ily before meeting Pedro's g

e green darkening to near black as rage mingl

t himself, sir," Rico explained, standing perfectl

a grievous mistake, Ric

quickly apologized, h

Rico." Pedro gritted his teeth, slamming his

om he's been feeding our information to

careful. Now how would you t

She managed to escape, but we'll apprehend her soon. She looked

ingers digging into the armrest of his ch

left, closing the d

is lips. The carefully maintained facade crumbled as his body convulsed with p

irt buttons, desperate to free himself from the confining fabric. Each b

down at his bare chest, at the curse mark that glowed with an unholy light. People think it's a tattoo, but it's not. Now, this is one of the reasons why Pedro hates tattoos. Th

fumbled with the cap, his fingers slick with sweat, before finally managing to extract three pills. He swallowed

to work, and even then, it would only dull the ed

uch had somehow, impossibly, extinguished his pain for a fleeting moment. Was she tr

thought. Hope was a luxury he couldn't afford,

uch against the wall, collapsi

setting his body ablaze from the inside out. By morning, the medicine would have dulled it to a managea

not the feared mafia boss. He was simply a man bein

Her eyes looked so innocent and it was as if she was trying to pass a message

t. Out of anger and despair, he'd massacred all the members of Nazzareno wit

OOMED. FOR. EVER if he didn't get s