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His Bride Of Revenge
img img His Bride Of Revenge img Chapter 2 Collateral
2 Chapters
Chapter 6 The Cage He Calls Safety img
Chapter 7 Dangerous Appetite img
Chapter 8 The Breaking Point img
Chapter 9 Something To Fear img
Chapter 10 No Escape img
Chapter 11 The Wedding That Wasn't Mine img
Chapter 12 The Warning img
Chapter 13 The Stranger I Knew img
Chapter 14 The Pretence img
Chapter 15 Mine Alone img
Chapter 16 Caged Hearts img
Chapter 17 The Shadow Between Us img
Chapter 18 The Kiss and the Gun img
Chapter 19 The Shipment img
Chapter 20 The Breakfast Lie img
Chapter 21 The Woman Who Watches img
Chapter 22 The Call I Shouldn't Have Answered img
Chapter 23 Red Fire img
Chapter 24 The Gala img
Chapter 25 The Taste of Restraint img
Chapter 26 The Aftertaste of a Kiss img
Chapter 27 Torn Loyalties img
Chapter 28 Hidden Agendas img
Chapter 29 The Distance Between Us img
Chapter 30 Fractures Beneath the Surface img
Chapter 31 Cracks In The Walls img
Chapter 32 A Dangerous Truth img
Chapter 33 When Blood Calls img
Chapter 34 When Hope Breaks img
Chapter 35 When He Opens His Eyes img
Chapter 36 A Door That Should Not Have Closed img
Chapter 37 A Truth I Was Never Meant To Hear img
Chapter 38 The Moment Everything Snapped img
Chapter 39 No Way Out img
Chapter 40 The Breaking Point img
Chapter 41 When the Truth Breaks You img
Chapter 42 No Way Out img
Chapter 43 The Only Way Out img
Chapter 44 The One Call That Broke Me img
Chapter 45 Cold Night, Weak Heart img
Chapter 46 The Night I Almost Lost Her img
Chapter 47 A Heartbeat Away from Silence img
Chapter 48 When Fear Breaks a Man img
Chapter 49 When Her Eyes Finally Found Mine img
Chapter 50 Don't Leave Me Again img
Chapter 51 The Man I Woke Up To img
Chapter 52 Stay With Me img
Chapter 53 No Rush img
Chapter 54 When Control Finally Shattered img
Chapter 55 The Morning After img
Chapter 56 The One Thing I Wasn't Ready For img
Chapter 57 I Didn't Run This Time img
Chapter 58 What Came After the Apology img
Chapter 59 Cracks Beneath the Glow img
Chapter 60 The Message I Was Not Ready For img
Chapter 61 Say It Again img
Chapter 62 The Woman He Didn't Choose img
Chapter 63 The Unease I Couldn't Shake img
Chapter 64 When the Past Comes Knocking img
Chapter 65 The Line I Can't Cross img
Chapter 66 The Monster I Was img
Chapter 67 When He Finally Came Back img
Chapter 68 The Morning That Felt Too Fragile img
Chapter 69 Where Silk Meets Steel img
Chapter 70 The Past Walks In img
Chapter 71 The Devil Finds Me img
Chapter 72 Blood on My Hands img
Chapter 73 The Moment Everything Breaks img
Chapter 74 Now or Never img
Chapter 75 Where Were You img
Chapter 76 CityLife img
Chapter 77 Permission to Leave img
Chapter 78 The Penthouse Truth img
Chapter 79 Proof That Bleeds img
Chapter 80 When the Truth Finally Speaks img
Chapter 81 The Truth That Cuts the Deepest img
Chapter 82 When the Masks Finally Fall img
Chapter 83 The Truth That Waited Outside img
Chapter 84 A Graveyard of Lies img
Chapter 85 The Death of Us img
Chapter 86 When the House Went Quiet img
Chapter 87 The Night I Chose Not to Break img
Chapter 88 When the Monster Woke Up img
Chapter 89 The Door I Swore I'd Never Knock On img
Chapter 90 The Devil I Ran Back To img
Chapter 91 The Truth That Cuts Deepest img
Chapter 92 Wings Clipped img
Chapter 93 Every Place Except Where She Is img
Chapter 94 The Truth I Never Learned to Say img
Chapter 95 When The Truth Comes Out img
Chapter 96 Blood Never Lies img
Chapter 97 The Blood That Shouldn't Exist img
Chapter 98 One Week Without Him img
Chapter 99 Fifteen Minutes I Couldn't Survive img
Chapter 100 The Wrong Ghost img
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Chapter 2 Collateral

**Stefano's POV**

"Shit," I hissed, pulling the collar of my coat up tight as the cold air hit my face the moment I stepped outside my house. Winter was officially here.

I took a drag from my cigarette, inhaling deeply and letting the smoke fill my lungs, but it didn't ease the tension in my chest.

Just as headlights flashed through the darkness, a car with a smashed windshield skidded to a halt in front of me. Two of my guys jumped out, their faces pale and eyes darting around as if they were searching for an escape.

John hit the ground hard, landing on his knees, as he trembled so intensely I thought he might faint. "Boss... please... we messed up. We didn't mean to. It just..." His words rushed out.

I didn't move. I just let the cigarette burn down between my fingers while I took in their panic.

"Spit it out! What are you actually talking about?"

Enzo stepped forward, breathless and anxious. "It... It was the job with the girl. Everything was going as planned until she..." He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "She pulled a gun and started shooting at us."

My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt, and I could feel anger bubbling up inside me. "Go on," I said, not trusting myself to say more.

"We panicked," he stammered, his voice cracking. "So we shot back, just to scare her, I swear. She swerved, and then..." He swallowed, his eyes wide. "We hit her tire, and the car went out of control. We didn't mean it, boss, we didn't." His face twisted, as if he were about to cry.

I took a step closer, locking eyes with him. "Is she alive?"

Nobody said a word. They just looked at each other, their eyes wide, as if the other one had the answer.

Reaching for my gun, I cocked it, the sound echoing into the night. "I'll ask again. Is she alive?"

John's voice trembled, filled with fear and regret. "Boss, I... I don't know! We panicked. We left her there and rushed here..."

I didn't wait. Before he could finish, I pulled the trigger. John's head jerked back as he fell, blood pooling on the cold ground.

"No! Please, boss! Please..." Enzo screamed. He knelt on the ground, trembling so hard that his knees bled.

I stepped over John's body without even looking down and crouched in front of Enzo until we were eye to eye. He was shaking so violently that his teeth chattered, and I saw the terror in his eyes.

​I looked him over slowly, letting him see the total failure he was.

"I trusted you with this job. You were supposed to shoot her car, just the car, enough to scare her and make her father sweat." I took another step closer. "Did I ask you to kill her?" My jaw trembled with silent fury.

"No, boss," Enzo cried out, desperation evident in his voice. "Please, I swear it was an accident, a mistake. We didn't intend for things to get this bad. Please, I'm begging you... show mercy."

"Mercy?" I chuckled, revealing my gun, still warm in my hand. "Mercy is for those who think before they act."

He whimpered, tears streaming down his face, his knees scraping the rough asphalt, trembling so badly I thought he might collapse right there.

I turned toward Luca, my right-hand man, who was watching. "Take him to the dungeon," I ordered. "Let him pray for her survival. And if she dies..." I turned back to Enzo, letting the gravity of my words sink in. "You'll face the consequences."

"Yes, boss," Luca said quietly.

My men grabbed Enzo by the arms, dragging him back toward the house. His voice grew faint as he kept begging.

​I turned to him before he disappeared inside. "Where did you leave her?"

"Via Pontaccio in the Brera district," he cried. "Near Spazio Pontaccio. We left her there."

I fumbled for another cigarette, my hands trembling so much I nearly dropped it. This was supposed to be a simple job, just a warning for Armando Castellano. Nobody was supposed to get hurt.

Now it was all screwed up.

"Luca, call emergency services. Report an accident on Via Pontaccio, where the girl was abandoned. Do it now."

Luca remained silent and followed my instructions without a word. After he finished the call, I stomped out my cigarette.

"Let's go."

We got into the car, and Luca hit the gas so hard that the tires squealed. I stayed silent, gazing out the window with my jaw clenched and my hand gripping the gun in my lap.

We parked on a side road with a clear view, staying out of sight, as I watched to see where the ambulance would go so I could determine which hospital they'd take her to.

The girl was merely leverage, a tool to shake Armando Castellano, the man responsible for my father's death. My goal was to instill fear, not grief.

Her car looked as if it had been chewed up and spat out. The car's body was crumpled, glass was everywhere, and one tire was missing.

And there she was, Elena Castellano, being gently pulled from the wreckage. They lifted her onto the stretcher, and even from here I could see how pale she was, with blood smeared all over.

She looked like she was already gone.

"Oh hell," I muttered as I watched them load her into the ambulance. My pulse pounded, and my chest tightened with anxiety.

This wasn't the plan. I didn't team up with Raffaele Lorusso just to watch everything fall apart. My fist clenched so hard that my knuckles ached.

"You can't die tonight," I whispered, tightening my grip on the gun.

If she dies, everything changes; it won't be a warning anymore. Armando will come for blood, and I'm not ready for that. Not yet.

Luca stood beside me, his face a mask of calm, but I could feel the tension radiating from him. "What do we do now?"

I kept my eyes on the ambulance as its doors slammed shut. "Follow them."

We jumped back into the car. The tires screeched as we pulled onto the road behind the ambulance. I stared straight ahead, my jaw hurting, as my thoughts raced so fast I couldn't catch any of them.

"You're not supposed to die," the thought screamed inside my head. I clenched my hands into tight fists until the sharp pain of my nails digging into my palms was all I could feel.

I have a plan for you, Elena.

If you die, my plan fails.

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