Chapter 1 The Return

The air inside the Valentino estate was thick with power, wealth, and something far more dangerous-deception. Chandeliers filled the grand ballroom with golden light, shining off the endless wave of silk gowns and nice suits.. The power figures of the underworld Interacted with carefully, their conversations filled with hidden threats and secret deals.

Luca Valentino stood at the heart of it all, a king in his Territory, the prince of the most feared mafia empire in New York. Dressed in a black suit that matched the ruthlessness in his eyes, he accepted greetings with cold nods, his sharp eyes scanning the room for threats-an instinct that had kept him alive in this brutal world.

But nothing could have prepared him for the ghost who walked through the door.

Silence spread through the crowd as the quiet murmur of conversation broke apart, glasses paused midair, and every eye turned toward the entrance.

Luca's hand tightened around his whiskey glass, the ice inside cracking under the force of his hold. He knew that face. Those blue eyes. That proud, Resistant stance..

Sophia DeLuca.

Dead women didn't return. And yet, there she was.

The woman he had buried in the past-the woman he had convinced himself had betrayed him-stood before him, alive and untouchable.

She wasn't the scared girl he remembered. No, The Sophia he once knew would have been tensed under the weight of so many staring eyes., would have sought his approval in the way she used to. But this woman... this woman was a storm wrapped in silk.

Dressed in a sleek black gown that Hugged her curves, her long dark hair swept into an elegant twist, she carried herself like royalty. A diamond necklace shining against her neck, but it was her eyes that shine the brightest-cold, unreadable, daring.

She was no longer his.

A smile ghosted over her lips as she walked further into the room, completely not bothered by the attention. The crowd whispered, uncertainty thick in the air. She had vanished three years ago-believed dead, erased from existence after being labeled a traitor.

And yet, she had returned.

Luca kept his face calm, but inside, he was furious. He gripped his glass so tightly it nearly broke.. Why was she here? Why now?

Then she did something that made his blood boil.

She turned away.

Not a word. Not a look in his direction. As if he were nothing more than another face in the crowd.

The audacity.

A slow, dangerous smile from his mouth. If she wanted to play this game, then so be it.

From across the room, his fiancée, Isabella Romano, froze. He barely looked at her. Whatever small moment they were about to share disappeared the moment Sophia walked in.

Luca moved.

Quiet and dangerous, he walked toward her, his presence making people step aside. He was like a shadow in the night, and she was the prey that had dared to enter his world uninvited.

Sophia paused at the bar and turned her head, as if she felt his presence before he spoke. The bartender hesitated, unsure whether to serve her drink or acknowledge the most powerful man in the room.

Luca's voice was low, sharp as a blade. "You must have a death wish."

She turned to face him fully, her eyes steady, no shaking . "And you must have an ego problem if you think I came here for you."

The crowd turned sharply. A direct challenge to Luca Valentino? Unheard of.

His face changed. Three years. Three years he had spent convincing himself that she had been nothing but a mistake, a weakness he had removed. And now she stood before him, mocking him with her very existence.

He took a slow step closer, invading her space. The scent of her perfume hit him-familiar?

"You shouldn't be here."

She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Why? Afraid of ghosts, Valentino?"

The name. The way she said it-without fear, without the affection that had once dripped from her lips-sent a sharp stab through him.

She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping just for him. "Or are you afraid of the truth?"

Luca's fingers trembled at his side. He had killed for less than this. And yet, he didn't move.

She pulled back, offering him a slow, smile before turning away once more. Just like that.

As if he didn't exist.

Luca breathes out, forcing himself to keep his expression unreadable. But inside, something cracked.

He wasn't a man who chased. He never had to.

And yet, as Sophia DeLuca walked away, the undeniable truth settled over him like a curse.

He wasn't just going to chase her.

He was going to hunt her.

Luca's eyes dropped slightly. A single white card sat on the bar, right where Sophia had been standing. He picked it up, turning it over between his fingers.

One word was scrawled in delicate handwriting.

Tick-tock