Mafia's Captive Bride
img img Mafia's Captive Bride img Chapter 5 The Prisoner's Will
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Chapter 10 A Cage Without a Key img
Chapter 11 No Place To Run img
Chapter 12 The Brink of Giving In img
Chapter 13 The Doubts img
Chapter 14 The Crack Start to Show img
Chapter 15 Shadows of Deception img
Chapter 16 The Ties That Strangle img
Chapter 17 The Breaking Point img
Chapter 18 Shadows of Deception img
Chapter 19 Making a Deal with the Devil img
Chapter 20 The Web Comes Undone img
Chapter 21 The Last Move img
Chapter 22 Unfinished Business img
Chapter 23 The Breaking Point img
Chapter 24 The Debt of Blood img
Chapter 25 The Last Hunt img
Chapter 26 Blood and Betrayal img
Chapter 27 The Rough Reprisal img
Chapter 28 Blood and Consequences img
Chapter 29 The Ones That Comes Before img
Chapter 30 The Hunt begins img
Chapter 31 The Shadow Code img
Chapter 32 The Lion's Den img
Chapter 33 Echoes of History img
Chapter 34 The Last Move img
Chapter 35 Blood and Betrayal img
Chapter 36 Because Vengeance Shall Have Its Burden img
Chapter 37 Rogue of Intent img
Chapter 38 The Mask of Loyalty img
Chapter 39 Blood & Betrayal img
Chapter 40 The Last Judgment img
Chapter 41  Blood Oaths and Broken Chains img
Chapter 42 Shadows and Schemes img
Chapter 43 The Game Begins img
Chapter 44 The Heist img
Chapter 45 BLOOD ON THE HORIZON img
Chapter 46 No Safe Haven img
Chapter 47 The Cost of Blood img
Chapter 48 There Ain't No Rest for the Wicked img
Chapter 49 A War on Every Front img
Chapter 50 For a Moment img
Chapter 51 A War Not Yet Won img
Chapter 52 The Price of Victory img
Chapter 53 A THRONE BUILT OF BLOOD img
Chapter 54 The First Move img
Chapter 55 THE ART OF DECEPTION img
Chapter 56 The Fall of Morales img
Chapter 57 The Past Years In Your Eyes img
Chapter 58 The Final Showdown img
Chapter 59 A World Without Santiago img
Chapter 60 Shadows of the Past img
Chapter 61 The Storm Approaches img
Chapter 62 The Reckoning img
Chapter 63 No More Mercy img
Chapter 64 Poisoned Trust img
Chapter 65 Shadows in the Aftermath img
Chapter 66 A Queen in the Crosshairs img
Chapter 67 Blood and Vows img
Chapter 68 Blood Ties img
Chapter 69 Reckoning img
Chapter 70 Ashes and Crowns img
Chapter 71 The Yucatán Gambit img
Chapter 72 What We Keep img
Chapter 73 The Quiet Before the Storm img
Chapter 74 Waking from the Ashes img
Chapter 75 Reclaiming the Silence img
Chapter 76 Threads of Power img
Chapter 77 Kingdoms of Dust img
Chapter 78 Knives in the Dark img
Chapter 79 Into the Heart of the Fire img
Chapter 80 A Morning's Calm Reflection img
Chapter 81 The Joker's Game img
Chapter 82 Precision and Punishment img
Chapter 83 The Face Behind the Curtain img
Chapter 84 Phantoms by the Shore img
Chapter 85 Reflection img
Chapter 86 Peace is a Quiet War img
Chapter 87 Quiet Isn't Safe img
Chapter 88 Ghost Country img
Chapter 89 The Crownless img
Chapter 90 The Crowns We Never Wore img
Chapter 91 We Don't Bleed for Free img
Chapter 92 Beneath the Surface img
Chapter 93 The Bloodless Coup img
Chapter 94 Fire and Forgiveness img
Chapter 95 The Last Blow img
Chapter 96 The Feather Bob img
Chapter 97 The Chamber of Echoes img
Chapter 98 A Tomorrow with Teeth img
Chapter 99 The Ledger img
Chapter 100 The Second Node img
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Chapter 5 The Prisoner's Will

Sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed, Valeria felt the pressure of her circumstances close on her, an iron shackle.

She hated this.

Hated the man who had robbed her of her freedom, the one who sat in the chair opposite her so casually, sipping whiskey like he hadn't just starved her to submission.

Rafael DeLuca.

Her husband.

Her captor.

Her worst nightmare.

He had won this battle - making her eat, making her bend.

But Valeria swore, the war would not be his to win.

She wasn't broken. Not yet.

And when she found an opening, she tore free of his grip - no matter the cost.

A New Kind of Cage

Rafael's voice disrupted her reverie.

"You look better."

She shot him a glare, but he didn't blink.

"Were you waiting for me to drop dead?" she muttered.

He grinned, swirling his glass. "No. If I had wanted you dead, you wouldn't have even made it out of the auction."

The words were casual, said as if he were talking about the weather rather than her life.

She stiffened. "Then why buy me?"

Rafael leaned over and put his elbows on his knees.

"You'll learn soon enough."

Her stomach twisted. He'd said that in a way she didn't like - as if her fate had already been decided.

She had to get out of here.

A Forbidden Door

And that night, after Rafael left her alone in his bedroom, Valeria knew she had to try again.

She wasn't about to allow him to control her like this.

The window was pointless - she had already discovered that the hard way.

But the house itself was enormous. There must have been another way out

She walked on tiptoe to cross the room, tried the door handle.

Unlocked.

Her pulse quickened.

Was this a trap?

She was too busy to think about it.

Gingerly, she edged into the dimly lit hallway.

The mansion was hauntedly silent, the distant almost whisper of voices humming.

She ducked and weaved, keeping to the shadows, her heart pounding against her ribs.

Find a door. Find a weapon. Find a way out.

Then, suddenly-

She froze.

At the end of the hall loomed a big door.

It was slightly ajar.

An instinct told her she didn't belong in there.

But curiosity was a treacherous lure.

And Valeria had everything to gain.

Mafia King's Secrets

She squeezed inside, holding her breath.

The room was dark, but moonlight streamed through the massive windows, illuminating shelves filled with files, weapons and -

Her breath hitched.

A wall covered with photographs.

Not just any photographs.

Photos of her.

Valeria's stomach dropped.

There she was - shown in candid shots, some from years before, some from days before her capture.

She staggered forward and held out her hands, trembling as she reached for one.

It was a photo of her walking out of a coffee shop.

Rafael knew who she was before she ever knew he existed.

A chill ran down her spine.

This was not a purchase at auction.

He had planned this.

She was not picked at random.

She was hunted.

Caught in the Act

A being in the darkness behind her chuckled darkly.

Valeria spun around, catching her breath in her throat.

Rafael lounged against the doorframe, his emerald eyes crackling with amusement and something darker.

"Little thing, aren't you? Curious, though.

Her blood ran cold.

He had let her come here.

Did he want her to discover this?

Or was this just another one of his games?

She straightened her shoulders, not wanting to betray fear. "What is this?" she demanded.

His smirk deepened.

"My collection."

Her stomach twisted.

"You've-You've been watching me.

"For years." His voice was unapologetic.

Valeria's pulse thundered. For years?

She gritted her teeth. "Why?"

Rafael reached out, the air around them electric with danger.

"Because, querida," he said, the words low as he lifted a hand to sweep hair from her face.

"I always knew you were supposed to be mine.

What next for Valeria, once she uncovers the truth?

            
            

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