Chapter 5 Ep 5

The weight of reality crashed back over them.

Rafael exhaled, pressing his forehead against hers for half a second before pulling away. His warmth lingered, but the fire in his eyes had dimmed, replaced by something colder. Sharper.

Sienna's breath was still uneven, her lips swollen from his kiss, but she forced herself to straighten. To think.

His world.

His rules.

And she had just stepped into it in a way she could never take back.

Rafael turned toward the door, his movements slow, calculated. He didn't like being interrupted.

"Boss," the voice came again, more urgent now.

Rafael's hand tightened on the doorknob. He flicked one last glance at Sienna before pulling it open.

Matteo stood on the other side. Rafael's right-hand man. His fixer.

The look on his face sent a chill through the room.

"What?" Rafael asked, his tone clipped.

Matteo didn't answer immediately. His dark eyes flickered toward Sienna, assessing, calculating.

Then he turned back to Rafael. "They took someone."

Rafael stilled. "Who?"

Matteo's jaw flexed. "One of ours."

A slow, lethal silence filled the space.

Sienna barely understood what was happening, but she felt the shift. The way Rafael's energy changed, his entire body tensing like a predator scenting blood.

"Who?" he repeated, quieter this time.

Matteo exhaled through his nose. "Luca."

The room turned to ice.

Sienna might not have known much about Rafael's world, but she knew that name.

Luca Bianchi.

Rafael's younger brother.

Her heart stuttered.

Rafael's grip on the doorframe tightened until his knuckles turned white.

Then, in the span of a breath-

He moved.

Sienna barely had time to react before he stalked past Matteo, his strides long, determined.

"Where?" he demanded.

Matteo fell in step beside him. "They sent a message. No demands yet."

Rafael's face was stone. "Who was it?"

"We don't know."

He let out a low, humorless laugh. "Bullshit."

Matteo clenched his jaw. "Valentina's name came up."

A muscle ticked in Rafael's cheek.

Sienna stopped dead in her tracks.

Valentina.

She'd heard the name before. Whispers. Hushed conversations.

A rival.

A woman.

One obsessed with Rafael.

Her stomach turned.

This wasn't an accident.

This was personal.

Rafael reached the end of the hall and shoved open another door. Inside, half a dozen men straightened as he entered.

Silence fell.

A storm was brewing in Rafael's gaze, a darkness Sienna had only glimpsed before.

But now, she was seeing the full force of it.

He wasn't just a man in this room.

He was a leader.

And when he spoke, his voice carried the weight of something undeniable.

"We're getting him back."

No one questioned him.

No one hesitated.

Because Rafael Bianchi was more than just a billionaire mafia prince.

He was a man who did not forgive.

And he sure as hell didn't forget.

Sienna knew she should leave.

She should walk away.

But her feet wouldn't move.

Instead, she watched as Rafael issued orders, his voice cold, efficient. Every command was met with sharp nods, immediate action.

This was his world.

Violence. Retribution. Blood.

And Luca-

God, Luca was just a kid. Nineteen. Barely out of his teenage years.

She swallowed against the knot in her throat.

Rafael turned, his eyes locking onto hers.

"Go home."

She flinched at the words. "What?"

He stepped closer, his voice lowering. "You don't belong here."

Something burned in her chest. "You think I can just walk away?"

"Yes."

Her heart clenched.

Rafael reached out, his fingers brushing her cheek for the briefest second. A contrast to the brutality hanging in the air.

"I need to handle this." His voice was rough, strained. "And I can't do that if I'm worrying about you."

She swallowed hard.

She should listen.

She should leave.

But something inside her screamed that if she walked away now, there would be no coming back.

And she wasn't sure she was ready for that.

Her fingers curled into fists.

"I'm not going anywhere."

His jaw tightened.

"I'm a doctor," she continued, forcing steel into her voice. "If someone gets hurt, you're going to need me."

Rafael's gaze darkened.

Then, without another word-

He turned.

And the war began.

The room was a battlefield before the first shot was even fired.

Tension stretched thick and suffocating as Rafael's men prepped for war. Guns were checked, magazines loaded, blades strapped to belts. It was a violent symphony-metal clicking into place, the scent of gun oil thick in the air.

Sienna stood frozen near the edge of the room, watching it all unfold.

Rafael had transformed.

Gone was the man who had kissed her minutes ago, who had looked at her like she was something fragile, something his.

Now, he was something else entirely.

A force.

A leader.

A man who commanded with nothing but a look, his orders met with swift obedience.

She had known Rafael was dangerous.

But watching him like this-watching the men in this room fear him-was something else entirely.

Matteo stepped forward, slipping a handgun into a shoulder holster. "We have a location."

Rafael barely nodded. "Where?"

Matteo hesitated. "Warehouse district. South side."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Rafael's lips curled, but there was no humor in it.

Valentina was toying with him.

She wanted him angry.

Sienna could see the way Rafael's body tensed, the way his fingers curled into fists at his sides.

"She's expecting us," Matteo added.

"She wants me to come," Rafael corrected, his voice dark.

Sienna's stomach twisted.

This wasn't just about Luca.

This was about power. About control.

And Valentina wanted to prove she had the upper hand.

Rafael exhaled slowly, the sound razor-sharp. Then, finally, he turned to his men.

"Move out."

A chorus of confirmations followed, bodies shifting, guns holstered.

Sienna's pulse hammered.

She needed to stop this.

"Rafael-"

He was in front of her in two strides.

"I told you to go home."

Her hands clenched at her sides. "And I told you I'm not leaving."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "You're not trained for this, Sienna."

"I don't need to be trained to stop someone from bleeding out," she shot back.

His nostrils flared. "You're not coming."

"You can't stop me."

His eyes darkened, something dangerous flickering in their depths. "You really want to test that theory?"

Silence.

They stood toe-to-toe, heat crackling in the air between them.

Sienna's heart pounded.

She was playing a dangerous game.

But Rafael wasn't the only one who refused to back down.

"I'm coming," she said, voice firm. "And unless you plan to tie me to a chair, there's nothing you can do about it."

Rafael exhaled sharply, his eyes burning into hers.

Then-

He grabbed her wrist.

She gasped as he yanked her closer, his breath warm against her ear.

"You don't know what you're asking for, dolcezza."

Her pulse thundered.

But she didn't move.

Didn't back down.

Because even though she was terrified-

Even though she knew she was walking straight into hell-

She couldn't let him face it alone.

The drive was silent.

Sienna sat between Rafael and Matteo in the blacked-out SUV, the city lights flashing past in streaks of gold and red.

A caravan of cars followed behind them, headlights cutting through the dark like the eyes of a predator.

She could feel the tension.

It sat heavy in the air, pressing down on her like a weight.

Matteo was checking his gun, the glow from his phone screen casting sharp shadows across his face.

Rafael, on the other hand-

He was still.

Like a storm on the verge of breaking.

Sienna's throat was dry.

"How bad is this going to get?" she asked finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

Matteo didn't look up. "Depends."

"On?"

Rafael's voice was steel. "On how much she wants to make me suffer."

A shiver raced down Sienna's spine.

She turned to Rafael, searching his profile for something-anything-that would tell her how this would end.

But all she saw was control.

Tightly leashed. Unforgiving.

A man who had spent his entire life preparing for war.

She exhaled shakily, forcing herself to look forward.

And that was when she saw it.

The warehouse.

It loomed ahead like something out of a nightmare, its rusted metal siding reflecting the glow of nearby streetlights.

The closer they got, the clearer the details became.

Two armed guards at the entrance.

A few more patrolling the perimeter.

A single black car parked to the side.

But the thing that made her stomach drop-

The red stain on the pavement.

Blood.

Her fingers dug into the seat.

The SUV rolled to a stop, the other vehicles following suit.

The moment the engine cut, Rafael turned to her.

"Stay in the car."

Sienna's mouth opened-

But the look in his eyes stole the argument from her lips.

She swallowed.

Slowly, she nodded.

Satisfied, Rafael turned away, pushing open his door.

The moment he stepped out, a transformation took place.

The man who had held her in the dark-who had kissed her like she was his-was gone.

Now, there was only the prince.

A ruler stepping into battle.

His men followed, moving in silent, deadly precision.

Sienna clenched her fists.

This wasn't a fight.

It was a reckoning.

And someone wasn't going to make it out alive.

The doors to the warehouse groaned as they swung open.

The scent of oil and rust filled the air.

And at the center of it all-

A single chair.

A single body.

Luca.

Sienna's heart lurched.

He was slumped forward, hands bound behind his back, head hanging low.

Alive.

But barely.

The moment Rafael saw him, something inside him snapped.

His body went still.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

Then-

A slow clap echoed through the room.

Sienna turned sharply.

And there she was.

Valentina.

She stepped out from the shadows, her lips curved into something almost sultry, her dress clinging to her every movement.

"You came," she purred.

Rafael's face was unreadable.

"I told you what would happen if you touched my family." His voice was quiet. Deceptively calm.

Valentina tilted her head. "And I told you I always get what I want."

Her gaze flicked to Sienna.

A slow smirk.

"Interesting company you're keeping these days, tesoro."

Rafael didn't move.

Didn't so much as blink.

But the energy in the room had shifted.

Tension coiled.

Sienna could feel it.

Valentina could too.

And she was enjoying it.

She let out a soft laugh, stepping closer. "You should have picked me, Rafael."

Rafael didn't answer.

But his silence said enough.

Valentina's smirk faltered.

Then-

"Kill them."

The order dropped like a hammer.

Gunfire erupted.

Sienna ducked as bullets tore through the air.

Chaos exploded around her.

Men fell.

Voices shouted.

And at the center of it all-

Rafael.

Moving like a shadow.

Like death itself.

And in that moment-

Sienna realized something terrifying.

This wasn't just his world.

This was who he was.

And there was no turning back.