Chapter 5 Inferno

Doménico

My men are waiting. They don't ask questions, they don't relax. They see me come out and one of them opens the SUV door. I get in without a word. They already know where I'm going.

The Inferno Club is an extension of me -a dark, forbidden place. It's not for everyone. It's where the damned come to get dirty without guilt, where morality is left at the door and sinners drop the mask. No one pretends here. That's what makes it dangerous.

It was Alessio's idea. An abandoned five-story building on the outskirts of New York. It was supposed to be a discreet casino, a tool to move money. But no. We decided it would be our sanctuary. Our temple. Where the Vescari don't need to pretend.

Half an hour later, the vehicle door opens again. It's snowing, but that doesn't stop the usual crowd from lining up like anxious animals waiting to be unleashed. Outside, there's music, lights, drugs floating in the air like expensive perfume. Everyone wants into Hell.

I ride the private elevator up from the parking garage. The hallways clear out. I don't tolerate strangers touching me, and my men know it. In here, everything's for sale: powder, pills, pleasure, secrets, favors.

The third floor is for the degenerates -dominants, voyeurs, masochists, orgies. There are cameras, but no one watches them live. We don't care. If they pay enough, they can crawl however they want. The rooms are priced like luxury surgeries. Packed every night.

On the fourth and fifth floors is the real elite: corrupt businessmen, untouchable politicians, the rotten heirs of powerful families. They hide here, far from the press, far from society's prying eyes. Here they gamble, self-destruct, ask for loans they can't repay -from us. No one saves them.

Polished wood bars line the walls, the liquor is pure and lethal. The fight cage was Fabio's idea -brilliant, actually. When there are conflicts, we settle them like civilized beasts: two enter, one walks out. No guns, no interference. If someone dies, their friends drag them out. If they don't have friends, we dump the body like trash. One simple rule. No one breaks it. The ones left hanging from the ceiling for days are good reminders.

I reach the fifth floor. We've got a VIP space -just for us. Black walls, low lights, electronic music humming softly, keeping thoughts sharp and fast.

My brothers are already seated. Alessio's going through papers, Fabio's counting cash. Everything in order.

"Finally," says Alessio, handing me a drink without fully looking up from the documents. Two women curl up on his lap like living ornaments as he sets the briefcase aside. "Anything you want tonight, brother?"

I think about it. I don't want whores. I don't want release. I want something... to shake me out of this numbness. To set my blood on fire, even just for one night.

But I say nothing.

I just pour myself another drink.

Chiara Gravano

My life's a disaster. Do you have any idea what it's like to have four older brothers and be the only girl in the Gravano family? If you don't, let me explain: it's pure hell. Overprotective brothers, watching my every move, chasing away every guy who even looks at me. But they're not even the worst part... my father, Don Sergio Gravano, had been trying to marry me off for the past two years. Thankfully, tears and tantrums have saved me more than once. To my annoying brothers, I'm still "too young to marry and make babies," and apparently "no man is worthy of me."

All that changed the moment my father died.

Because my charming older brother sold me off like a cow.

I had to escape Vincenzo and his guards -those bastards follow me around like my shadow. How did I pull it off? I drugged him. Slipped a heavy-duty sedative into his coffee and climbed out the window once I was sure he was out cold. I dodged the guards outside, crawled through the bushes, and there was my friend waiting in her sports car, engine running. The second I got in, she hit the gas like we were in a damn action movie.

Lili's a friend from college who encourages this kind of insanity -like, say, leaving the "safe zone" of Brooklyn and crossing all of New York to go see the guy she's screwing. I'm a good friend, so while she's with her boy, I'll drink and have a little fun.

"You're gonna love Inferno, I swear it's insane. You'll have fun, dance your ass off, and maybe there's even a live band," she says, driving like a maniac while I try to put on my shoes and fix my dress.

Tomorrow I'll be in so much trouble. But I don't care about tomorrow when tonight's on fire.

"Is my hair too wet? I couldn't help getting some snow in it while I escaped."

"You look amazing. Honestly, it was smart to do your makeup before the great escape," she smirks, pulling a bottle of liquor from under the seat. "Drink! We're almost there."

Lili's excited to see her guy, and I'm just thrilled to be out of the damn cage. It's going to be an epic night.

When we step out of the Bugatti Chiron, a young valet comes for the keys. But not before my friend threatens to murder him if anything happens to her $3.5 million baby. We don't wait in line, we don't show fake IDs -we pay and head straight to the elevator, which takes us to the fifth floor.

"What the hell is this place, Lili?"

She bursts out laughing -I barely hear it over the music that's loud enough to make my ears bleed. She glances up at the private booths, rented out by rich assholes who look down at the mortals below. Then she hands me her credit card and gives me free rein.

I don't dare touch my own -if I do, my brother will know exactly where I am within seconds.

"Use it however you want. There are four more floors if you feel like exploring. It's safe. I promise I won't take too long..." She kisses my cheek and runs off toward the stairs, where a guy is already waving at her.

I look around, take a seat at the high bar, and frown when I see there's a damn UFC-style cage in the middle of the dance floor -with wasted girls dancing inside.

I ignore it and order a vodka tonic.

Ten minutes later, the first asshole shows up to ruin my peace.