The De Luca estate felt colder than usual, even with the warmth of the grand chandeliers illuminating the hall. Livia paced, mind spinning with suspicion and anger. The betrayal within her family had shaken her—but Matteo’s shadow hovering ever closer in her thoughts was a danger she couldn’t ignore.
Enzo approached, his face tight with concern. “Livia, you can’t keep thinking about him. Matteo is the enemy. He’s dangerous, and he’s testing us.”
“I know he’s dangerous,” Livia said, her voice sharp, trembling with barely restrained fury. “And I know he’s testing us… but I can’t stop him from being in my mind.”
Vittoria, standing beside the strategy table, tilted her head. “Perhaps it’s not him entering your mind, but your own curiosity. Curiosity that could cost you everything if you let it.”
Across the city, Matteo Romano leaned against a slick wall in the alley, observing the estate through the darkness. Marco, ever vigilant, frowned. “You shouldn’t dwell on her, boss. She’s part of a war you’re supposed to win.”
Matteo’s dark eyes softened. “Winning isn’t everything. Sometimes… it’s surviving with someone who challenges you… who ignites you.”
The night brought more danger. A De Luca lieutenant, loyal until now, had been secretly conspiring with the Romanos. He attempted to sabotage the family’s defenses, planting explosives in the warehouse. Livia discovered it just in time, her senses honed from years of training.
Matteo appeared as if summoned by instinct, moving beside her, precision in every step. “Careful,” he warned, catching her arm as she adjusted the placement of a trap. “You’d be too easy to hurt if you weren’t careful.”
Her pulse quickened. “I don’t need your protection,” she snapped, though her fingers lingered a fraction too long on his.
“You do if you want to stay alive,” Matteo murmured, gaze intense, locking with hers. “And maybe… if you want to survive my attention as well.”
The air between them was charged. Every brush of hands, every shared glance, was a spark threatening to ignite a fire neither could contain.
The sabotage was neutralized, but the night’s events left them both shaken and unnervingly aware of each other. Betrayal had entered her family, danger lurked at every corner, and Matteo’s presence—irritating, dominating, irresistible—made her heart betray her mind.
“Leave,” she said, voice trembling but commanding. “Go back to your shadows, Matteo. Don’t make me lose control.”
He smirked, leaning closer than necessary, the rain from outside clinging to his coat. “Control is overrated. Desire… is much more interesting.”
With that, he vanished into the night, leaving Livia standing alone, trembling with a mixture of fury, fear, and a forbidden longing she refused to name.
The first cracks in her resolve were the forming. Revenge, betrayal, anger, and desire were colliding, setting the stage for a war that would test every loyalty—and every heart.
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