Antonio Morris and his men stepped cautiously into the house. The air inside was thick—not just with dust, but with a palpable sense of danger. They had anticipated resistance, of course, but nothing could have prepared them for the sheer number and intensity of the threat that awaited them inside.Standing across the expansive main hall were a dozen men, all of them imposing figures. Each one’s muscles were taut beneath tightly fitted shirts, veins and sinews visible beneath skin hardened by years of combat and brutality. Their faces were carved from stone, rough and unyielding, eyes glinting with suspicion and raw hostility. Every glance measured Antonio and his men as predators would inspect their prey, calculating weaknesses and testing for hesitations. Even the guards Antonio had faced outside paled in comparison to the sheer intimidation these new adversaries radiated. Their presence alone made the shadows darker, the atmosphere thicker, heavier, and more suffocating, as

Damian threw his head back and laughed—a loud, mocking, careless sound that rang across the dimly lit room. His laughter bounced off the walls, long and cruel, carrying with it the arrogance of a man who believed he already owned the moment. His men grinned behind him. Their posture shifted, cocky and triumphant, basking in their leader’s energy.Antonio stood tall and unshaken with his face unchanging. Yet every man in that room could sense something shifting around him, like the atmosphere before a violent storm. They sensed the silent danger, the restrained violence wrapped around Antonio like a second skin.“You truly walked in here at the perfect moment,” Damian said, wiping an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye as his exaggerated laughter finally settled. “Just perfect. Like fate brought you straight into the lion’s den at the exact second we needed you.”He took a slow, confident step forward. His hands clasped behind his back and his chin lifted. “You see, bastard!

Damian blinked, momentarily unsure if his eyes were deceiving him.But no—his eyes were not lying to him.His man, one of his strongest and one of the men he trusted the most, lay motionless on the cold concrete floor.Dead.The other men froze in disbelief, their eyes widening, and their breaths hitching in their throats as the reality of the moment finally settled over them.Damian felt something twist sharply inside his chest.It was rage.Pure, boiling, animalistic rage.Antonio stood in the center of the room and his eyes were dark, focused, and unshaken. He didn’t even look like a man who had killed someone. He simply looked… ready.Antonio turned slowly, muscles tensing like coiled steel beneath his shirt. The men surrounding him hesitated, paralyzed by the sudden death of their comrade, but Damian snapped from behind them, voice rising with irritation and fury.“What are you all staring at?” Damian thundered. His voice echoed off the concrete walls. “FINISH HIM! Before I fini

As the Black Gang members struggled to overpower Antonio, a sudden buzzing cut through the chaos. One of the men scowled and yanked his vibrating phone from his pocket, irritation tightening his features.He had been moments away from driving his boot into Antonio’s already battered ribs, but now he turned away, muttering a curse before answering.“Speak,” he growled.What he heard next made the color drain from his face.“What?” he barked again, voice trembling. He lowered the phone slightly, as if his ears had deceived him. But they hadn’t.Their leader… in a coma?Two of their most powerful groups… defeated?Ten men—high-ranking men of the Black Gang—dead?Dead.The man staggered backward, eyes darting wildly as though the very walls were closing in. The other gang members noticed the shift immediately. They paused mid-attack, blades and guns still drawn, panting from exertion.“What’s wrong?” one of them asked sharply.The man ended the call, swallowed, and turned to them with a

Liora inhaled sharply, her chest tightening as the words formed. “What I mean is… that monster, Damien, came to seek my hand in marriage. You know how arrogant he is, how persistent… how dangerous. But I refused him. I didn’t want anything to do with him. And… well, I probably shouldn’t have said it aloud in front of my parents, but I told them the only man I would ever consider… the only person I truly wanted to be with… is you.”Her voice wavered as she said it.Antonio didn’t respond immediately, instead his hands gripped the steering wheel with a quiet firmness. His jaw was set, firm and unwavering.Liora swallowed, her throat dry, and took a shaky breath, bracing herself to continue despite the lump forming in her chest.“I think… I think Damien must have overheard me,” she whispered, her voice barely rising above the hum of the car tires against the asphalt. “Maybe he knew… maybe one of his men passed it on. Either way, that’s why he sent his men to kidnap me. Because he co